How to make a Killer Resume (Part 1)

Your CV needs to appeal to the reviewer/HR person reading it, within 1 minute of being opened. If it does not then your resume will not be read at all. So its very important that your resume has all the correct layout, content and formatting if you want it to be considered at all.

Do’s :
1.    Be specific and very clear while writing a resume
2.    Summarize the content in bullet points/Headings, which makes it easier to read
3.    Important points should be bold/underline or bigger in size from the normal text. Its good if some text  is highlighted so that the reader can quickly focus on them.
4.   Entire resume has to be in a proper order :  either ascending or descending order

• Ascending Order : Newest first, Oldest last
• Descending Order : Oldest first, Newest last

5.    Follow the same order in entire CV i.e under other Headings and sub headings
6.    The name of the candidate should be highlighted and should be placed at the top
7.    The size of the CV should be proportional to the extent of experience and qualifications  that the  candidate  has.
The ideal size of the CV for :

•   Fresher  :    1- 2 pages
•   Experience 1- 3 years :  2-3 pages
•   Experience 4 – 10 years :  3-5 pages
•   Experience 10+ years : 5-6 pages

8.    Mandatory  headings should be :

• Education/Qualification
• Career
• Personal Details
• Technical Skills/skills
•  Languages known

9.    Additional headings can be :

• Objectives
• Extra Curricular Activities
• Awards and recognition

10.    Mark all your Experience and Qualifications with year duration

Eg.  Worked for ABC ltd. for 2 years  (March 2008- feb 2010)

11.    The font style used should be simple, clear, decent which looks professional
Most commonly used are :

• Calibri
• Times New Roman
• Arial
• Bookman Old style
• Georgia

12.    The text font size depends upon the font used. Ideal size is between  11-13 pts and for Headings,  text size +2 pts.
Eg:

•  Calibri : 12-13
•  Times New Roman : 12-13
•  Arial : 11-12
•  Bookman Old style : 11- 12
•  Georgia : 12-13

13.    Mandatory points in Personal Details :

• Gender
• Marital Status
• D.O.B
• Email id
• Contact no.
• Address

14.    As per the amount of work experience, the resume should be more detailed
Eg:

15.     Credentials become mandatory if the work experience is more and the resume is more than 3 pages. Also credentials should be the first heading in the resume.
Eg: