5 tips to make a perfect Resume that will help you get hired.

           Since the Covid-19 hit the world, it has heavily impacted the job market. A lot of companies are going out of business and are losing clients while others have experienced a significant drop in their revenues. As a result of that businesses are laying off employees left, right, and center.
           I also realized that it is that time of the year when the students will be done with their final terms and would be stepping out into the "real world". Due to the lockdown, very few companies were able to visit campuses for placements this year which in turn increased competition among the job-hunters. Hence it has become very important that you stand out.
           I remember my final term. How difficult it was for me to understand and analyze the selection process that various companies exercised. But the most difficult part was to prepare a Resume.

           Resume preparation is a very formal yet personal way of telling how you are the best fit for the job you are applying for. Most of the companies send out appointments for interviews after going through your resume. How you perform at the interview is secondary, but at least to be called for an interview, you must prepare an impressive resume first. So I thought I should share a few tips that worked like a charm for me. Here are 5 ways in which your resume can leave a mark on your employer.

1. Career Objective/Goal: 

                   6 Seconds! That's the average time that a hiring manager spends on a particular resume. And that's why the first few lines of your resume need to be engaging. That sums up your "Career Objective" section of the resume. Most of the time, people try to copy the objective or purpose of the resume from someone else's resume or they try to find it from the internet. But occasionally, it just becomes dull and irrelevant. 

The reason is that most people do not know what the Objective section must contain or what a recruiter is looking for in the objective of a resume. Here are some points to write an excellent objective for your resume:

1. Your Objective should always point towards the benefit of the company you are applying to. Most of the job aspirants compose their objectives by describing how getting selected for the job would benefit their personal growth. But the recruiters are actually looking for candidates who prioritize the company's growth above theirs. 
2. Realize one or at most 2 qualities that would project you as a valuable asset and start your objective section by mentioning them along with your highest degree of education. For example: "Young and enthusiastic engineering graduate", "Determined and Hardworking Business Analyst", "Diligent and Dynamic Marketing Specialist".
3. Recognize your best-suited skill according to the job profile and include that. For example: "excellent programming knowledge", "outstanding analytical skills".
4. So to sum up, your objective should reflect your career goal as well as your most valued skills to capture your recruiter's attention.

       Young and enthusiastic engineering graduate with excellent programming skills, aspiring to seek a challenging position in the IT industry and to grow in and with the organization by contributing my proven leadership and interpersonal skills. 

2. Your resume is your personality:   

            Every individual has a unique set of characteristics. His/Her features, attributes, skills, and peculiarities are what makes one an unusual candidate. It is important to understand that your recruiter will identify you with your resume.  He/She will get a glimpse of your personality and your skills only by the means of your resume. This is how he/she will differentiate you from other applicants. Thus your resume must reveal your personality.

       So, identify the traits that make you a rare personality. Maybe you had organized an event that would give you an edge over the other aspirants. A course or a workshop you attended that granted you an additional skill. An unusual hobby like blogging or knitting that you took up for fun. All of these describe the "real you".It shows your authenticity. And this is what the employers are truly looking for.

3. The Sequence:

        Except for certain sections of the resume, there is no stated sequence for the sections to be followed while building your resume. Always, your career objective remains the first section followed by your educational background and Technical Proficiency required to fulfill the job requirements. After that, you are free to rearrange your own sequence. For instance, if you are applying for the role of a Python developer and you probably did a project in that technology. Then you could move up the "Projects" section above others as you would want to direct the attention of your recruiter towards that.
              By changing the sequence of the sub-headings, you are not only trying to dazzle the best parts of your resume but also reducing the time required by your hiring manager to make up their mind to call you for an interview.

4. Relevancy:

        Always make sure that the things you mention in your resume are relevant to the job role. Your recruiter would not be curious to acknowledge that you attended a workshop on 'How to bake cookies' if you were applying for a "Software Consultant" job profile. Filter your efficiencies to satisfy the job profile. You would not want to waste your recruiter's valuable time going through all the unwanted information about you. Besides, it projects you as a distracted and divergent candidate which indicates a lack of commitment.

           To be able to maintain relevancy, you must go through the job description first. Structure your resume to highlight appropriate qualities and eliminate others. While you may possess various skills that you might take pride in, but your opinions seem lesser than the employer's needs. Try to think from the employer's perspective while you brood over what information deserves to be included in the resume and what does not.

5. Don't go fancy:

            Remember, your resume is not your school's artwork project. Don't use 10 different colors and 5 distinctive and weird fonts in your resume. This just makes your resume really hard to read and portrays a lack of professionalism. 

Here are some of the dos and don'ts you must follow:

1. Make sure your resume has a simple page border. It makes the Document look more official.
2. Use classic fonts like 'Times New Roman', 'Arial', or 'Calibri'.
3. Do not change the fonts for different sections. For instance, if you started out with Calibri, use the same font for the rest of the document.
4. It is ok to use formatting techniques like bold or italicize on specific words that you want to emphasize. But, don't overdo it.
5. Make your resume precise and try to fit your content in a maximum of 2 sides of a page.
6. 12 is the ideal font size. A slightly larger font size is acceptable for the headings, your name, or titles of the section.
7. If you have trouble fitting your content in one or 2 pages, you can try going with a smaller font size, but do not go below 10.5 as it would make your content illegible.
8. Use subtle font colors in your resume. Do not use flashy colors like yellow or red.
9. Try to maintain the same font color throughout your resume. Although, it is acceptable to use a different font color for all your headings or titles.
10. Attach a professional-looking picture of yourself alongside your name, contact number, and e-mail id in the header of your resume.

So go on and build your own resume. Impress your employer. 

And to those who are looking for a job, wish you the best of luck. Be patient. That interview call from the company of your choice is just around the corner.