Preparing Resume or Curriculum Vitae

How many times have we heard the words, resume or curriculum Vittae and wondered what they meant. Many jokes are cracked about resumes. “He carries his resume in his pocket. His resume is updated every week” etc.

Resume is the person's identity card or the first application that introduces the person to the company or to the interested person. In the modern dog eat dog world the competition is severe and cut throat.

Some famous companies get thousands of resumes in the course of a day. Knowing that many people would be applying for a coveted job an applicant for a post in a famous advertising agency sent a potato as his resume saying "I want to be a potato in your organization".

He was called to the interview and was asked as to what he meant!

The candidate replied “Sure sir, a potato is a very versatile vegetable, it can be used in any dish, it can be used to enrich any dish and it gives lots of energy. So like a potato you will find me very versatile and I would fit into any department and I too would be very versatile".

Needless to say he got the job. One more innovative way of introducing oneself was tried out in the USA where a bright youngster booked time on the cable television and showed himself off on the TV talking about his strengths and weaknesses and so on.

But for most of the time we have to limit ourselves to the old and trusted resume. The company that invites applications for any post usually gets a very large number of applications for the post. So what is the basis of filtration? Let us face the first shock. Nearly 75% to 80% of the resumes are rejected outright on the following basis.

Candidates submitting resume filled on readymade forms available at stationery shops. Submitting of readymade resumes indicate very low level of interest.

Badly photocopied resumes. Photocopied resumes is an indication that multiple applications are being sent out

Not adhering to the company’s set standards. Not sending the photograph, not submitting the photocopy of marks sheets or not sending testimonials or not getting the photocopies attested.

Not sending a covering letter. A covering letter is very important as it personalizes the application.

Making silly mistakes. The usual ones are the wrongly spelt out names of the company or the person to whom the letter is addressed etc.

Don't expect the company to send a call letter when the name of the company's itself is not spelt correctly.

The cover enclosing the resume is stuck with too much gum and this irritates the person opening it and this might result in a torn resume.

Preparing a resume that catches attention.

1. What is the objective of sending the resume? The objective is to introduce oneself. The resume should be used tantalizingly. It should be an appetizer. It should arouse interest in the candidate but should not give out too much information. The idea is to create interest which should lead to a face-to-face interview. Ideally a resume should be a short as possible.
2. A resume should present information that shows the candidate in the best light. If consistently high GPA has been achieved mention it. If there is too much variance in the GPA just mention the academic qualifications.
3. Don't try to hide information. If there is a gap between grade 12 and the diploma or the degree mention it and don't wait for the interviewer to point it out.
4. Be careful about the spellings. The name of the company where you are working or the companies were you have done your projects should be spelt out correctly. Also take care that there are no grammatical errors and that the punctuation is correct.
5. A resume should be submitted with at least two references. References should be people known people who can vouch for the details given in the resume. Relatives and immediate family members’ names should not be given out as references.
6. Instead teachers and head of the departments’ name scan are given. It is considered proper etiquette to give copies of the resume to the references so that if an enquiry is made, the references can vouch for based on the given resume. The reference's telephone numbers (both office and residence) should be furnished. The timing to contact them at office or at residence should be specified.
7. The structure of the bio-data is very important. The font used should be readable and the matter should be justified. Bold, centering, underlining and indents can be used to highlight the important points.
8. The following should definitely be present in any bio-data.

Name, Age, Gender, Father's/mother’s name, complete postal address, Telephone number/s and e-mail address
Career objective: career objective should be mentioned briefly and lucidly

Academic qualifications: Starting from the most recent, work backwards. Mention course, college, university or board, subjects studied, year of passing and the GPA/percentage. Mention awards or ranks or any certificates of excellence.

Other qualifications: Other or extra qualifications like computer language skills, proficiency certificates or courses undergone can be mentioned.

Extracurricular activities: If good at any sport, games or if involved in debating, elocution or other activities, mention them. Care should be taken to mention only those activities that will enhance attractiveness to the company.

Hobbies: Hobbies which are intellectually stimulating can be mentioned like collecting profiles of famous CEOs. Watching football is hardly a stimulating hobby!

Project/summer Project/Internship: If a project has been done, mention it. Title of the project and the objectives of the study and the results can be given briefly. Most probably project is the only original work done in the entire academic life.

References: Give at least two references

At the bottom of the resume it is important that the candidate mentions the place, date and put his/her signature. Send out fresh printouts of the bio-data. If fresh printouts are not possible take GOOD photocopies.

There is nothing more annoying than badly photocopied bio-data smelling of cheap chemicals. Taking printouts on different colored papers or even on hand made paper could also be tried out. This would create an impression and the resume bio-data would immediately stand out.

The covering letter becomes very important. Covering letter should always original and should never be a photocopy. The covering letter should be written in simple English mentioning the advertisement and the post applied for and the code number of the post if given.

Also mention that the resume is attached. Close the covering letter with polite thanks. That's about it. Let us hope that you would use the above tips to cross the first barrier to enter a big corporation.