Welcome to the layman's guide to building a resume where you will know everything that you are supposed to do and not to do in some cases. We all know that making a resume can be extremely nerve-racking for some as we never know what all is to be included. But it can be extremely fun if you get into it and know what you are supposed to do.
But first, let’s understand some facts on resume building.
1. Know your resume.
A resume, unlike a curriculum vitae or a CV, is supposed to be a brief summary of your skills and experience and you should understand that your application is going to be one of the many resumes going before the HR. Thus, it is advisable to keep your resume short and simple and to contain it to a single page preferably.
2. No one resume to rule all.
While this may be tiring and bothersome, you cannot make a universal resume and submit it everywhere. A resume has to be specific and must contain the details that are relevant to the job or internship you are applying for. This implies that you are expected to research on the organization you are interested in and understand what they are looking for and then include the skills and achievements that you believe to be relevant.
3. Your resume is a marketing tool.
You should understand that and understand it well that your resume is like a 30-second ad on YouTube to an HR who will skip it without any second thought if it doesn't grab his or her attention. But that doesn’t give you the liberty to build an excessively stylish resume unless you happen to be applying for acting roles or anything of creative nature.
To summarize, you are expected to include your academic credentials and other relevant achievements which we discussed in the previous point in a crisp and attracting manner.
4. Honesty is the best policy.
Lying may have helped you a lot previously but it will not help you in this case and the reason for that is interviewers are trained to detect lies and they can smell them coming from a mile away. They may not comment on it and if you are doing it continuously, it reflects poorly on your character.
Now, let’s move on to the process and format of building a resume.
1. Stick to the format
You should always use a logical format and wide margins and use bold and italics on titles to guide a reader’s eye and bullets to call attention to important accomplishments.
Now, considering the fact that most of us are college students with less to no work experience, we should stick to a functional format which would go like this.
i. Name, relevant details and contact details
This is the simplest and the most important section where you put your Name along with your immediate field of study. Contact details including your email id, phone number and a simple address, is a must.
ii. Career Objective
A career objective is an important part of resume and for college students, it should showcase their character, ambitions and skills.This is the section which is supposed to grab the attention of the recruiter(s) and which has the ability to set your resume apart your resumes from others. You can use it to put your ambition and skills on the table that you believe will be relevant.
iii. List your educational qualifications & accomplishments
A professional resume doesn’t usually have educational qualification as the foremost detail but considering the fact that most of us don’t have any job experience to show. It is imperative that we show our educational qualifications and accomplishments that would be most relevant to the position you are applying for. Accomplishments can include research projects and events that you may have worked on. Also, it would be better if you could focus on what you did in a project rather than stating the titles.
iv. The resume is you.
Finally, you should try to keep in mind whether your resume truly represents who you are and what you stand for. It represents you and should show you in the most positive way possible.
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In case you still have doubts, here is a reference resume that you may want to look at:
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