Right ways to write resume
Arvind Sharma

THE resume is visually enticing, a work of art. Simple clean structure. Very easy to read. Symmetrical. Balanced. Uncrowded. As much white space between sections of writing as possible; sections of writing that are no longer than six lines, and shorter if possible.

• Ensure there is uniformity and consistency in the use of italics, capital letters, bullets, boldface, and underlining. Absolute parallelism in design decisions. For example, if a period is at the end of one job’s dates, a period should be at the end of all jobs’ dates; if one degree is in boldface, all degrees should be in boldface.

As mentioned above, the resume’s first impression is most important. It should be exceptionally visually appealing, to be inviting to the reader. Remember to think of the resume as an advertisement.

• Make sure there are absolutely no errors. No typographical errors. No spelling errors. No grammar, syntax, or punctuation errors. No errors of fact.

• Include all the basic, expected information. A resume must have the following key information: your name, address, phone number, and your email address at the top of the first page, a listing of jobs held, in reverse chronological order, educational degrees, including the highest degree received, in reverse chronological order. Additional, targeted information will, of course, accompany this. Much of the information people commonly put on a resume can be omitted, but these basics are mandatory.

• Jobs listed include a title, the name of the firm, the city and state of the firm, and the years. Jobs earlier in a career can be summarised, or omitted if prior to the highest degree, and extra part-time jobs can be omitted. If no educational degrees have been completed, it is still expected to include some mention of education (professional study or training, partial study toward a degree etc.) acquired after high school.

• It is targeted. A resume should be targeted to your goal, to the ideal next step in your career. First you should get clear what your job goal is, what the ideal position or positions would be. Then you should figure out what key skills, areas of expertise or body of experience the employer will be looking for in the candidate. Gear the resume structure and content around this target, proving these key qualifications. If you have no clear goal, take the skills (or knowledge) you most enjoy or would like to use or develop in your next career step and build the resume around those.

• Highlight strengths,de-emphasise weaknesses . Focus on whatever is strongest and most impressive. Make careful and strategic choices as to how to organise, order, and convey your skills and background. Consider: whether to include the information at all, placement in overall structure of the resume, location on the page itself or within a section, ordering of information, more impressive ways of phrasing the information, use of design elements (such as boldface to highlight, italics to minimise, ample surrounding space to draw the eye to certain things).

• Give it focus. A resume needs an initial focus to help the reader understand immediately. Don’t make the reader go through the whole resume to figure out what your profession is and what you can do. Think of the resume as an essay with a title and a summative opening sentence. An initial focus may be as simple as the name of your profession ("Commercial Real Estate Agent", "Resume Writer") centred under the name and address; it may be in the form of an Objective; it may be in the form of a Summary Statement or, better, a Summary Statement beginning with a phrase identifying your profession.

• Use power words. For every skill, accomplishment, or job described, use the most active impressive verb you can think of (which is also accurate). Begin the sentence with this verb, except when you must vary the sentence structure to avoid repetitious writing.

• Show you are result-oriented. Wherever possible, prove that you have the desired qualifications through clear strong statement of accomplishments, rather than a statement of potentials, talents, or responsibilities. Indicate results of work done, and quantify these accomplishment whenever appropriate. For example: "Initiated and directed complete automation of the Personnel Department, resulting in time-cost saving of over 25 per cent." Additionally, preface skill and experience statements with the adjective "proven" and "demonstrated" to create this result-orientation.

• Make writing is concise and to the point. Keep sentences as short and direct as possible. Eliminate any extraneous information and any repetitions. Don’t use three examples when one will suffice. Say what you want to say in the most direct way possible, rather than trying to impress with bigger words or more complex sentences.

Vary long sentences (if these are really necessary) with short punchy sentences. Use phrases rather than full sentences when phrases are possible, and start sentences with verbs, eliminating pronouns ("I", "he" or "she"). Vary words: Don’t repeat a "power" verb or adjective in the same paragraph. Use commas to clarify meaning and make reading easier. Remain consistent in writing decisions such as use of abbreviations and capitalisations.

• Make it look great. Use a laser printer or an ink jet printer that produces high-quality results. A laser is best because the ink won’t run if it gets wet. It should look typeset. Do not compromise. If you do, your resume will look pathetic next to ones that have a perfect appearance. Use a standard conservative typeface (font) in 11 or 12 point. Don’t make them squint to read it. Use off-white, ivory or bright white 8`BDx11-inch paper, in the highest quality affordable. If you are applying for a senior-level position, use Crane’s 100 per cent rag paper and make sure the watermark is facing the right way. Use absolutely clean paper without smudges, without staples and with a generous border. Don’t have your resume look like you squeezed too much on the page.

• Shorter is usually better. Do what works. Sometimes it is appropriate to have a three pager. But unless your life has been filled with a wide assortment of extraordinary achievements, make it shorter. One page is best if you can cram it all into one page. Most of the candidates generally have a one-or two-page resume. It could be said that, the larger your accomplishments, the easier to communicate them in few words.

• Give a telephone number that will be answered. Be sure the phone number on the resume will, without exception, be answered by a person or an answering machine Monday through Friday 8-5 pm. You do not want to lose the prize interview merely because there was no answer to your phone, and the caller gave up. Include the area code of the telephone number. If you don’t have an answering machine, get one. Include e-mail and fax numbers, if you have them.