Putting the content together while writing your resume is an overwhelming task for many and I have noticed the anxiety is even more about how to start writing.
One of my friends dealing with a similar situation met me a few years ago and said that it is very important for him get his resume done and that he has been procrastinating on this one for some time now – he had no clue on how to get started! A brief conversation followed and then I pulled a few tissue-papers out and made a few quick mind maps to illustrate to him on how to get started. What came up was a simple and step by step method to overcome the inertia of getting started with writing your resume!
So, this one is for all the professionals who may be in a similar situation. I have reproduced those mind maps here for your reference with a few additional tips – here we go…
The headings and sub-headings from the mind map were listed down in a desired sequence as follows –
1] Resume Title – Full Name, Contact Details, Location
2] Objective – The statement giving the What (the targeted role/management level), Where (type of Company/Industry/Function), Why (couple of your key skills/competencies)
Example – Seeking a Mid Management role in a Delivery Function of Mid to Large size company in IT sector where extensive client handling and managing large team across technologies will be useful.
3] Summary – Brief of your Experience and Achievements
This space should be used to highlight the achievements and your experience that will be valuable for your targeted role.
For IT professionals – Technical Summary should be presented
4] Professional Experience – Name/s of Companies, Duration, Designation/s, Roles and Responsibilities in each role that you may have played in one organisation by virtue of promotions or job rotations.
For IT professionals or where ever work is executed in Project form – the Project Details are a must, which Includes – Project Description, Project Durations, Team Size, Roles and Responsibilities in each project, Technologies used in each project.
5] Educational/Academic Details – Level (10th, 12th, Diploma. Graduation, Post-Graduation, PhD), Years of Passing of each level, Details of School, Board, College, University, Grades/Percentages/Ranks/Marks, listing any Significant Training & Certifications (provide specific details)
6] Personal Details – Date of Birth/Age, Full Address, Nationality, Gender, Languages known etc. The personal details should be given as per the norms of given geographies and requirement of the job.
The following are some bonus tips to consider while you make your resume –
1] The resume should look consistent – Consistent in terms of Font Type, Font Size, Choice of Bold, Italics, Underline, Spacing between lines/paragraph, graphics etc.
2] Mind the spelling mistakes and grammar.
3] Resume should have necessary keywords – however do not write your resume to get all the key words in but write your resume to highlight your work as genuinely as possible – the key words will show up!
4] All the key words should be written in a universal format. Example – if you write JavaScript in your resume then write it as JavaScript and NOT Java Script OR JS OR J Script
5] Write your own resume – this is an opportunity to represent your personality, reflect on what you have achieved, gives clarity on the choice of career ahead and also prepares you for interviews.
6] Choose all the headings and sub heading appropriately. You may also add other heads or sub heads relevant to your industry, nature of work etc.
7] Last but not the least – Please make your resume to the point and as objective as possible – like giving dates, data and numbers where ever applicable.
Now you are ready to start writing your resume – pick up the headings and sub-headings listed above one by one and start filling in the content one at a time. Trick here is to start putting in contents for the headings where easy and objective data can be added like Name, Contact Number etc. Then move to the headings which require descriptive and subjective information.
Once all the content is filled then work on the consistency, spelling, grammar and overall presentation as suggested above.
Your resume is ready! Congratulations!