Alright. So I am going to be honest with you.
I have never really liked writing a resume
because I have to worry about font, grammar, structure
and in the end it all comes down to listing down my achievements
and it hurts to find out that I don't have many.
But achievements or no achievements, we need a job, right?!
Because apart from the money it gets you,
having a job in the early stages of your career makes you
a professional,
it makes you disciplined.
And both of these combined, will get you closer
to Wealth, Health and even Love!
And the first step to all of this is to write a resume.
I know writing a resume sounds complicated
but that's what I am here for.
So it doesn't matter if you are a fresher or an experienced professional
or a home-maker trying to find a part-time job.
Today, by the end of this video, you will be surprised to see how easy it is
to write a resume that will get you an interview call.
So in today's video we are going to learn..
What is it that Interviewers look for in a resume?
Second, we are going to learn how to structure a resume.
Third, I will type a resume infront of you so that you know exactly what to put in which section.
But the most important point...
in the end, I will give you a bonus tip that will take your resume to the next level!
Before we begin, let me clarify that you are free
to tweak your resume the way you want.
Because there is no certified way to writing a resume.
The only thing that's certified is this..
that you and I will learn something new and useful every week.
So if you want to learn things that haven't been taught in school
then make sure you subscribe to this channel and hit that bell icon!
Let's begin!
So what is it that Interviewers 'Look For' in a resume?
It is less about what is it that they 'look' for
and more about what is it that Interviewers 'see'.
For example, suppose this is the job that we are applying for,
for the role of a Blockchain Developer.
Even though I took an example of an I.T job, you can use the same principles
for Banking, Education, Hotel Management, Sales or any other job that you like.
Now the problem is, no matter what job you are applying for
there will be 100's, if not 1000's of people applying for the same job!
With these many profiles, the Interviewers will hardly spend around
6 seconds to look at your resume.
It's like being on Tinder.
If your profile is not appealing at the first glance
then you will be left-swiped right away
because there are a lot of other profiles waiting to be reviewed
which is why your resume should not be like a long boring list!
It should be like an advertisement...
Short. To the Point and Crisp!
And that brings us to the resume structure!
To help you understand the resume structure better, I am going to write it with you..
Let's use Google Docs because it's free.
Just so that we are clear, this video is not sponsored by Google Docs!
You can use Microsoft Word or any other resume builder that you like.
I have left the link of Google Docs in the description!
Go to that link, click on this button
and select the template that says 'Resume'.
As you can see, the structure is already built.
Now let's understand what to fill in these sections.
We are first going to build an experienced person's profile
and then make a few changes to this profile
so that it becomes a Fresher profile.
Let's assume that we are going to apply for this role of a Blockchain Developer.
Interestingly, even Sugandh has worked on Blockchain.
So I am going to start by creating his profile.
Even though I am taking an I.T job example,
you can use the same guidelines for any job in any field.
The first thing you need to write is your Name.
Since I am building Sugandh's profile, I am going to write his name.
After Name, is the Professional Title.
This is where you use words or phrases that define you professionally
like Problem Solver, Innovator, Mentor, Quick Leaner, FireFighter
which basically means that you are quick at solving problems!
So here I am going to write Innovator, Mentor and Firefighter.
I am writing Innovator because later I am going to mention a few Patents that he has.
So make sure that you support whatever you write in your Professional Title throughout our resume.
Next is Contact Information
and these are the things that you can mention.
First is Email ID.
All of us have had weird college IDs
but please do not write 'aawaraashiq@gmail.com'.
It looks extremely unprofessional.
Create a new ID that has your name and mention that,
write your phone number
and next, mention any social media profiles that are relevant to the position you are applying to
like your LinkedIn profile.
Or if you are applying for a Digital Marketing role
then may be you can even mention your
Twitter or Instagram handles.
Since this is for an I.T job, I am going to mention his LinkedIn profile here
and a SkypeID, just in case someone from
overseas wants to conduct an interview over Skype.
And that is most of what you need to mention in your contact information.
Things that you don't need to mention are..
your marital status, religious affiliation, DOB
or even your photo because all of this is
unnecessary information taking up unnecessary space.
Next comes Experience.
Here you will mention your current job first and then go back
and mention your old jobs in a reverse chronological order.
So mention the name of the company, your job role
and right beneath it, mention the time-period you've held that role for.
Sugandh has worked for 3 companies in the past
so I'll make 3 different sections.
Suppose you were in the same company but have had different roles
then you can have a separate section for each role.
Now that you have this template, under each section
write down your responsibilities and key deliverables in a bullet point format.
Remember this section is an opportunity to showcase
how your experience is aligned to the position that you are applying for.
Since we are applying for the role of a Blockchain Developer,
it makes sense to mention that he has led a Blockchain Research Group at his current company.
Remember to sprinkle the keywords mentioned in the job description
throughout your experience section
because that way the hiring manager will know that you have the experience that the team needs.
And second point, always try to be specific about your achievements.
Suppose you are applying for a Social Media role,
then don't just mention, 'Managed a Facebook Page',
instead you can write, 'Revamped a business page on Facebook that has led to over 70K followers..
(up by 40% in 2 months) and has led to a 4% increase on revenue.'
See the difference?
Because you have added a number to your accomplishment
it gives the Hiring Manager confidence in your abilities.
So try to add a number and quantify
as many bullet points as possible.
Next is Education.
Incase you have been working for quite sometime
then it's best to keep your education section short and sweet.
Suppose you have been working for 6 years or more
then it doesn't make sense to mention your 10th and 12th percentage.
Just mention the details of your last degree.
So he did his Bachelors from IIIT-H. So I'll mention that.
Beneath it, I'll mention the time period
and write after that in 3-4 bullet points, I'll mention the highlights
which is CGPA, any relevant Course Work or Honors and that's it!
If you are a student, you'll obviously add a lot more in the education section.
We'll come to that in a minute.
Next come Skills.
Typically for a Software Job, you can mention the Languages and Technologies that you know
and rate them according to how well you know them.
But make sure that you include the skills that have been mentioned in the job description.
So out of all the skills mentioned here, he knows
Java, JavaScript, Blockchain, SQL
so I've mentioned them here along with a couple of other technologies.
If you are not from the Software field, then you can mention your
Communication Skills, Critical Thinking Skills, Leadership Skills,
Social Media Skills, Project Management Skills;
basically do not forget to mention the skills that have been included in the job description.
Next is Additional Section.
This is the best time to brag about any
awards, certifications, publications, patents,
volunteer work done, languages that you know, extra-curricular activities,
conferences/courses attended or any other hobbies that you have
that are relevant to the position that you are applying to.
Just pick the best 2 sections and mention them.
So here I'll only mention 2 sections.
The awards he has received and the fact that he has 3 patents under his name.
Now before you hit export and send that resume to a Hiring Manager
there are a few important points to remember
but before that, let's first see how we can modify this profile
so that it becomes a Fresher's Profile.
Incase you are a fresher
or are applying for an entry-level job
then the resume pretty much remains the same
except for 3 changes.
#1: Education
If you are a fresher, mention your Education before your Experience.
List down your Institution Name, Degree and Time Period in reverse chronological order upto your 10th standard
and don't forget to have a separate column for your percentage or your CGPA.
Next is Experience.
I know, if you are a fresher, there isn't much
that you can write under the Experience section
but here are few things that you can mention.
If you are an Engineer then you would've done some Mini Projects in ever semester.
This is the perfect place to mention all of that.
Write the name of the project and in 1-2 lines
describe what is that project about.
Mention any internships you've done,
mention any paper you have worked on, with your faculty.
Even if you used to take tuitions for kids or
worked at McDonalds part-time to pay your college fees, mention that
because it tells the Hiring Manager that you are committed
and have developed a sense of professionalism early in your life.
The third and the final change is this.
Incase you are a student, there are a lot of things
that you can mention under the Additional Section,
the best being your competitive exam score (be it IIT-JEE, Eamcet or even your CAT rank).
Incase you have not given any of these then no problem.
Then you can mention the college fest that you had participated in,
hackathons, coding contests, paper presentation contests,
you can even write about the initiatives you took while you were at college like
taking care of your college website, newsletter or even maintaining your own blog.
So those were the 3 key differences between
a Freshers profile and an Experienced person's profile.
But before you hit export, here are 3 important points to remember..
#1: Keep your resume to 1-page, maximum.
If you have information that is relevant to the position that you are applying to
then go ahead and add an extra page.
But if you are adding fluff just for the sake of adding pages
then your resume will suffer.
#2: Always proof-read and double check your resume
because nothing hurts a resume more than a grammatical error.
But the third and the most important point,
never ever lie in your resume.
If you don't have the skills, you might not get this job
but if you lie then you might not be called for any future jobs the company might have.
Sometimes, it's okay to not have the skills
because most companies will be ready to train you
but honesty is a skill that no company compromises on.
So that's how you write a resume.
If you want me to make a separate video about
'How to crack a job interview?' or
'How to get a promotion?'
then comment and let me know.
Before I tell you what is the bonus tip,
if you know someone who is struggling with writing a resume
then take a moment and 'Share' this video with them
and hit that big fat 'Like' Button if you want me to make more career videos.
And finally, here is the bonus tip!
Always maintain a Live Career Document.
Whenever you work on something, like..
take part in a fest, organise a hackathon or build a tool for your team;
maintain a document and write it down.
Most of the times we don't know what to write in our resume
because we forget what we've done.
But if you get into the habit of noting everything down
then not only will it build your resume
but it will also give you a list of things to talk about
in your appraisal for your next promotion.
On that thought, I promise to see you again next week.
Until then...
Keep fighting
The Urban Fight
to be Fit!