Posts Tagged ‘write a great resume’

Building A Great Fresher Sample Resume

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

A fresher sample resume is one for those who just passed college or finished a course. A recent college graduate may not have substantial working experience but his education will make up for what he lacks. The CV needs to be well presented and concise.

A newly grad Fresher Resume starts with contact details. State the full name then add the contact details below the applicants name. Email addresses, mobile and telephone numbers and home address are needed.

Once you have stated the contact info adding the career objective comes next. A career objective is what you want to attain in working for the organization. A typical fresh graduate aim would go this way: Seeking an entry-level position in finance utilizing my strong analytical and accounting skills complemented with my degree in Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

The educational attainment is an important part of a fresher sample resume. An entry level job for fresh graduates is often based on educational attainment. One should state the degree or course completed, the year finished, the name of school attended and the overall GPA.

Since work experience for new graduates is not that extensive yet, you can mention on-the-job trainings that you have undergone in the CV. It will also be good if you have done some volunteer work in the past particularly one that makes use of your course or degree. For instance, if you are a computer science graduate, you may have volunteered as a computer encoder or website designer for an organization. This volunteer job would tantamount as a work experience and look good in your CV.

Highlighting your activities, skills, awards and honors is an important part of the CV. The more special awards you can cite more impressive it looks. And lastly, a fresher sample resume should also include character references. This part states the name of people who can vouch for you.

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Format Of A Winning Resume

Monday, December 6th, 2010

A resume is a reflection of a person’s academic skills, career achievements, scholastic records and job experience. Most of the resumes are based on these factors or a combination of them. In addition to presenting all the details of your career and education, you also need to think of how better you can present your details. Highlighting your hobbies, future plans and current roles being performed too is preferred. You need to be creative in your presentation.

Resume Format

Resume writers that are available can draft a perfect resume with clear and concise details. If you prefer to prepare a resume on your own, then conducting a preliminary research regarding the format and wordings is essential. Never be in a hurry to prepare resume without enough details. Instead of updating your details more frequently than required, it is better to categorize your resume into different sections for a much easier manipulation.

Professional Experience

An ideal resume is something that consists of all your details in a preformatted order. The most important section is ‘Experience’. You will be able to impress recruiters only when you highlight it properly, It should consists of details like name of your organization, designation and the roles you perform. Similar should be the case with previous organizations as well, if any. The focus should be on clarity of details and arrangement.

Personal Information

Mentioning your personal information in a resume should be restricted to the core. For example, if you focus too much on providing details about your family members, background and hobbies, then that might divert recruiters in general. There are several samples available online that will let you know where to put tab and where to describe. It will be better if you could relate the details mentioned in this section with your career.

Achievements

Some employers would be interested in knowing more details about you. Apart from regular information about your scholastic performance and experience, they would be like to check whether you have achieved anything worth mentioning in the past or not. Clear and short sentences with attractive titles will work in such a situation. Ideal titles to be considered are ‘Best Performer of the Year’ or ‘Winner of Excellency Award’.

Interests

To lighten matters and to unveil a new facet of yours, this section contributes a lot. You can include details like your participation in sporting events, your hobbies, entertainment and your favorite personalities. Detailing your interests in a points-wise manner will help recruiters understand quickly about the information you provide. However, you should never get too involved as it disinterests the person reading. Starting with a small introductory paragraph will create a deep impact on the minds of recruiters.

Indentation

After you to through a couple of resumes, it appears to be confusing as every resume has got its own style of arrangement. The best way to get rid of such a peculiar situation is to form your own idea. Most of the aspirants disregard the aspect of indentation. However, if you indent the information you provide, drawing a border or setting the page will be easy. Remember to number pages and try to limit the number of pages to 4 or 5 but not more.

Punctuation

As you get deeply involved about formatting your resume and more providing details, it is common to forget simple yet vital aspects. The usage of punctuation marks should be according to your style of resume creation. In order to create more effect, try to use sentences that have few words but more meaning. Limit the use of bold words to titles and important sentences.

Cover Letter

If you feel that your resume will not serve the purpose as far as impressing a recruiter is considered, then draft a cover letter. It should be highlighted with your name and address in the beginning. Try to summarize your career and education in few meaningful sentences. In the end, you have to express your aim and goals using catchy phrases. Submitting a cover letter is optional though depending upon the nature of job.

Resume Summary

An online sample resume starts with a resume summary. It is not possible to provide summaries in reality, but you can be more creative online. Your resume summary gives a quick glimpse of your career to the recruiter. Hence, it is vital that you provide each and every word as attractive and expressive as possible. Try to reflect your basic profile along with the designation and the number of years of experience you have.

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Tips to Presenting Your Resume

Friday, May 14th, 2010

There are many factors involved in designing and presenting your resume, and it is easy to get caught up in the various styles and customizations when you decide to give it a facelift. Should I use a high quality paper? Should I mail a hard copy though I have already emailed it? Should I email it as inline text or as an attachment? Below are tips and answers for some of these common resume styling quandaries.

Font: The font you select can be a telltale sign of keeping up with the times. Times New Roman is the default for many word processors and will prove that your job-searching days and abilities are somewhat dated. It was once believed that this font was the easiest on the eyes, but there are many similar options that are much better. The spacing of Times New Roman styled words and letters can be quite awkward, and when copying into an email or PDF can prove catastrophic. Try using Georgia. It should be free on your computer, and is a little more rounded than Times New Roman, for easier reading and more compatible spacing. If you have the cash to spare, consider browsing online professional fonts for one that might be more suited to you and your potential position.

Paper: Many people want to showcase their uniqueness by purchasing fancy stationary paper. This is a waste of time and money, and generally has the opposite effect. Fancy stationary is a thing of the past; you know it, I know it, and your potential employer knows it. In order to keep up with the times, you should use a good quality, smooth, plain style of paper. It should be heavier than standard copy paper, but not a lightweight cardboard. Printing shops and office supply stores generally have paper labeled as “resume paper.” There are many different weights out there, so try to avoid things too heavy such as cardstock, but the lightest copy paper options are not a good idea either.

Colors: Do not use colors. Do not use colored paper, fonts, stickers, or stamps on your resume. It is not cute and clever, it is not unique and memorable; it is somewhat childish and unprofessional. Stick with black. If you have a website, or a logo with colors that you plan to include, that is acceptable, but do not add any more colors of your own. If you absolutely must make something stand out, use varying shades of gray or navy.

Emailing: Many people are making the switch over to Mac computers, but others are still using and buying PC’s. This makes it even more difficult to email a properly formatted copy of your resume to an employer. If you do not know what kind of technology they are running with, there are still a few ways to ensure that they are able to see your resume in a format that makes sense. If you are able to save your resume in different formats, do so, and send them all. PDF’s are the most desirable, but some people are still functioning without Adobe or other readers. You should be able to save your copy as a .doc file, which is compatible with both Macs and PC’s (except for extremely old ones). However, the default for a Mac file is .docx, which is not always compatible with PC’s. Try downloading and using Open Office. Their files are compatible with both types of computers, and the programs are currently free. The third step is to include a simply-formatted version of your resume in the body of the email. Be sure to include a byline about the different versions of your resume.

Hard Copy: Many people prefer to know that their resume has made it into the safe hands of a potential hirer. For this reason, they will snail mail hard copies, or drop them off at the office even though they have already sent them in email form. The protocol for this is a bit tricky. Depending on the organization, sending or bringing a hard copy of your resume before being offered an interview can just add complications to the hiring process, and the last thing you want to do is become a nuisance before even landing an interview. Gauge your employer before doing anything over the top. If they seem to be slow on the Internet front, or a little more traditional than most, feel free to send or drop off a hard copy of your resume. If they are completely online and organized, the paper copy of your resume will probably end up in the trash. Always bring a hard copy of your resume to an interview.

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The Do’s and Don’ts of Resume Writing

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Developing your resume is a tedious part of the job search and is also one of the most important steps of the process.  Below is a list of do’s and don’ts to help you along the way.  Stick close to these guidelines and you can start searching for the job of your dreams.

  • DO use bullets to establish your points and organize your experiences. This makes it a thousand times easier for employers to glance over your skills, experiences, and qualifications.
  • DON’T list everything with bullet points. You want the important information to stick out, not blend in with the rest of the details. Use bullets, but use them sparingly.
  • DO save your file as your name and resume if you are sending it via email. This will make it much easier to access, and avoid confusion when interview time comes around.
  • DON’T use whatever generic or default name is provided, and avoid using dates or version numbers. Employers do not need to know how many different versions of your resume you have, or how often you update it.
  • DO include all available contact information such as phone number, email address, and even home address to ensure that you can be found if they want to check references or set up an interview.
  • DON’T include personal email addresses that are not professional, such as “luvskittens@hotmail” or “dottiethehottie@yahoo.” If it is the only email address you have, you should definitely open a new account.
  • DO use high quality paper of a relatively neutral color. Something more substantial will stand out in a stack of resumes.
  • DON’T use bright colors, scented paper or pens, or standard white copy paper (if you can avoid it). These “artistic” additions are distracting and unprofessional.
  • DO use font enhancements such as bold, italics, and underline. This will make your resume look more interesting, and help the important parts stand out.
  • DON’T go overboard with these enhancements. Much like the bullet points, you should use them to drive a point home, but use them sparingly. Additionally, do not change your font style throughout the paper, and never use varying colors.
  • DO highlight your achievements and accomplishments. Show how far you advanced in various positions, and what you did.
  • DON’T focus too much on the duties you performed. Highlighting individual tasks is a waste of time since employers rarely have time to read through them. It just takes away from the more important points.
  • DO use fragmented sentences. You may not realize this, but fragments actually help to enhance a point. When employers are scanning a resume, they rarely spend more than a minute or two on it, so shorter sentences and phrases are helpful.
  • DON’T use personal pronouns. Omitting “I” and “my” will add to the fragmented sentences, but will also make your resume easier to read. Your resume is obviously about you; so don’t bother with first person pronouns.
  • DO make your resume job specific. Include information that is relevant to the job for which you are applying, and make it show that you are the missing puzzle piece to their organization.
  • DON’T submit the same generic resume to many different job openings. Though you may be applying for similar jobs, do not use the same exact resume. When employers read it they will know it is generic, and that can greatly affect your chances.

The most important thing to remember is to remain honest. It is okay to be a little bit more confident in your skills than you normally are, but only include honest information. Good luck!

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