How to Write a Resume | How to Make a Resume | रिज्यूम कैसे बनाते है?

How to write resume

A resume is a document commonly used in the hiring process. It includes information about your background and qualifications and should communicate the most important, relevant information about you to employers in a clear, easy-to-read format. The goal is to quickly communicate why you are uniquely qualified for the position based on your skills and experiences.

To create a resume that will get noticed by employers, you can follow a few simple steps and best practices. The main goal to keep in mind is to make your resume relevant and readable.

Let’s take a closer look at the best ways to write each of these resume sections. For more inspiration when writing or updating your resume, look at resume samples from your industry and job title.

Write the Perfect Resume in No Time

Let’s face it: writing a resume can be intimidating. And the pressure to make it really sing can make the prospect of putting fingers to keyboard that much scarier. But writing the perfect resume doesn’t have to be terrifying. In fact, it can be easy — if you know what you’re doing.
That’s what this guide is for. We’ll take you through all the essential steps of crafting this career document, from how to structure its many sections to how to make sure a spelling error doesn’t sneak in. We promise that when you’re done, you’ll want to show it off to the world.

What Is a Resume?

First things first: let's define a resume. A resume is a summary of your work history, skills, and education. In this respect, a resume is different than a curriculum vitae — more commonly called a CV. A CV is a complete look at your career, covering every aspect of your education, work and experience without the restriction of length. But a resume is a summary of those experiences and skills, and typically covers only 10 years’ worth of employment. Unlike a CV, a resume should be tweaked and edited for each specific job for which you apply, and it should be just one or two pages long.

A resume is the most requested document in any job search — followed by the cover letter, of course. In fact, recruiters scrutinize job candidates' resumes more closely than their cover letters. So let's move on to how to structure it right.

 

 

 Common Types of Resumes

Most professional resume writers will tell you that there are three main types of resumes: chronological, functional and combination.

Chronological Resume: A chronological resume is the format that you’re probably the most familiar with — this is the type of resume that focuses on your recent work history above all. List your positions in reverse chronological order, with the most recent positions at the top and the oldest ones at the bottom. Ultimately, the goal is to show how your positions leading up to this point have perfectly prepared you for the role you’re applying to.

Functional Resume: A functional resume, on the other hand, emphasizes the relevance of your experience. To create a functional resume, you’ll prominently feature your professional summary, your skills and a work experience section organized by how closely the positions relate to the one you’re applying to. This format is best for those who want to minimize resume gaps, or are transitioning into a new industry.

Combination Resume: As you might be able to guess, a combination resume borrows from both of the aforementioned formats. You’ll combine the professional summary and skills section of a functional resume with the work experience section of a chronological resume. This format is a powerful way to stand out to recruiters by emphasizing both your experience and skills, and is useful for many different types of job seekers.

 

How to create a professional resume

Follow these steps when drafting a resume for your next job application:

1. Start by choosing the right resume format

A “format” is the style and order in which you display information on your resume. There are three commonly-used resume formats you can choose from depending on which is right for you: Chronological (or reverse-chronological), functional or a combination.

2. Include your name and contact information

Your resume should begin with your name and contact information including your email address, phone number. You have a choice about whether or not to include your mailing address. Your name should be highly visible at the top of your resume with a bolded or larger font than the rest of the document, but no more than a 14 point size. You might also include a link to your online portfolio if you are applying to creative positions, for example.

3. Add a resume summary or objective

After your contact information, you have the option to include either a resume summary or objective statement. An objective statement quickly explains your career goals and is a good choice for those with limited professional experience, such as recent college or high school graduates. A resume summary is a short statement that uses active language to describe your relevant work experience and skills.

4. List your soft and hard skills

Take a moment to consider which skills make you a great fit for the job. Review the job description and highlight keywords that you have had proven success with in the past. Consider both hard (technical) and soft (interpersonal) skills, as well as transferable skills you can use when changing careers or industries. Create a skills section with the keywords that are relevant to the employer. List any required skills like certifications or licenses first.

5. List your professional history with keywords

Write your professional history section in reverse-chronological order. Start with your most recent job and provide a short description including the company name, time period in which you were employed, your job title and a few key achievements during your time at the company. You might also include relevant learnings or growth opportunities you experienced while employed there.

When listing your professional history, you should keep a few best practices in mind:

•        Use numbers to measure your impact, when possible. Including specific numerical achievements can help employers understand your direct potential value to their company. 

Example: “Developed new process for requesting supplies, reducing fulfillment time by 10%.”

•        Use keywords from the job description. Similar to your skills section, you should also include information from the job description in your job history bullets. For example, if the job description mentions the importance of meeting sales quotas, you could include information about how you’ve met or exceeded quotas in past roles. 

Example: “Achieved goal of reaching 250% annual sales quota, winning sales MVP two quarters in a row.”

•        Be brief. Employers have mere seconds to review your resume, so you should keep your descriptions as concise and relevant as possible. Try removing filler words like “and,” and “the.” You should also only list key achievements instead of multiple lines describing your role.

•        Use action verbs. Make a stronger impact by using action verbs to describe your professional achievements. Some examples include “developed,” “saved,” “drove” and “managed.”

Follow the same process for other work experiences. If you do not have extensive professional history, you should also include internships and volunteer opportunities following the same format.

6. Include an education section

An education section will be especially valuable if you have limited work experience (such as recent college or high school graduates) or if you are transferring to a new industry. You can include information such as:

•        Relevant coursework

•        Grade point average (if above 3.5)

•        Participation in clubs or organizations

•        Leadership positions held

•        Awards, achievements or certifications

When writing your education section, you should include the name of the institution, dates of attendance and your degree or area of study. If you are applying to mid or higher-level positions, you might remove all but the name of your school and dates of attendance to make room for more relevant professional experience on your resume.

If you have certifications or licenses that are relevant to the job description, you can include them in this section as well. To save space, you can leave off any credentials that are not directly related to the requirements of this job.

7. Consider adding optional sections

If you have significant white space on your resume, consider adding an achievements or interests section. This can help supplement a shorter resume, especially for those with limited work and educational experience. Makes sure that the achievements and interests you list support your career goals and are relevant to potential employers.

8. Format your resume

While the layout of your resume is important, you should also take time to pay attention to formatting details like font style, font size, margins and spacing. Formatting your resume can make it look clean, professional and improve readability. This is key when attempting to keep an employer’s attention. Here are a few key tips that can help make your resume look polished:

•        Make your font between 10 and 12 point size.

•        Select a font that is clean and easy to read like Arial or Helvetica; avoid stylized fonts.

•        Make sure your margins are 1 to 1.5 inches.

•        Make your name and section headers bold or slightly bigger in font size (no more than 14 points).

•        Use bullet points when listing several different pieces of information, like under your education and professional history sections.

9. Design & Formatting Tips

The subject matter of your resume is ultimately what recruiters care about most. However, that doesn’t mean you should slack off when it comes to design and formatting. A cluttered, visually confusing resume makes it more difficult to read, and therefore more likely that recruiters and hiring managers will cast it aside. On the other hand, a sleek, polished resume will have the opposite effect. Use these rules of thumb to ensure that your resume looks its best.

•        Use an easy-to-read font of no less than 11 pt.

•        Add margins of at least .7 inches.

•        Make sure there’s sufficient white space between sections.

•        Don’t go overboard with intricate design or decoration — touches of color are fine, but avoid any clashing or visually busy details.

•        If you’re going to print out copies of your resume, invest in good paper and use a high-quality printer.

•        Don’t save your resume as a PDF unless the application specifically says it accepts PDF files. Some applicant tracking systems scan PDFs as if they were one big image, which fails to capture your information.

•        Keep your resume to 1-2 pages max, unless you’re in a field like academia or medicine and must cite papers and publications.

 

10. Proofread your resume

Carefully review your resume for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. Reading your resume backward can help you identify errors by presenting the words in a new order. You should also ask trusted friends, colleagues, professors and family members if they can review your resume. Third-party opinions can help reveal new information you might have overlooked.

If your resume is more than one page, review for ways to consolidate or shorten each section by removing filler words or extraneous information. Two pages may be acceptable if you are applying for high-level positions or industries like healthcare or academia.

11. Tailor your resume for each position

It’s important to revise your resume to tailor it to each position you apply for. For each job, adjust the keywords in the skills section so that it’s a great fit for what the employer needs. You should also change what you emphasize in the professional history and educational experiences sections depending on what’s listed in the job description.

Resume format

 

How to Edit Your Resume

 

You've written your resume, and read it twice, but that's not enough. A good editing job will take a little longer — and some specific tactics meant to catch resume errors.

First, don't attempt to edit your resume until it's done. Yes, it can be difficult to leave a glaring error while you move on to write your skills section, but force yourself to finish your resume before you edit it. Why? You'll save yourself time, and letting go of errors now could help you write a better first draft because you're focusing on the writing itself. You'll be glad you decided to go back and make all the edits at once.

Next, never try to edit your resume right after you've written it. In fact, you should give yourself a 24-hour break before editing your resume. With time away, you'll see your resume with fresh eyes and for what it really is—not what you meant it to be.

When you give your resume a read, try reading your resume backward. It sounds odd — and it's not always easy — but reading backward forces you to focus on each word, and helps you better catch both spelling and grammatical errors in the text.

Ask a friend or family member to read your resume, too. They may spot errors that you missed, or have suggestions for how to show yourself in an even better light.

Then, fact-check your resume. Check the spelling of proper nouns — think: company names, addresses, etc. — and make sure you have the current contact information for any references you've chosen to add. These things might have changed since you last applied for a job.

And lastly, be sure to look for common resume pitfalls before you press send.