13 ER Résumé Writing Notes

1 | P a g e Résumé Writing Notes: Compiled by Evangeline Rajasekar, SAS, VIT Chennai for ENG601/ENG102 ET Courses

Résumé Writing Notes

What?

• It is a brief history of accomplishments that one prepares for his/her potential employers.

• A résumé packages your assets into a convincing advertisement that sells you for a specific job.

• When opportunity knocks, your résumé can open the door. Why?

• To get you a job interview

Employer needs Job Description • Communication • Competency • Attitude • Personality fitment • Team player • Cost fitment

Employee needs Résumé • Pay Package • Brand • Employee-friendly policy • Designation • •

Know yourself

Can you list a few words that will describe your…

• Strengths/weaknesses • Knowledge/Abilities/Skills • What is unique about you unique selling proposition (USP)?

Know your market

Do you know the…

• Total number of engineering colleges in India? ________ • Total number of graduates passing out every year? _________ • Employability rate? ________ • Reasons why people are not able to get jobs?

Can you list…

• Ten companies that you wish to apply to & rate them? • Ten words that these companies have used to describe a potential applicant (Job

description)? • Eg. Outstanding Technical competence, Excellent Communication skill


Names of companies

Rate them in the order of your preference

Words/phrases from company’s Core values/Vision statement

Words/Phrases that these companies have used to describe a potential applicant


Components of a Résumé

Heading

• Full Name • Complete Address Present & permanent • Contact Number • Email id • Centered • Name in Bold a little bigger font

Career Objective

• Specific • One-sentence focused statement • Career-goals vs. targeted position • Use the words you have used to describe yourself & the company has used to describe a

potential applicant • Read a few career objectives. Write a few. Use the one you think will best fit the context.

• How can the employer contact the candidate? Heading

• What are his/her career objective(s)? Career Objective

• What are his/her academic background/ Educational Qualification? Educational

Qualification

• What are his/her work experience(s)? Work Experience

• What are his/her distinctive academic/Job achievements? Distinctive

Achievements

• What are his/her Areas of Interest/Specialisation ? Areas of

Interest/Specialisation

• What training has he/she undergone? Is there any research output? Training, Development &

Research

• What are his/her special interests/hobbies? Extra Curricular

Activities/hobbies

• What are his/her soft skills Soft Skills

• Who are his/her references References


Educational Qualification

Programme Institution Percentage/GPA Year of Completion

B Tech in <department>

Higher Secondary School

High School

No abbreviation/ acronyms

Work Experience:

Job Title/Designation

Where?

How Long?

BriefJob Description

Distinctive Achievements

• Scholastic Achievements (awards/honours) • Scholarships • Fellowships • Special Awards (attendance/punctuality etc) • Top grades or Distinctions • Commendations • Certificates

Areas of Interest/Specialisation (Specialised Knowledge/skills/abilities)

• Relevant course(s) with grades • Relevant lab(s) with grades • Technical Skills • Relevant Software Packages • Languages you speak fluently • Mention specific details like dates/duration and grades, if any etc

Training, Development & Research

• Projects/internships/in-plant training • Seminars/workshops • Paper presentation/publication • Mention specific details like dates/duration and briefly talk about your contribution

Extra-Curricular Activities /Hobbies

• Extra-curricular activities • Sports • Music


• Hobbies • Interests • Give specific details. No vague claims. • Web presence (blogs/LinkedIn) Create blogs of all your projects/extra-curricular activities etc • Caution: Online reputation

Soft skills

• Pick any three relevant soft skills that you possess and state briefly that you possess them. Don’t list skills. Describe them instead.

Eg. • Work carefully with attention to detail • Work well under pressure • Can handle more than one task at a time and set priorities

References

• Any positive professional associate who will speak well of you with a smile! • Someone from your area of specialization who knows you well and can speak about your

acumen. • Dean/Programme Chair/Project Guide /Research Guide/ Teacher/ Anyone you Reported to

during Internships/In-plant Training • Name • Designation • Contact address • Official Telephone number • Email id

Features of an effective Résumé

• Time + Effort = Effective Résumé • Read a few Résumés in your discipline. Gather relevant details like vocabulary, style etc. • Custom-made– not mass-produced/ out-sourced/ the Cut/Copy + Paste ones • Can take help from Résumé software/Templates - adapt • Flawless – 0% tolerance to errors • Format (Spacing, margins, alignment etc) • Content (Correct grammar, vocabulary, usage, spelling, punctuation)

Features of an effective Résumé – Content

• Clarity • Conciseness 1 -2 pages • Tone – formal/serious • Dynamic – action verbs** – Make your résumé speak for you! • Objective - avoid the pronoun ‘I’ • Factual • Appropriate writing style


• Specific details

Features of an effective Résumé – Format

• Professional look – Font face (Times New Roman, Verdana, Arial, Calibri) – Font size 12 – Consistent use of Bold, italics, underline – Avoid ALL CAPS as much as possible

– Use Show/hide Formatting symbols and format neatly • Well – structured • Quality Print & Photocopy • No folds/smudges

Some things you should do…

Read about 10-15 résumés in your field.

Read 10 – 15 career objectives in your field.

Learn the words, phrases, verbs, adjectives, tone, style, format etc used in your field

Browse through the careers pages of companies you can apply to.

Learn about the company, their vision, goals etc.

Spend 5 to ten hours working on your résumé.

Show it to at least 5 people and ask for critical comments.

Finally, an Effective Résumé…

• Convinces a potential employer of right fitment • Reveals personality traits that align with organisational core values • Shows the benefits you will bring to the employer So…

o Know about yourself o Know about the company you wish to apply to o Know why you want to work there

Appendix

**A list of soft skills & general skills that could be added in your résumé if appropriate: • Fluency and Proficiency in second, third, or fourth languages. • Positive work ethic. • Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs *[If Engineer: Include all technical programs] • Good attitude. • Desire to learn and be trained. • Excellent communication skills: Ability to relate to coworkers in a close environment • Courtesy and Honesty. • Excellent written communication • Reliability. • Flexibility.


• Team skills/ team oriented/team player. • Flexibility/Adaptability. • Self-directed. • Dependability. • Self-supervising and organized. • Punctual. • Personal integrity. • Positive work ethic. • Interpersonal skills. • Motivational skills. • Willingness to learn. • Dedication: Staying on the job until it is finished. • Ability to listen. • Commitment to continued training and learning. • Willingness to take instruction and responsibility. • Communication skills with public, fellow employees, supervisors, and customers.

**Some Suggestions for action verbs that could be used in your résumé if appropriate: 1. acted 2. analyzed 3. assembled 4. assessed 5. briefed 6. calculated 7. coached 8. compared 9. compiled 10. composed 11. computed 12. coordinated 13. created 14. demonstrated 15. designed 16. developed 17. diagnosed

18. directed 19. edited 20. established 21. evaluated 22. executed 23. found 24. implemented 25. instructed 26. invented 27. investigated 28. led 29. maintained 30. managed 31. negotiated 32. operated 33. organized 34. performed

35. planned 36. prepared 37. produced 38. promoted 39. reported 40. researched 41. restored 42. reviewed 43. searched 44. surveyed 45. synthesized 46. taught 47. tested 48. worked 49. wrote


Notes:

13 ER Résumé Writing Notes

Documents

Transcript of 13 ER Résumé Writing Notes