Resume:The First Step

The first step in the recruitment process requires sourcing prospective candidates’ profiles. This is done by advertising the vacant positions on various channels or media like Newspapers, Internet sites, Radio, Billboards and mobility services. Interested candidates respond to the advertisement by sending their applications along with their profile. These profiles are typically called Resume, Bio-data or Curriculum Vitae.

Technically speaking, each of the above three has different meanings. A Resume, which is of French origin, indicates a chronological listing of jobs whereas a Curriculum Vitae of Latin, focuses more on academic credentials and is more comprehensive. The term bio-data traces its origins to Industrial age when a definite format with a specific number of fields were used to capture a candidate’s details. Since the format was uniform for all candidates, it was easier to compare these skills and predict suitability for a position. However, nowadays these terms are used interchangeably and any profile uses a combination of the three definitions.

Resume-Purpose
People wrongly believe that the purpose of a resume is getting a job. Far from it! If a resume could get you a job, there would be no need of interviews, group discussions, presentations and so on. Again, if a resume cannot fetch a job, one would wonder about the necessity of a resume!! One could simply send names and phone numbers for registering for an interview or presentation. That would be ideal but pragmatic only for a small pool of applicants. In a country with a 61% employable workforce out of 1 billion people (the absolute number itself is a staggering 610 million and is expected to grow year on year).


As per a UN division report, the number of people in the workforce is expected to rise to 64% of the population.

Considering the huge populace, one can imagine the number of people applying for any job vacancy that is advertised. Of course this may not hold good for areas that are relatively niche but such requirements are also not common. Again, the number of applications received is higher at lower levels and decreases as we move up the hierarchy. However, that is a relative comparison and the absolute numbers are still high. A view of the recruiter’s desk or email inbox will better demonstrate this. So it is practically impossible/un-economical to meet every candidate. The better option then is to short-list relevant profiles for an interview.

An average recruiter does not spend more than a minute on any resume. The time spent is generally inversely proportional to the number of applications/resumes received. So it is essential to catch the recruiter’s attention at his first glance. The role of a resume is only to fetch an interview call. Since there could be numerous profiles with similar backgrounds, the resume which makes the best impression gets the call.

One For All?
Does a sales person use the same sales pitch with all his prospective customers? No way! He changes his pitch according to his prospect’s background and requirements. Similarly a job application tries to convince the prospective customer .i.e. the employer that you are the right product (candidate). Applying and interviewing is like a sales process. Hence it is essential to align one’s resume to match the advertised position. Aligning does not mean fudging. It rather means emphasizing skills which are more relevant for the advertised position. For example, teaching/research positions lean heavily on academic credentials, publications and research inclination. However, a business development job requires more of networking and communicating skills.

Switching careers may require an all-together different resume to show how the existing skills and experience can be useful in the new position.

Major Resume Gaffes

1. Several spelling errors
2. No details of experience (time duration, work profiles etc). Only company names mentioned
3. No paragraph alignment thus giving a very illegible look
4. Lots of blank spaces between paragraphs
5. Punctuation errors thus making the statement incomprehensible
6. No contact details

Essentials
It is widely believed, especially in India, that a resume has to be very long to make an impression. Lengthy resumes supposedly indicate “more” experience. So it is not uncommon to see people with 10 years experience carrying resumes that run up to 10 pages or more. Of course, sheer organization of the same text itself can reduce the size to at least 7 pages. So what is meant by a good resume? What do recruiters expect? Why some profiles get short-listed whereas others (similar background) do not? This article will give you a “scoop” of the secret behind this selection. Fatalists always resign to their fate and blame it on the L-factor. But some serious home work can beat the L-factor to a considerable extent.

1. Length of a Resume
Entry level to middle level candidates should NOT have resumes exceeding a page. You doubt that it will fit? It will. Yes it will-provided you use the space as efficiently as possible and make use of powerful compact words instead of long sentences. For example: Instead of writing “Extremely good performance” one may write “Stellar Performance”. Senior level applicants’ resumes may run up to a maximum of 2-3 pages. In case of project experience, the same should be appended as an annexure rather than including in the main body of the resume. In no case, however, should the resume run into dozens of pages.

2. Content at Top of Resume
Does one need to follow a standard format of mentioning Objective, Education, Employment, References and then perhaps the age-old style of ending the resume with a signature? When you approach the cute girl down the street, do you start of with your weaknesses and tell her that you are a short-tempered guy with no education and a worthwhile job? Not really! Rather you put your best foot forward and tell her about all the great qualities you have. You also tell her something that will impress her. The resume works in the same fashion. You write what is most important on the top and the inconvenient stuff goes to the bottom. So persons with an exemplary professional career but with poor academic credentials may like to de-emphasize on education and talk more about their professional achievements. If you are applying for a teaching job with an experience in Marketing, you try to align your wording to show how your experience would be useful in pedagogy.

This is particularly important because, the recruiter will read your entire profile only if he “feels” you are the right fit for his requirements. Else your resume goes straight into the bin or perhaps into a folder waiting to be picked up some other time (but in majority cases it is forgotten there)

3. Contact Details
Of what use is an aptly matching profile, if it does not carry valid contact details. There are candidates who provide email addresses but do not check their email accounts for months. Worst still, they provide mobile numbers and then change their numbers. It is always better to provide multiple contact information (like 2 mobile numbers, postal address and 2 email addresses).
What a goof-up it will be, if you realize that you were sent an interview intimation email which you checked 15 days after the interview.

4. Grammar
This is the saddest part of any profile-even senior executives overlook this aspect. No one expects Wren & Martin’s application of perfect grammar, but, adherence to a few important rules is quintessential. Improper or lack of punctuation can give a sentence an altogether different meaning. Usage of wrong verbs, tenses and adjectives not only spoils the impression but also makes reading difficult and boring. End Result: Resume is rejected halfway itself-sometimes the recruiter may miss out important parts of your career which may have been described in the latter parts of the profile. Moreover, improper usage can also be offensive.

5. Layout & Flow
Any presentation has a flow which grasps the audience’s attention and keeps it glued till the end. Similarly, a resume should take the reader through his background without abrupt changes. For example, beginning the resume with a synopsis or a summary is a good idea. So this way the reader has already a framed a picture about the candidate’s background. This picture gets clearer as he reads more about the employment history, education etc. If some list of hobbies crops up in between the summary and employment details, the flow is shattered.

6. Standard Abbreviations
People hardly realize that the reader is the one who is supposed to understand the matter mentioned in the resume. But majority of the candidates write from their own point of view thus assuming that the reader will understand any kind of abbreviations. Of course, generally accepted and standard abbreviations are fine but non-standard ones can lead to misunderstandings and possible rejections.

Standard Format
It is a myth that there is some “standard format” which is to be used to draft a profile. So we have job-seekers always chasing these “standard formats”. These formats are available at the neighborhood book-store or at the photocopy shop round the corner. Students obtain copies from their placement offices and others get their hands on it from the friendly placement agent.

In reality, there is nothing called a “standard format”. What we do have is a set of guidelines that may be followed while preparing a profile. These are industry accepted standards and hence may be considered sacrosanct. But otherwise one can always be creative to come up with a beautifully developed resume.
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