By: Medha Bakhshi
Etymology
Latin Resumere
(to take back)
French résumé
(to summarise)
English résumé
(appropriated from French)
Conflicting, Confusing Terms
Résumé
 Generally used in USA
 Gives select information
according to the job profile
being applied to
 Apt for commercial positions,
directors, media, audiovisual, creative
CV: Curriculum Vitae
 More popular in Asia, Europe,
Africa
 Is a summation of all
academic, extra-curricular
and work related information
throughout
 Apt for academic positions,
scientists, doctors, research,
technologies
Definition
A Résumé is an account of one’s employment history
and qualifications often for presentation to a potential
future employer when applying for a job.
Remember:
No matter how advanced the technology gets, getting
in the door still depends on a well written Résumé.
Résumé Unravelled
 It’s a summary of important career related information
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not a paean
It’s a marketing piece, an advertisement of your unique
set of skills, abilities and experience
It’s more than a simple list of jobs one has held
It’s like a billboard that shows only that information
that shall interest the employer
Its purpose is to stimulate employer’s interest and get
you an interview
What can a Résumé do for you?
 It gets you an interview
 Enables you to assess your strengths, skills, abilities
and experience - thereby preparing you for the
interview process
 Acts as a reminder of you to the employer/interviewer
after you're done being interviewed
 Be a basis for the interviewer to justify your hiring
Résumé Facts and Fallacies
Facts
Fallacy
 The purpose of a résumé is to list
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ALL your skills and abilities
A good résumé will get you the
job you want
Your résumé would be read
thoroughly and carefully by an
interested employer
The more GOOD information
you provide about yourself in
your résumé, the better it is
If you really want a good résumé,
have it prepared by a résumé
service
 The purpose of a résumé is to
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kindle employer interest and
generate an interview
All a résumé can do is get you in
the door
Your résumé probably has less
than 45 seconds to make an
impression
Too much information on a
résumé may actually kill the
reader’s appetite to know more
Prepare your own résumé, unless
the position is specialised
The Employment Process
Build
Toward
Career
Follow-up
and Accept
Offer
Prepare
Résumé
Participate
in
Interview
Understand
Interview
Process
Prepare for
Interview
What employers do:
Applicant tracking and screening, whether the ‘talent
pool’ is empty or overflowing.
 Filter resumes
 Spot qualified candidates
 Conduct personality/ skill tests
 Perform a background check
Build Toward Career
(Make thyself more valuable)
 Keep an employment portfolio
 Take interim assignments
 Continue to polish and update your skills
Build Toward Career
(....cont)
Maintain an Employment Portfolio
• It’s never too early to start
• Collect anything that shows your ability to perform
including items from school, college, job or any other
venue
• It’s a great resource for writing your Résumé as you can
pick and choose the relevant items for a particular
position
• It’s the tangible evidence of your professionalism – you
may be able to attach your e-portfolio for certain
positions
Build Toward Career
(....cont)
Take Interim Assignments
 It helps in gaining experience and expertise
 It adds on to the skills you possess
 Also helps you accrue more items for the portfolio
 Is a sign of professionalism and career orientation
Build Toward Career
(....cont)
Continue to polish and update your skills
 Acquire as much technical know-how as you can
 Develop social skills
 Learn to respond to changes positively
 Keep up with developments in your industry and
economy at large
 Read widely, subscribe to e-newsletters of pertinent
commercial/news bodies
 Take on as much responsibility as you can outside your
prescribed boundary of work
Build Toward Career
(....cont)
Continue to polish and update your skills
 Don’t start hoarding knowledge in the hope to become
indispensible
 Share knowledge and help others better themselves
 Keep an eye on the ‘big picture’
 Understand that what counts is
 What you know &
 Who knows you, not
 Who you know
Prewriting Steps
 Analyze your achievements – discover a pattern of skills
 Jot down 10 achievements you are proud of
 Think of the skills these achievements demand of you
 Know thyself:
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List your educational credentials
Extra-curricular achievements
Strengths
Weaknesses
Aptitude
Interests
 Take aptitude/ creativity/ personality tests
To Do:
List three things you can do before you graduate that’ll
make you more valuable to the employers
What employers look for:
 Team spirit
 Leadership
 Versatility
 Diversified skills
 Varied job experience
 Sensitivity to intercultural differences
 Sound understanding of national and international
affairs
 Sound technical knowledge
7 Qualities sought by employers that a
Résumé should reflect:
 Think in terms of results
 Know how to get things done
 Are a well-rounded personality
 Show signs of career progress and professional
development
 Have personal standards of excellence
 Are flexible and willing to try new things
 Can communicate effectively
Three Step Résumé Writing Process
Plan
Write
Complete
Plan
 Analyze the situation
 Keep the purpose in perspective
 Gather information about the industry, the job and the
position for which you plan to apply
 Select the right medium
(Scanable, HTML, Traditional)
 Organise the information
Write
 Adapt to your audience; align your career objectives
with the needs of your target employers
 Glean the information the employer seeks and prune
the information to be put in the résumé
 Compose the message keeping in mind the tone of the
resume remains professional
Complete
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Revise the draft for clarity, accuracy and readability
Produce the message
Proofread the résumé
Remove or tone down the Red Flag Triggers
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Frequent job changes
Gaps in work history
Inexperience
Over qualification
Long term employment with one company
Job termination for a cause
Criminal record
 Send out the résumé
Résumé faux pas
 Grammatical errors
 Typos
 Copious use of stylistic variations in formatting
 Too many abbreviations
 Little white-space
 Long-windedness
 Pompous
Remember:
A résumé should not read like a treasure map, full of
minute clues to the whereabouts of your jobs and
experience
Styles of Formatting
Chronological
Functional
Combination
General tips for writing a Résumé
 Don’t work yourself into a panic
 Treat your résumé with the respect it deserves
 Until your interview, you ARE your résumé, so don’t
overlook anything important
 Don’t try and whistle-up your résumé in one sitting
 Let it stew, try new phrases/ideas till you find the
perfect one
General tips for writing a Résumé (...contd.)
 Learn from good models
 Résumé writing is more art than science
 If you’re stuck, swap writing with your peer
 Keep your résumé honest: fudging facts is NOT OK
e.g. organising a company picnic is not project
management
 Translate your past accomplishments into perceived
future potential
General tips for writing a Résumé (...contd.)
 Use short, crisp phrases
 Avoid ‘I’ as it may seem self-absorbed or repetitious
 Start your phrases with strong action words e.g.
Coached a team to regional playoffs
 Have a ‘you’ attitude, keep the employer in mind
 Most importantly, give a generous sprinkling of
COMMON SENSE 
Elements of a Résumé
 Address
 Objective
 Education
 Work Experience
 Activities and Achievements
 Personal Data
Address should include:
 Complete name
 Full address and permanent address if needed
 A link to your website
 Contact Details
 Phone number
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Landline number
Mobile number
 E-mail ID
A word of caution:
 Create a professional sounding mail ID
 Do not use Ids like psychodawg@yahoo.co.in or
gabroojawaan@hotmail.com or
2hot2handle@rediffmail.com
Objective
 It tells the reader why you are sending the resume,
i.e., what position or type of position you are
seeking.
 It should be very brief
 An objective is like the thesis statement of your
resume.
 Try to include job title desired, position level, field,
industry, and/or company name or a summary of
your qualifications.
A Bad Example:
A fulfilling position that provides ample opportunity
for career growth and personal satisfaction.
Education/ Technical Training/ Academic
Preparation
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Name and location of each institution
Term of enrolment
Major and minor fields of study
Significant skills
Abilities developed in course work
Degrees/ certificates earned
Expected date of completion of the course
Off-campus training
Seminars attended
Certificates received
Work Experience/ skills/ accomplishments
 Don’t glamorise
 Use the reverse chronological order
 Give a functional title of your last post
 Group special skills, if any, separately
Activities and Achievements
 List volunteer activities
 List projects done that require
 Teamwork, organization, leadership skills
 Speaking, writing , tutoring experience
 Participation in athletics
 Creative projects
 Fundraising activities
 Community service activities
 Politico-religious organisations may trigger the red flag, so
use your judgement
 Any awards won
Activities and Achievements (...contd.)
Classify activities if they are diverse as:
 college activities
 community service
 Professional associations
 Seminars and workshops
 Awards and honours
Personal Data Shouldn’t have:
Information like:
 Age
 Marital status
 Gender
 Ethnicity
 Religion, religious affiliations, political affiliations
As these just may trigger some sort of discrimination
Personal data (...........contd.)
 The word ‘Résumé’ at the top
 Any statement that begins with ‘I’ or ‘My’
 Reasons for leaving previous job(s)
 Picture of yourself
 Salary Information for previous positions or Salary
Expectations
 Reference names
Résumé hits the recycling bin if it’s:
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Too long
Too short or sketchy
Hard to read (white space, formatting, indentations)
Wordy
Too slick
Amateurish
Poorly produced (paper quality et al)
Misspelled and grammatically condemned
Boastful
Gimmicky
Formatting tips
 KISS : keep it short and simple
 Use standard font styles like Arial or Times New
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Roman
Use white or off-white paper of good quality
Avoid using colour
Remove anything that ‘jumps at you’
Don’t put your creative drive in over-drive 
An application/ cover letter is a must
because:
 It tells the reader WHAT you are sending
 It tells the reader WHY you are sending it
 And it tells HOW the reader will benefit from reading
it
Purpose
Cover Letter
Generates interest so the employer may:
Read the Résumé
Generates interest so the employer may:
Call for an interview
Pre-writing Preparation
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Do your home-work
Find out about the organisation you are writing in to
Focus on your audience
Show how your background and skills fill a specific need
the company has
Find the name, designation, department of the person
you’d be writing to
Avoid using canned phases like ‘To Whom It May Concern’
Respect reader’s time
Steer clear of gimmicks
Keep it short, straight-forward, up-beat, fact-based and
professional
A Few Tips
 Be specific
 Never volunteer salary information unless asked for
 Keep it short and e-mail letters even shorter
 Show some personality
 Aim for high quality
Key Points
Para I: Solicited letters- no special opening
unsolicited letters- needs to capture the reader’s attention
 State your reason for writing
 Give the receiver a reason to keep reading
Para II:
 Put the strongest selling points here
 Mention what YOU can do for the organisation
 Personal characteristics
 Refer the reader to your Résumé
Para III:
 Ask the reader for a specific action
 Facilitate a reply
Happy Writing!!! 
Idioms for the day
 Make cold calls
 Copper-bottomed
 Corner a market
 Do the spadework
 In the doldrums