Probably, you also have heard that only 27.3% of the present world’s population is employed. Have you then ever thought of the 72.7% unemployed ones? Have you ever imagined their poverty experiences; how they are left at the mercies of friends and relatives? Possibly you have never tried to know why life has been so unfair to them. Consequently, I will say you have been indifferent to the fact that only the smart get the job in this survival-of-the-fittest scenario showcased on the stage of employment.
The most pleasing thing to any potential employer is an impressive resume. Unfortunately, most applicants fail to deliver this. Doing the right thing in the right way has become nothing to them. They have not come to the realization of how impressive a good resume can be!
To start with, a resume, also called curriculum vitae, is a marketing tool that gives the projection of a job seeker to a potential employer. It details and as well, on the contrary, summarizes an individual’s course of life. Mostly, it is put up to book interview appointments with potential employers. Hopefully you are now also of the opinion that any classical resume should give an impressive introduction and resultant, a remarkable impression of an applicant.
According to Adeolu Akinyemi, the former recruiting and training manager of the West African branch of multinational company Proctor and Gamble and presently the CEO of Generis Solution, a leading consulting firm in Nigeria . ‘There are some generally accepted ways to arranging the information on your resume to present it in the best light… the chronological format, the functional format and a combination of both.’ The chronological format, the commonest, involves the applicants writing his/her job experiences in an order that places the most recent job on top. The functional format contrarily, focuses on the applicants’ skills and achievements while the last format combines both peculiarities. As the choice of format solely depends on the applicants, they are therefore advised to opt for the format that will present the best impression of them to potential employers. New university graduates moving to the work force should please avoid the chronological format, because they have little or no experience.
Beyond this, any format chosen should explicitly state the applicant’s transferable skills. What I mean by transferable skills is that the skills an applicant has that would be of immense benefit to the proposed organization. Unfortunately, most applicants usually have little or no knowledge about their proposed organization thereby not knowing the needed skills. Consequently, it is always advised that applicants should painstakingly research their proposed organizations, deconstruct their operations and investigate the needed skills. This will interestingly make your resume appear targeted, that is, just what the recruiting manager is searching for. Great researchers become great employers.
Having done this, the next thing is to know the necessary contents of a good resume. As you are also aware that your name, contact address and telephone number should open the page, do well to centralize these information. After this, write your objective statement- the statement declaring the work or position of your interest. However, it may not be necessary if it has been included in your cover letter. Applicant’s educational background, job history and skills are also paramount. Applicants are therefore advised to make the most of this opportunity by pitching themselves to their recruiters. It may however, be helpful for applicants to know that recruiters are only interested in achievements and not positions. In this light, applicants should endeavor to highlight and quantify their achievements. The use of active and action words is very important. For instance, it sounds better to write ‘coordinated human resources development’ than writing ‘I ensured that people are trained’.
Simplicity is highly profitable to all applicants. No matter how much you have to say, please confine yourself to a page, at most two pages if highly needed. Beware of your margins; 1″ on the top and bottom and 1.25″ on the sides. Avoid using your computer systems’ default font- Times New Roman font, it makes you appear unprofessional; as if you just got to your system and started typing. If you are sending out the resume off-line, use conqueorer paper and if on-line, convert to portable document format (pdf).
Lastly, see to it that your resume accomplishes these three things: differentiates you from the crowd, gets you targeted for your proposed organization and presents you concisely and clearly. Remember, you have less than thirty seconds to proof your worth to your potential employer. Dr Femi Kuti of CVservice Nigeria , a company interested in improving your resume, believes that introductions are not the most important things but the only important things. A remarkable resume is nothing short of an impressive corporate introduction.
Increase Your Interview Chances - Put Up a Remarkable Resume
No comments:
Post a Comment