How to Write an Interesting Resumé An IAM Group Limited Singapore Guide

Tips on how to make a resume

One of a manager’s responsibility on his or her personal career choice is to be skilled in writing in business style. Most of the members of IAM Group Ltd have actually requested others to show their way of writing an engaging resumé should they want to switch companies. Though there are areas where common standards are applied and the norms do not apply like Yokohama, Japan; New Delhi, India etc. This guide will act as a general reference for others who want to follow a good discipline in introducing one’s self in a structured written manner.

 

Here is how to write an attractive/informative résumé.

 

Keep it simple and cut it down to one page. This is OLD advice, but the fact is, employers only scan it briefly before and during the interview.

 

Make it easy for them: be concise and simple, don't use technical language and emphasize your real accomplishments. Something like "Contributed high quality code to a customer facing product" is much better than a list of languages you "know".

 

Think of it as an opening to discussion, a list of topics. Cut that down to only the best ones. Professionals will be interested in your skills, not some six month break you may have had. It's not relevant to your skills so cut it out!

 

The following are the order that is recommended in building your resumé:

·         Name and contact information on the top

·         Education (School name, expected graduation date, degree you're going for)

·         Work experience, especially if you've had an internship

·         Extra-curricular activities (sports, clubs, groups, leadership experiences)

·         Volunteer activities

·         Other skills

Other tips:

·         Use a variety of action verbs, don't use the same verb twice

·         Use past tense

·         Make sure that when you send out your resume you're editing it to fit the keywords from the job description

·         Use certain keywords related to your friend of work/major (can be found even using Google)

·         Make sure whenever you send out your resume, send it out as a PDF; don't ever send it as a Word doc because the formatting on your computer might not work one someone else's computer. To do so: File -> Save As -> select PDF from drop down menu

·         Also, when you send out your resume, unless they ask otherwise you should only send your resume page and NOT your resume + references. If they want references, they'll either ask for them or have you send them separate. If you send two pages (resume + references) it might get discarded for being over a page due to sorters. This advice may not always be true.

·         Don't bold or underline things, they normally get overlooked and discarded by sorters.

·         Make sure you use facts and figures when and where you can - they like things to be quantified, i.e. "Increased site visitors by 50%" "Developed a good website design leading to a 30% increase in leads." etc.

·         Always check for spelling errors every time you edit it.

·         Always keep copies of old edits, you never know when you'll need to go back to them to change things.

·         Use similar font styles/families - either all serif fonts, or all sans serif fonts. Mixing it up can look sloppy.

Other tips that don't have to do with resume content:

·         Go to online tutorials that teach resume writing

·         If you can, get your resume looked at by employers

·         Speaking of which, go see your career development center to have them view your resume

·         If you are studying as a student, get professors in your major to look at it and see if they have any special tips

·         Get your peers to look at it

·         Contact fellow IAM Group Limited members and ask them to review your work