Crafting Your Career Story: A Guide to Writing a Compelling Resume

Job search is probably one of the toughest, most anxious periods for many. And getting rejected even before an interview call can be extremely demotivating. To improve your chances of getting an interview and getting hired by the right employers, you need to make a great first impression. A powerful, well-crafted resume will help you make that great first impression on recruiters.

In this blog, we will help guide you through the process of crafting an amazing resume that helps you find your dream job.

Why is a Resume So Important?

Recruiters and hiring managers are often flooded with hundreds and thousands of resumes. This means that they will not be able to spend equal or enough time on each resume. They often spend a few seconds to minutes skimming through each resume. Candidates have just those many seconds or minutes to capture and retain the attention of the recruiter/ hiring manager.

Amid the noise and clutter, your resume must provide them with all the necessary details. It should give them a snapshot of your skills, accomplishments, experience and other relevant information. It needs to be unique, engaging and compelling, which is why generic resumes never work!

If you do not want your resume to be tossed into the reject pile, you must learn the art and science of making an effective resume. Your resume should be effective in winning the recruiter’s attention and boosting your chances of getting interview calls.

A Guide to Crafting Effective, Compelling Resumes

Resume Writing Mistakes to Avoid

The following mistakes often reduce the candidate’s chances of getting interview calls.

• Your resume is generic or follows the biodata pattern.
• Your resume is too wordy.
• You have not chronologically listed your work experience and the work experience section does not appear in the first half of the resume.
• Your work experience highlights your job responsibilities rather than your impact and accomplishments.
• There are grammatical and spelling errors in the resume or formatting flaws.
• The references provided in the resume aren’t strong enough.
• The cover letter is generic or too short.

Keep Your Resume Short and Direct

The most important rule to writing an effective resume is keeping it short, to the point and direct. The general rule is to keep it no longer than 2 pages, unless you have good reason to make it any longer. Even if you are a highly experienced professional with a long career, it is best to highlight your work experience for the previous 10-15 years.

Tell Your Story Concisely

You must coherently narrate your story within the 2 pages of the resume. The storytelling in the resume must be precise, compelling and interesting. Text-heavy, wordy resumes will make the recruiter lose interest in getting to its end. So, it is best to write your resume in a way that it answers every question that a recruiter may have about your professional journey, story and skills.

Showcase Your Experience and Skills

You should show rather than tell the recruiter about your skills, accomplishments, etc. For instance, you could quantify your experience, skills, and accomplishments, wherever possible, using quantifiable metrics.

You should use action verbs such as completed, managed, led, developed, created, sold, designed, achieved, etc. along with superlatives such as highest, fastest and best, among others. It is important to be assertive but not pompous.

You can use infographics or other pictorial representations to showcase your skillset.