Resume Building - Post #2

Few days back, when I started re-working on my Resume, I posted a few tips. This post is in continuation of that.

Below are a few points I gathered while going through several resources, and discussing my resume with 2 admission committee members and my friend in US.

1. After the job title, its better to have a non-bulleted point which succinctly (1 or 2 lines) describes your responsibilities or activities in that job title.

2. Below this start bullet points featuring your major accomplishments (3 to 5). Try to avoid writing simply your work responsibilities here, but rather let accomplishments or improvements made against fulfilling your responsibilities speak.

3. The accomplishments or improvements should be quantifying such as cost saving by 20% or reduced 200 man-hours, etc.

4. Try to mention just not the accomplishment or improvement but what impact it has made on and what it means for company and its objectives.

5. It’s also advisable to mention in brief “how” you have made that impact.

6. If you have a lead role but without a lead or manager title, explicitly highlight leadership abilities. Don’t just let admission committee guess it.

7. Always mention the magnitude of your leadership. E.g. the scope of the project, the team size, multinational team, etc.

8. Whatever you are putting in your resume, always try to elaborate them in your essay stories. E.g. if you mention about leadership abilities, elaborate your leadership style in your essay. This would help distinct you from others.

9. If you have international exposure or you have worked with cross-cultural team, do highlight it clearly.

10. If involved in some community work, highlight that in a separate section.

11. Similarly, add a personal section to highlight your hobbies/interests outside work. These two becomes the great interview discussion points.

In brief, a strong resume should cover the depth and scope of your work experience, professional conduct outside of the core responsibilities of your job profile, and the diversity of your work experience.

All in all, as I understood, the art of great resume is to Elaborate Succinctly ;-)

A

P.S. - Find other resources on Resume Building here.