Writing Powerful Resumes ? 10 Golden Rules


Your resume is your sales letter. It may not get you the job. But it must get you an interview. The resume should be written to arouse the interest of the employer so that you get your appointment for an interview. This is the primary purpose of a resume. Here are ten golden rules to follow in creating a very powerful resume.

1. While writing a resume you should keep in mind that it is written with the purpose of getting a specific job. This will focus your resume on the requirements of the job and then match your experience and abilities to fulfill the requirements of the job.

2. A powerful resume will be concise and to the point. Care must be taken not to include anything that comes to mind and it is not essential to include everything about you. It is not your autobiography. Every line, every word needs to be evaluated whether they are highly relevant to the job description. You only have few seconds to impress the employer. Within those few seconds you must convey what you do and what are your credentials for the job.

3. A powerful resume starts with an Objective statement. The objective statement should be simple and straightforward. It should state preferably in one or two short sentences the position you are applying for and how you will benefit the employer. The resume must be tailored to the job description. While it may not be possible to write a resume for every job, it is desirable. Otherwise have several resumes with different objective statements.

4. Use plenty of action words in designing a powerful resume. Action words make your resume more interesting, make you look more dynamic.

5. While qualifications are important, employers are looking at applicable skills every organization needs. These skills are Teamwork, Leadership, excellent Communications, Interpersonal skills and Computer skills.

6. Focus on accomplishments and not on duties and responsibilities. Every responsibility must state your accomplishments to make the resume more powerful. Words like 'responsible for' or 'duties include' sounds very dull and passive. Emphasizing on accomplishments sets you apart from the crowd and chances of an interview increases dramatically.

7. To create a powerful resume ensure that there are no typographical errors, miss-spelt words and grammatical mistakes. A badly proofread resume is the surest sign of carelessness and lack of professionalism and an eye for details. So keep checking your resume often. It is better to have it checked by your friends or colleagues to detect any mistakes which might have escaped you.

8. Make your resume very reader friendly. Have professional summaries, bulleted lists and very short paragraphs. Use more white spaces by spacing paragraphs properly. Don't use all capitals, too many highlights with bold letters. Anything over 12 points and using all caps is the equivalent of shouting.

9. Always consider the perspective of the employer while creating a resume. Powerful resumes are one which the employer is immediately able to relate to his needs, job descriptions and requirements.

10. A well designed resume must include all possible ways to reach you. Ensure including your full address, your home phone, mobile phone and e-mail ids. Please include a day phone or your direct phone at the place of work if available.

A powerful resume includes all these elements. Just use this as a check list to assess your resume. This alone will improve your resume many fold and make it highly powerful.

R.G. Srinivasan is a Certified Trainer, Writer and Author with more than two decades of managerial experience. He also writes a regular blog on home-business resources which you may check out at http://www.home-businessresources.blogspot.com for online marketing tips, resources, opportunities and online promotional strategies