Top tips to write a job winning resume

Last post, I have list down the websites to find jobs in Australia. I know the next question in the mind is about preparing the resume. When I thought of writing about it, I recalled my career journey from first job until now. The job market is volatile and very competitive. Your resume should be very informative, simple and professional.

Sometimes, it happens that candidates with very good experience lack to find a job. When I came to Australia, I had very few months experience but was very determined to get one; I cracked it. During this process, I had to learn so many things started from writing a resume to how to talk over the phone (had no experience previously talking over phones). I had applied for many jobs, had many phone calls but used to lose them just because I could not understand their Australian accent. Hence, I end up putting lot of efforts by reading many books on how to attend interviews, writing resumes, follow up and sending thank you notes. After some days, I have gained some confidence by attending many calls with the consultancies. I was called for interview and was succeeded in one go. For this, I had many hours of practice with lots of perseverance.

If it was possible for me, it is possible for everyone to secure one. Only virtue to possess is patience, perseverance and developing yourself to match to the needs of the employer. It might take time to get first break, but you will get it if you are determined.

From my 12 years of working experience in Australia, these are some of my tips for the job search and secure it:

Am I eligible for the role?

Yes, you need to think about this as soon as you see the job notification or vacancy. From my experience, nobody is perfect for the role, there are bits and pieces that you need to learn in the initial days of the new job. However, you need to look at how confident you are to perform that role. Confidence is the key factor for securing a job. Without this, having experience may not fetch you a job. Even the recruiter looks at this factor as a first tick.  Once you are confident that you can do the job, you will find ways to get it.

Preparation, Preparation, preparation!

Practice makes anyone perfect. You have to prepare yourself for the job. After reading the job requirements, you will know the level of skills and knowledge required. Just imagine yourself as a recruiter and think from their perspective. You have to transform yourself mentally and physically to the needs of the recruiter. For example, the job application requires a candidate with experience in MS Excel pivot tables. You are familiar with MS Excel but not sure about Pivot tables, research and learn about it. Add on your skills set that you have knowledge of pivot tables. Apart from this, seek more information about that job by calling the recruiter and ask what they are looking for in a candidate.  This helps you to confidently apply for the role.

Feedback:

This is another important factor that most of us lack. Don’t be shy. No one is perfect. Request for feedback on your resume and ask why you were not shortlisted for the position. This might give you valuable information that you have missed to add on your resume or forgot to mention during the interview. This gives you more confidence to apply for the next job.

Once you are clear with the above. It is the time for you to concentrate on preparing your resume.  Here are some of the tips and important headings to add on your resume:

Format:

Many of us think about a good lay out to use and try to get it from friends or internet. From my experience, this is not required and there is no such winning lay out to secure a job. Recruiters do not have much time to spend on each resume. Researches suggest that the time spent on each resume is not more than 20 seconds. You have to keep this in mind and work accordingly. So content is more important than the lay out. For that purpose, you can use a word document by listing your professional information that is relevant to the job application. The document should be simple, neat and clear. Do not add any borders to the resume, make it look professional. I have attached one here.

Education:

This plays an important role on your resume. It is a good idea to list your qualifications in a chronological order from the recent qualification to your first qualification. Sometimes, it also depends on what job you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a fresher job and the requirement is only a bachelor’s degree, just mention only Bachelor’s degree rather than mentioning all your other qualifications like post-graduation and any other qualification which makes you over qualified for the position. I had experience of not selecting to the job, just because the recruiter thought I am over qualified for the position. So you have to provide the information required for the role rather than what you have. So keep it simple and clear.

Experience:

As a fresher to the job market, you might not have any experience to mention on your resume.  However, you would have completed some projects or voluntary work as part of the study program. Just mention them on your resume.  This gives information about your working style in a team and what were the results achieved.  List the accomplishments that were achieved during these projects. This makes you stand out from the crowd. Writing like “I have finished this project on time “is not an accomplishment, because that’s what you were supposed to do. Accomplishment is something that you have done beyond the expectations of the tutor or employer. For example, the project completed at University was implemented by University in their laboratories; the voluntary work done by our team achieved an appreciation award from the principal/director of the university. Keep any emails or any awards (even small) that you have received during your study and can help during your interview. This gives a good impression on you and your resume.

Skills:

In today’s world, skills are very important to have, apart from your qualifications. I think there are not many jobs that one can do without using computer and internet. Therefore, ensure that you lay out your knowledge of computers and technical courses that you have gained during your study period. Microsoft office suite (MS Word, MS Excel etc.) is almost used in every job, so mention what level of knowledge you have regarding the use of these applications (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced). This gives a clarification to the recruiter about your skills. Incomplete or inadequate information on your resume may not fetch you a call from the recruiter.

Sometimes skills help you to shortlist for the interview. I have learnt this from my experience. Always think what you can do differently than anyone else.

References:

This is optional on your resume. I prefer not to write the names of the referees on my resume. I would provide the recruiter when I am selected for the role.Once I had bitter experience in doing the same. I had provided the referee who was my immediate manager (that’s what most agencies prefer). The recruitment agent called my manager and gave him a cold call to make his business on my role. This indicated my manager that I was looking for work which created an uncomfortable work environment. To avoid this, better to provide when the recruitment process is in last stage.

The other categories on the resume like Hobbies and interests have mixed opinions from the experts. If the job is related to your hobbies and interest, just mention them. Otherwise, it is not required to let the recruiter/employer know what you do during your leisure time.

These are some DO and DON’Ts on your resume:

DO:

1. Keep your resume simple and sweet
2. Add important responsibilities of your role
3. Write your name, address, email and mobile number on the header of the resume
4. Use professional fonts and the reasonable size of the font. I use Times New Roman and size is 12

DO NOT:

1. Add borders to your resume
2. Add personal information on your resume like age, sex or marital status
3. Add fancy or colour fonts
4. Add your photo to your resume
5. Add irrelevant information on your resume to increase the number of pages.
6. Use the same resume for all jobs. Make changes as per the requirements of the employer. In some cases, you might be over-qualified.

The bottom line is keeping resume simple and sweet. All the very best for your job search.