What is a CV? Why is CV important? How does one build an idiosyncratic CV? What should one state in their CV to get an interview call? How does one strike a good impression through their CVs? How to write a good resume? Will a top-notch company like Goldman Sachs accept my CV?

The answer to all such questions is only writing a resume that should be able to tell your experience, display your skills, and showcase your personality and the knowledge you possess. A good resume prepares you for an interview, helps you estimate skill gaps, and is the 1st step towards representing yourself to a company. It is the summarized story of you as a professional. It is expected to start by portraying your contact information followed by objective, education, experience, and conclude with honors & activities.

“For example: If I’m a BTech student, the knowledge I possess is Web: Java, Weblogic, Quality, CMM2, 6 Sigma, Oracle, etcetera (Technical Languages and Softwares). The skills I want to display are Team Building/Managing, Communication, Problem Solving, Leadership. Last but not the least, my attributes are patience, reliability, optimism, friendly, and funny (attention I give and the way I take things seriously)”, Rohit Lalwani said.

All the above-mentioned objectives show what kind of person you are. You only have to demonstrate or establish the fact that you are the kind of person who possesses that attribute. Disclosing the fact that you are a great leader would not do justice, rather it will show how you have just used the word, great leader, to fill out your attributes. Instead of putting down the word great leader in your Resume, you could use that space to demonstrate how you became a great leader. For example, you have led or have become the coordinator for a specific committee or the council, you can enlighten the HR by just putting the sentence that you were leading the council or committee. That sentence represents that you do take initiative and have the idea of managing people in a team. There always has to be a backbone to your attributes that have made you the person you are today.

Once knowledge and skills are dusted and done, the candidate is expected to know almost everything about the company’s background, mission, challenges, culture, system, or working environment. Researching more about the firm will make you confident about what you like or dislike about it. Make sure that you understand some of the elements before applying for the right job, something that fits your personality and will help you grow as an individual. For example, IDEO’s design thinking process is understanding the user's needs, observing, point of view, ideate, prototype, and test. If your personality matches the mission and challenges the organization is offering, then that might be just the right place for you.

The flow of a good resume, functions based on reverse chronology, comprehensive summary of internship – period – demonstrate skills/achievements, most recent degree first, listing technical skills, and avoiding the usage of achievement statements. Action verbs can be used to describe achievements, making the statements sound like it is result-oriented and excludes judgemental comments. Using these steps safeguards an interview at one’s dream company.

Drafting a good resume is not a big task if you are using the right words to showcase your skills even if you can use creative ways to jot down your achievements or attributes. Browsing the web or online thesaurus and reviewing it regularly can be a big help to get better ideas for drafting the GOOD RESUME.

Niharika Gupta