Winning Resume

The goal of the resume is to get noticed with a minimum of words. Having a well written, effective resume at one's disposal is an excellent tool in today's ever changing job market. A strong resume may be the sole difference in getting a call for an interview or simply having your resume tossed into the proposed employer's sludge pile. Simply put, an effective resume may win you a job interview. In the world of academia, a strong resume, known as curriculum vitae (CV) may open the door towards a tenured position.

When applying for a job, it is most important to put your best foot forward. Whether your prospective employer uses the term "resume" or "CV" makes sure that you know what he or she is looking for in the document. Once you have this information, you can work on creating a knock-out resume or CV that will help you land your job.

A resume fulfils an important task in the ability to obtain jobs. Even if one must fill out a job application and thus duplicate some information on a resume, handing in a resume with the application gives one a greater appearance of professionalism. When no job application is provided, a resume is the best way to let a potential employer know how your skills, goals and experience will fit in with his or her company.

While no two resumes will look the same, there are certain commonalties in all good resumes. Almost every resume should include the following headings or sections: objective, education, work experience, teaching experience (if applicable), publications of note (if applicable), personal and a references section. At minimum a resume needs to include information on how to reach you. You should include at the top of your resume, your name, telephone number and a physical address. A P.O. Box may be the way you receive most of your mail, but a physical address gives the employer a greater sense that you belong to the community in which you wish to work. You should also include an email address and perhaps a website link if it puts the employer in touch with professional information about you.

Under the "Objective heading, the job seeker offers his or her goal of acquiring a certain position. Don't be afraid to state a bold objective. After looking at your name, the objective is oftentimes the next thing employers read. Here are two examples:

Weak Objective: It is my goal to obtain a sales management job.

Powerful Objective: As someone with an extensive background in pharmaceutical sales, my objective is to obtain a sales management position which would allow me to share my sales experiences and train the next generation of top pharmaceutical salesmen.

Please note that the objective is to be ideally stated in one sentence. In short, try to catch the employer's attention in one sentence in the objective section. If you need an additional sentence, then feel free to use one; but remember you are trying to grab an employer's attention with a short, crisply written message.

The resume should also include a quick summary of your education and any degrees or certificates you hold. If you have not yet finished college or high school, you can include your expected graduation date, and a GPA if it is impressive. Your resume should also include any classes taken that specifically relate to the field in which you are applying.

For college students just entering the job world, you should probably list your "Education" section directly after stating your objective, in reverse chronological order. Stress your high marks here, if you have them. Also, be sure to include your extra-curricular involvement in clubs, sports teams and such similar campus organizations. Make certain you include your part-time and summer employment you had during your college years. Employers want to know that you weren't just loafing around during your off time. It will impress them if you worked to pay your way through college. Stress this fact and let them know that you were able to study, hold down a job, and pay your bills during college.

After the academic profile go for ‘Achievements’, in the reverse order of importance, preferably an individual, a team, an academic and one from extra curricular field. Hence put in 3-5, in bulleted manner. Don’t generalize achievements.

In the "Personal" section, you want to humanize yourself a bit more. Tell the employer about yourself. Go ahead and open up. Do you enjoy photography, boxing, gardening or playing basketball? Share this information. You may find this information being brought front and centre at the interview. It offers areas the employer can talk about and lighten the interview. Put in about 3-5 hobbies and interests & be specific.

Some resumes also include information about your personality type. With more and more companies employing strengths assessment or emotional quotient tests, you might want to list a few bulleted strengths. For example if you are an analytical, assertive, independent and goal-oriented person, these could be listed. You can test these strengths yourself with books like Now, Discover Your Strengths.

The resume should also include all relevant job experience. If you are new to the job market, list classes and volunteer efforts. If you have been working for a long time, list relevant job experience only. Normally, you need not go back more than 10 years in a long job history, unless a job you worked before that time gave you skills that can be beneficial to your new employer.

With each job on the resume, you may want to include some bullets of the types of work you did at the job. Only include those things most relevant to a new employer, and don’t spend lots of words on describing your job. If you want to emphasize particular aspects of your job, save this for a cover letter to the employer.

Make use of your "Reference" section. In the "Reference" section, many job seekers put, "references available upon request. "It's preferable to list the names of two or three people here. When names are listed, you are in effect saying, "Go ahead and call these people. I dare you. "Listing references shows that you have nothing to hide. However, make certain that you inform your references that job employers may be contacting them. If not, your prospective employer will not be impressed when he contacts your reference and it takes two minutes before your reference is able to understand what the telephone call is about.

Putting these elements to work for you, you will be able to complete a good resume. You should also make certain that you include a personalized cover letter. In this world of identity theft, do not include your social security number or driver’s license number on a resume. You should leave out any information that could potentially be stolen. Once you’ve gained employment, you can furnish these details to your employer.

The ideal resume does not exceed a page in length!

Dos and Don'ts in a GD

• Must Speak: The first principle of participating in a group discussion is that you must speak. If you do not understand the topic you may ask the group the meaning or you may wait and listen to someone, which will clarify the topic to you.
• Speaking first: Speaking first is a high risk - high return strategy. You get the undivided attention. So, if you talk sense you get the credit, else, your shortcomings would become prominent and you might be marked as someone who speaks without thinking. First speaker is expected to provide direction to the GD. Properly done, he/she automatically becomes the leader of the group and his/her opening idea remains alive throughout the GD.
• Enteringintodiscussion: [a] During the troughs when the discussion is on its low. However do not wait for the time. It may not come. [b] You may speak just after someone has finished, but risk is there that you may lose the opportunity. [c] You could enter by making a supportive statement [d] Or by increasing your voice.
• Avoid repetition: Do not repeat any point,atleast present it in a different way. Agree with the point made by your colleague and add on it by displaying the applicability of the argument to different situations,thereby broadening the scope of the argument.
• Active listening: Be an active listener. You might just strike a new point, taking cue from the listeners. It will also help you understand the topic clearly in case you are ignorant of the same. It would help you could take the discussion forward, taking on from where another participant has left off.
• Do not be aggressive in the discussion. Instead be objective, persuasive and assertive on your points.
• Make friends: Arrive early for the GD interview. Use that time effectively. Learn about your group, talk to them - this will make you have a good friendly foundation with them. This will make it easy for you to talk in the discussion.
• Listen to others: You could support others too, but when you say that you agree, also try to add value by adding points of your own that extend the argument.
• Body language: Appear friendly and not intimidating. Try smiling. Use of proper body language is an advantage. Some of the ways in which you could use your body effectively are: [1] Keep your body upright and lean forward while speaking or listening. This will show your sustained interest in the GD. [2] If you agree with somebody, nod your head, so that the speaker realises that you understand him. [3] Do not rest your hand on your knee. It communicates a lack of interest in the GD. [4] Do not sit cross legged during a discussion. It is for relaxation and not good for comptetive situations. [5] Do not point out your finger or pen at a person aggressively. These are intimidatory tactics and will be recognized as such. [6] Use your hands effectively to emphasize your statements and to persuade others to listen to you. Don’t gesture wildly, use hands as a means of communication.
• Speak clearly, speak sense and also let others speak: Your voice should be audible and clear. Your contribution should be relevant and made at the appropriate time. Listen to others but you should also speak out your points. Quality of your content is important, even more important than the time you have spent talking. Make the discussion meaningful by carrying the discussion forward and ensure that contribution made adds substance and content.
• Influencing the discussion: You can influence a group by providing it direction, highlighting the crucial issues and putting forth persuasive arguments.
• Examples and Statistics: Try introducing new points, statistics or other information on the topic. You can give examples to illustrate clearly certain aspects. But make sure what you are quoting is correct.
• Ensure that all of you are not going off at a tangent in your discussion.
• Do not take turns: Speaking in turns hinders free flowing discussions. So let it take its natural way.
• Summarize if time permits or if you are asked to. Include main points discussed, your view points and if a consensus was not achieved say so. Do not force a consensus, if it has not been achieved.

All about Group Discussions

Many companies conduct group discussion after the written test so as to check on your interactive skills and how good you are at communicating with other people. The GD is to check how you behave, participate and contribute in a group, how much importance do you give to the group objective as well as your own, how well do you listen to viewpoints of others and how open-minded are you in accepting views contrary to your own.The aspects which make up a GD are verbal communication, non-verbal behaviour, conformation to norms, decision-making ability and cooperation.You should try to be as true as possible to these aspects.Also show leadership & coordinating ability.

About GD

In general, allowed time for GD is between 15 to 30 minutes. A group of 5 - 15 people is usually formed to discuss on a particular topic. Topic may be related to computer or may be related to any current affairs.

A GD has 3 main parts-Introduction ,discussion or core,conclusion.Let us see what they contain.

Introduction: Whenever you are giving an introduction to a GD,state how you interpret the title,what you are about to argue or describe & the factors to consider, an indication of your attitude towards the title and a back up reason for any first statement made.Preferably you can put another open question like- “So this is how I feel.Kindly share your views on the same”. This would be an ideal start to a GD.

Discussion or Core: This part should involve description, explanation & arguments to clarify what has been said so far. Use of known facts to support your arguments is recommended. This is the part where your communication, attentiveness, presentation and a lot other skills are evaluated. So express your key facts precisely, specifically & in as much detail as it demands - not more.

Conclusion: Ideally you will reach a coherent logical conclusion at the end of discussion. If it does not side with any particular issue that the topic focuses on, go for a diplomatic approach. You can then argue that evidence is conflicting, the ‘fors’ & ‘againsts’ are evenly balanced or that evidence is insufficient. In either case don’t drag, just summarise main points, comment on the title or if its difficult, simply do your best in the most simple, direct & short manner possible and when you have done so - STOP! It is not desirable to sacrifice facts and arguments for style.

Some Tips for Group Discussions

1. A good level of general awareness will come in handy so that you aren't at a loss of words on certain issues.
2. Understand the topic and analyse it mentally before speaking.
3. Be clear about the purpose and content of your viewpoint.
4. One should be able to communicate his views in an effective manner to everyone. Be clear in speech, audible but not too loud and above all remain confident.
5. Remember the six C's of effective communication -- Clarity, Completeness, Conciseness, Confidence, Correctness and Courtesy.
6. You should mantain eye contact with all others in the group and not focus on a particular person for he may benefit from that.
7. Be responsive to ideas from other people and seem to be very receptive and open-minded but don't allow others to change your own viewpoint.
8. Starting the discussion is considered to be good however it isn't that important; what is important is that you speak for a period long enough for you to be able to communicate your viewpoint.
9. Always mantain your calm and never get aggresive. If you haven't been able to talk then one can cut in saying "Excuse me, but what I think is .........." or something of that sort.
10. Never lose your temper and never attack anyone on a personal front. Your attitude should be one of cooperation and not one of conflict.
11. Don't lose sight of the goal of the discussion.
12. Listen to any criticisms and give them a thought before trying to defend your views.