A recent report by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stated that If India does not create enough jobs and its workers are not adequately prepared for those jobs, its demographic dividend may turn into a liability. Despite having the largest youth population in the world, fewer than 17 per cent of Indian graduates are immediately employable. On an average around 250 applicants are reviewed for a single job offer and data suggests that recruiters spend up to 23 hours scouting good resumes for one successful hire.
A good CV sets a first impression in the mind of the recruiter enabling them to make an informed decision in terms of investing in the right candidate. So a set of questions arise here circling around the fact on what makes a good CV. Layout? Content? The answers to these questions makes the CV of a potential candidate stand out from the rest and add more impetus to his/her credentials. Listing below few simple but effective ways of drafting a good CV to make that right impression:
Results over responsibilities: What makes a normal CV stand out from the rest is how the candidate highlights the results rather than listing their past responsibilities. While acing responsibilities is a good marker, it doesn’t help build a picture on what the candidate has achieved beyond those responsibilities. The results should always be backed with accomplishments and problem solving strategies. So for an example if a candidate is a social media manager, he/she should write “I increased social media engagement of a brand by 48 per cent in a year”
Highlight growth trajectory: The journey should highlight how the candidate has grown in each role, and how they eventually chose their career trajectory. Would be great to create a link between various jobs so that the journey looks like a natural progression. Additionally, the candidate should mention takeaways from each job role as this will show the recruiter that the individual has learnt a lot from their past roles, and that they are committed to learning and expanding their skill set.
Keep it neat: We have often seen that most people put too much information in their resume which makes the document incomprehensible. Weighing over what to put and how to put is important. Stick to basics and maintain a common aesthetic throughout. Make sure simple things like grammar and spellings are right.
Customize for the job: The candidate should draft the CV as per the job description defined by the employer and explain exactly why they are the right candidate for the role. Also, relating the accomplishments to the elements of the job role is beneficial as the employers want candidates to understand the role they are applying for. Thus putting forward what they are looking for in the CV will make it stand out from the rest.
Resume action words: Inclusion of words such as adaptable, innovative, implemented and achieved for each of the roles, and following it up with impressive results or outcomes will help in demonstrating what the candidate has delivered at previous stints. Many companies use database software to filter out candidates who have used certain keywords, so make sure that you have studied the job description clearly and know what the recruiter is looking for.
Mention work preference: Living in a post Covid world, the candidates should make sure that they mention their work preference evidently in their CVs as the recruiter are now very specific about hiring employees who want to work from an office, home or follow a hybrid model.
— Authored by Divya Jain, Co-founder, Seekho.ai
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