It’s so much easier to write a resume than to craft a free spirit.

I had quit my job for few months now. After enough pondering on what to do next, I decided why not atleast update my CV. Mind you I made this CV when I was in college and I forgot about it after getting in Tech Mahindra (via campus placement).

First let me make it clear CV and Resume are two different things.Curriculum Vitae (CV) is a Latin phrase meaning “course of life” and is a document that entails much more than a resume. A CV represents accomplishments and experience in much greater detail, than a resume. Hence a CV is quite longer than a Resume. CV is the ideal document for academics.

Suppose you’re looking for a college or university to pursue your graduation course or postgraduate, here you make a CV. In short CV is just an academic resume.

But Resume refers to a formal document which summaries your education, work experience, credentials, and accomplishments. Most professional positions require applicants to submit a resume and cover letter as part of the application process.

Let’s face it Resume are kind of a pain in the ass. Every time you sit down to make a resume you will wonder, how can two little pages possibly evoke the awesomeness that is you?

To score an interview getting past the first selection round, you can consider these helpful tips when drafting your resume:

1. Make it Readable

Formats and Templates are very essential for a Resume. Never forget the aesthetic values. Even MS Word has some good Resume templates. You can always pick one write and format it and convert to pdf later. Let your resume be readable, lose the fancy fonts and colors. Write in Arial or Calibri. Keep the font size between 10 or 12, depending on your font.

Make your heading stand out. Make them bold and big, preferably size 14 or size 15. Don’t overdo it with ‘strike through’ or ’emboss’. Keep it neat and simple.

2. Include a Career Summary

Yes you read it right, you need a ‘Career Summary’. Though you’re whole resume showcases your career only, yet you need to summaries it at the beginning. It not only gives a fair idea to the employer what you had been involved in, it draws in his attention too.

You should give a brief key technical and professional skills you possess that specifically match what the company wants. A lot of recruiters and hiring managers won’t read beyond this section unless they get what they’re looking for at the top.

3. Know your sections

Divide your resume into different sections. Keep them in correct order. If you are a working professional, let your work experience come first and education later. But if you’re changing career paths altogether, your work experience might be redundant here. So keep the education section on top of work experience.

Make separate sections for skills and Achievements. Don’t forget to add all your awards and certificates in the ‘Achievement’. ‘Skill’ should comprise of relevant technical expertise.

4. Don’t forget Extra curricular or Extramural engagements

Add your extra curricular activities. You might had been State level Footballer or a Cheerleader. If you know foreign languages, or you may know painting. Show how versatile you are.

5. Proofread

Do a spell check, do a grammar check, edit and format it , till it’s simple but self speaking. Make someone else go through it. Any error or typo reflects laziness even if you’re the most driven and well-suited person for the job.

There are no shortcuts to making a resume. Yet I have tried to give few insightful points. Let me know if I missed something.