A recent graduate can be in a Catch-22 situation: he won’t land a job because he has no experience, and without employment he can’t gain experience. But everyone has to start from somewhere. How can a just-out-of-college person get a job? The answer is through a powerful resume. It must highlight your education and skills in an effective way.  Tailor your resume to the job: Before you prepare a resume, go through the job ad. Make a note of the keywords / key phrases in it. Some examples of these from different ads are “strong knowledge of C++”, “should have completed advance-level courses in marketing”, and “possess superior verbal and written skills in English”. Then, check if you’ve most of the skills. If yes, begin writing your resume. Ensure that you match your resume with the needs of the job. Weave your resume with the keywords in the ad.  Craft a powerful summary: Do you know that employers spend only about 30 seconds on a resume? In this time, your resume has to convince the recruiter of your talent. Write a summary of your internship, skills, projects and educational accomplishments. Again, your summary should have a clear focus on the job needs. Use about eight to ten sentences to build your summary. The summary should build a bridge to the other parts of your resume. Turn the spotlight on achievements: Employers like to know how you can be an asset to their enterprise. Focus more on achievements in your resume. Some examples are internship credentials, completing studies with a distinction, receiving an award for a project, and fluency in a foreign language. Your accomplishments info—in relation to the job needs—makes your resume stand out from others.  Use a simple Language: A straightforward choice of words in your resume helps the hirer to evaluate your fit for the job. Convince the employer not with grand words, but by your qualifications. Use active verbs like managed, designed, and wrote and explain your skills. Construct short sentences. Format these with bullet points.  Select Standard Fonts: Use a serif font like Times New Roman or Palatino. … [Read more...]