You are an excellent programmer, you have a great track record, three educations, many achievements, you are respected by your colleagues and loved by your children. But... only you and your mom know about it. What to do? How to make yourself known to the world and your employer? Write a resume, of course!
It's not you who needs a resume, but the person who will read it. A recruiter or HR manager. Therefore, the information in the resume should be clear and understandable. Anyone who reads it should immediately see the main thing.
Professional recruiters and HR managers look through a resume in 6-7 seconds. The task of the candidate has time to interest them and make them read further.
Write about yourself or about the job?
Both. But the right way.
So, first we create a header. Put your information in there: Full name, phone number, e-mail, other means of contact, link to the profile. Add a photo.
There is an opinion that the photo can cause prejudice of the employer. In the USA and many European countries it is strictly forbidden to put a photo in a resume. Evaluating a candidate based on his or her appearance is considered discrimination. In post-Soviet countries, a photo is important. Take these peculiarities into account. In any case, put a good photo in your resume. High-quality and discreet. The face in the photo should be clearly visible.
Your story in the resume will have three main parts:
1. Writing where you have worked. List not only companies, but also positions and what you did. Please note that you should only include relevant information.
EvoTalents recruiting partner Yulia gives the following advice:
"I would indicate the direction/domain of the projects, their duration, stack, team size and details/tasks that can sell you as a specialist. This should not be water. It is better, when possible, to show your experience in the language of numbers: the project has grown on this number of users; leads from 1-5 people, releases were every week, etc."
2. Inform about experience, knowledge, skills and abilities. Here to the question of how to compose a resume to a programmer, for example. All I.T. people need to correctly indicate the programs used, the tools they worked with; what they have mastered. The recruiter, when reading the resume, will compare the parameters of the vacancy with what you have written. Try to make sure he finds maximum correspondence there.
3. Your accomplishments. Describe what you can do better than others. Tell about the results of your projects, what you have achieved and what you are proud of.
Do not forget to indicate your education. Even if it's not a major. This may tip the scales of the employer to your side, all other things being equal with other candidates. Write a few words about your personal qualities and how they manifest themselves in the work.
Remember, a resume is not an autobiography. It is enough to write about yourself briefly and supplement with the above information.
Cover letter in the resume
In Western European countries, it is a popular practice to send a cover letter together with a resume. In our country for some reason this tradition has not taken root. But who says it is bad?
If your dream job is at stake, you should try every opportunity to draw the employer's attention to yourself. In your cover letter, you can include something that was not included in your resume. This way, you'll show your interest. Describe why you think that you are suitable for this job, how your knowledge and experience will be useful.
Just do not duplicate the information in the letter and resume.
A compromise option is possible. Instead of a cover letter, you can write a couple paragraphs about yourself on the first page of your resume. This way you know that the information won't get lost and will be read.
What does Yulia think about cover letters:
In my opinion, this should be the norm, because the competition in the market means that showing interest in this particular company and listing a few details that resonate will help you stand out among the 50+ reviews. It is better to generally make a resume in English.
Don't repeat the mistakes of others when writing a resume
A little bit about typical mistakes that often take place in resumes.
1. Don't engage in self-parody and excessive praise of your abilities. An experienced recruiter will notice this. And outright lies will be exposed sooner or later.
2. If you send a resume for a specific position, edit it accordingly. Study the requirements for the position. Write more about the skills and knowledge needed for the job and get rid of irrelevant information.
3- Do not describe your 30 years of work in detail. Keep it short. The employer is not interested in whether your grandfather learned BASIC or FORTRAN in school. Limit it to the last five years. For an IT professional, it is important to be up-to-date with modern technology.
4. Do not send the same resume to different companies and positions. Carefully read the requirements for each position and edit your resume for specific requests.
Size matters
What size should a resume be? Enough to fit all the necessary information clearly and concisely. An experienced developer is likely to have a thicker resume than a beginner. But this does not affect its essence. In fact, it can be 2-3 pages. Sometimes up to 5.
What format should I send it in? A pdf format of the resume will be optimal. Or Google Docs. They are easy to use and share. You can additionally create a cloud link.
And a little more about the resume
The candidate must realize that in the resume he is selling himself. Therefore, turn on the salesman and interest the "buyer".
Yes, and do not forget: the text should be coherent and literate!
Of course, these recommendations are universal. Therefore, if, for example, you send a resume to foreign companies, find information about the peculiarities of national recruiting and make appropriate adjustments. And if you are preparing a resume for the position of software developer, do not indicate in it that you have been assembling furniture for 2 years.
Instead of an admonition
There's no one-size-fits-all recipe for writing the perfect resume that everyone will love. But that's the point. Your resume should be different from everyone else's. In a good way. Then it has a chance of not ending up in the recruiter's trash garbage can.
In conclusion, it remains to wish all job seekers to make their unique resume, find a decent job and realize all their ideas and talents.
