In this fast paced world, hiring managers and recruiters seldom have time & resources to have a thorough look on each resume that comes across, a research says that they typically spend an average of six seconds to make an initial FIT or UNFIT decision. If you want to stand out you need to have something instantly appealing on your resume that makes you seize that interview opportunity. (And remember, the ONLY purpose of a resume is to get you that interview!)

Here are a few things you should consider while preparing your resume.

Objective – An old fashioned start

Every other resume has it and honestly saying it doesn’t do great, obviously you are applying for a job and your objective is to get the role, no need to waste that precious space by writing those cheesy lines.

If something is really unique about you like change of domain or work area, it would be a good idea to add a little brief or a summary.

Use cover letters about your objectives and why you want the job, don’t be confused between the content of resume and cover letter, things like your objective, why you will be a good fit for the organization etc. should be put on a one pager comprehensive cover letter.

Personal details

Most of the time it’s not preferred to include your marital status, religious beliefs or preference, social security or identification numbers , unless it’s required for the role you are applying for or the region you are applying in.

This used to be a standard in the past, but today all this information leads to discrimination, racism and other illegitimate things.

Avoid Typos & Grammatical Errors.

Your resume is your first point of contact between you and your potential employer, try not to give a bad impression by doing those silly typos and grammatical errors, for e.g. don’t use present tense for the past job etc. only your current job should be written in present tense, proofread your resume many times, let it read by other peers and seniors around you, get it checked by a professional if possible.

Work Experiences.

There has been a great debate about writing work experiences on your resume, about what to include, should only relevant experience be included or otherwise? Should I include all my experiences even the earliest ones? Etc.

What i suggest is to take a moderate approach, include all you recent experiences as it shows what you have been doing in last 5 or 10 years, try not to include irrelevant experiences if you have done something that doesn’t relates to your core work area. Also, if you have more than 15 years of experience under your belt, try to make another section ‘Prior Experience’ and consolidate your early experiences over there, in a couple of lines.

Contact Details

Recruiters look for the best and easiest way to reach to you, they are not interested in your whereabouts and how many email addresses and mobile numbers you have, be professional and precise about your contact details, don’t use that fancy immature childish email address, be decent in your email addresses, give one reachable contact number instead of your residential mailing address, also try to add a link to your professional profile like LinkedIn.