1 ResumeTips

Resume Writing
General Comments
1. Simple: Should be Simple and Straightforward

2. Length: Should be 1 or 2 pages, if you have lots of work experience relevant to
the job, 2 pages is ok, else just stick to 1 page. Fresh Graduates should have a 1-
page resume.
3. CAR: Follow the CAR principle, based on the “Context - Action – Result” principle,
so Context is why was this needed, Action is what things did you specifically do,
and Result is what was the outcome (preferably quantified), example:
 Database migration from Vendor R10.2.1 to v Vendor 10.2.2 including
testing
Can become
 Brought in by client for high priority system upgrade. Led migration from
Vendor R10.2.1 to Vendor 10.2.2 and 100% test accuracy two weeks ahead
of schedule.
4. Alignment of Resume to Job Description: Each line of the resume should align
to each line of Job Description example if the first line of job description says
skill required
 Technical fluency in IBM Websphere BI
Then resume line for last role (at least) should following the same format
 First Line showing IBM Websphere BI technical skill using CAR and so on…
5. Customize: Change Your Résumé for Each Job. Career experts recommend that
you customize your résumé for each job, especially at the beginning of your
résumé. For some jobs, you can change a few sentences to focus on certain
skills and accomplishments. In some cases, you might just need to re-align your
resume.
6. One Line / Skill: Each line of Resume should show a unique skill e.g. analytics,
team work, product/platform expertise, problem solving, example:
 Line 1: Installed AIX OS on in-house server infrastructure
 Line 2: Migrated AIX OS to remote server infrastructure
Can be
 Line 1: Analyzed server OS options, presented to management, secured
approval for plan and delivered production ready AIX server infrastructure
within 4 months
 Line 2: Worked as part of global team to relocate server infrastructure to
third-party vendor, resolved challenges and closed all Tier 1-3 issues within 2
weeks of migration.
7. Social Media: Many employers cross-reference your résumé with your online
presence. LinkedIn is a popular business-related social networking site. When
you update your résumé, make sure to update your LinkedIn profile too.
Employers may also look for you on other social media tools, such as Facebook,
Twitter and blogs. First impressions are important - if you don't want a potential
employer to see something, don't make it publically accessible or put it online
at all.
8. Formatting Hints: Format is critical. Use Simple Fonts to make it look
professional. Intelligently use Bullets, Bold and Underline to highlight skills and
achievements you think the employer would be interested in.
9. Use Keywords: Many recruiters and employers use software to initially screen
your resume. If you don’t have the keywords they are looking for, they might
miss you resume. Make sure that the key words listed in the job requirements
appear in your resume. For example, if knowledge of SQL is a requirement,
your resume should have SQL, even more than once by describing the projects
and the tools used to complete those projects.
10.Minimum requirements: Your resume should demonstrate that you meet at
least the minimum requirements.
11.Types of Resume: There are 2 common types of résumés, Chronological and
Functional. You can find general samples of these types, below. You can use
these samples as guides. Do not rely on samples or templates to create a good
résumé. In some fields, employers will expect to see a résumé with a specific
format, which may be different than these samples.
a. Chronological Résumé: A chronological résumé is time-based. It is
organized by the positions you have held, in order of time. You list
your most recent position first. These résumés are best if you have
a lot of experience in your field. They are also better for people who
do not have periods of time when they were not working.
Chronological Résumé Sample [.doc]
b. Functional Résumé: A functional résumé is skills-based. It is organized
by skills that you gained in your previous work. Functional résumés
are best if you are a recent graduate, have major time gaps in
employment, Are changing careers. Functional Résumé Sample [.doc]
12.
Structure of the Resume
Your Resume should be structured and have the following sections:
Header
 Name – Put your name in bold and in a slightly larger font.

 Address – You only need a city and state, (Country if you are abroad)
 Phone – Use the phone you most often answer.
 Email – Use a personal (not work) email that you check often.
Summary
 Keep It Short: Ideally, this section should contain less than 10 bullet points or
phrases.
 Keep it Relevant to the Job Description : Look back to the job posting and
prioritize skills the employer requires. You don’t need to include everything you
can do, only the most relevant skills.
 Keep Out Clichés: This holds true for every section of your resume, but
particularly here. No need to say that you’re an excellent communicator, team
player, out of the box thinker, or have attention to detail. These skills are
expected by default, and don’t demonstrate what you can do for the company.
On the other hand, you can demonstrate these skills implicitly, so, for example,
you want to say, “Excellent Team Player”, you can do this by saying:
“Successfully completed Several Projects working in teams of 10-20 Engineers”.
 Include Successes: Your skills/qualification section should also
show quantifiable successes. This illustrates how you leveraged a particular skill
to accomplish something. For instance, in our bookkeeping example:
 Reduced collection cycle by 10% and write-offs by 20%.
 Developed new hire package. Setup and maintained payroll for new
employees.
 Use Numbers/Data: Numbers quantify the successful application of your skills.
If you’ve never done the math on your effectiveness, now is the time to crunch
some numbers. Look at your accomplishments and see what’s measurable. This
may not be applicable if you’re new to a field or a recent grad. But if you can
quantify your skills, it can be a powerful attractor to a hiring manager.
 Important: Do not lie or exaggerate your skills. If your stated skills don’t align to
your experience, a recruiter can spot the deception. Even if you make it to the
interview stage, you’ll likely be found out there.
Experience
Your experience should be divided into subsections, one subsection for each job.
Each subsection should have:
 Position or Title – Ideally it should match with the job title you are applying for
or should be as close as possible.
 Name of the Company and City (Country, Optional if International Experience).
It’s a good idea to make it a hyperlink so that the employers can easily check
what company you worked for. Optionally you can also add a brief description
of the company especially if the company is not well known.
 Role Description: Try to make this a project based, so if you were a Team Lead,
your description should look like:
 Lead a team of 5 Engineers to develop a “Fictitious Software/Product” which
resulted in increasing production goals by 10%.
Education
Your Education should have the following items listed:

 Name of Degree/Certificate: Optional, if your degree is not recognized in
Canada, find the equivalent program offered here in Canada and put the
following text:
 (equivalent to a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from a University in
Ontario)
 Name of Institution, City (Country, Optional if International)
 Year of Completion
Note: There are many courses available online for free, please attend them to get
certificates, especially in the field of Computing Technologies where things are
changing regularly.
Skills (Optional)
Only use this section if you feel that you could not fit certain skills in the
description above and explicitly stating them here will increase the chances of you
getting an interview call.
Others (Optional)
Any other information that you find relevant and cannot fit in the above sections.
You can add volunteer work, memberships to professional organizations,
community services you have done in the past, but only add them if they are
somehow relevant to the job description.
This document is prepared using the following references. Please feel free to check
the online resources for more details.
References:
 Input from Ali Nawab

 Input from Faraz Zaidi
 Online: RawResume
 Online: Ontario Settlement Services
 LinkedIn Article, Author: Lana Ilyina, Mistakes to Avoid in a Resume

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Resume Writing

1. Simple: Should be Simple and Straightforward

Your Resume should be structured and have the following sections:

 Name – Put your name in bold and in a slightly larger font.

Your Education should have the following items listed:

 Input from Ali Nawab

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