10 Ways to Power-up Your Resume

You are busy composing an application letter and crafting a Resume. You have decided to apply for a scholarship and escalate your learning to a higher level. You are now all geared up for a powerful presentation of your case to the interview board. Although not attested by the Principal of your college or a gazetted officer a resume elicits a great attention. A resume in nutshell is a summary of your academic life so far. A resume showcases your diligence and academic competence in not so many words.

An ill-planned resume may rope in awkward results. It is always better to craft your resume in such a way that it sounds and looks very objective. It is very important to weed out ineffective details and irrelevant data from your Resume. Your resume should highlight your so far academic track record and the activities you undertook that directly or indirectly supported your academic objective. In this blog I have elucidated 10 ways of making your resume sound very effective and powerful. Let us understand each way one after the other.

1. Do not display on your Resume fancy emails: Many of us these days have an email id by the time we are 12-13. Those days of life were really funny we tried emails with such peppy, funky ids. Many of us retain those funny sounding emails like showerofpetals@gmail.com, tigerforyou@hotmail.com etc. These sound utterly unprofessional. Create an email id that simply states your name. Use that in your resume.

2. Let your resume look consistent: Use a common font for all the points mentioned in your resume. Times New Roman size 12 looks decent. Go for this. You may have a slightly bigger font (Say Times New Roman 14) for the subtitles.

3. Avoid being egomaniacal: Don’t say “I did this, I did that”. An egomaniacal tone will put off the reviewer’s interest. Hence focus on the work done rather than emphasizing the fact that you did it.

4. Mention the titles of the Projects: It is very important to mention the ‘Titles of the projects’ and the technology that was used in it while crafting your resume. This demonstrates the interest you have in your subject. Your resume sounds effective and chances of availing a scholarship double. When you are talking about Projects in your resume never say: “I worked on a mini-project or major-project’’ always say for example something like “I worked on Optimization Engine Using Linear Programming” This would immediately grab the reviewer’s attention.

5. Avoid mentioning too many details: You can just mention the title of the project and the technology used in the resume. Submit the abstract of the project as an annexure.

6. Give links to international publications if any: If your paper presentation of project abstract found place in an international science/arts journal or magazine, mention the title of the publication and provide a link to it if available.

7. Comment on some of your virtues in a modest tone: If you have an innate ability to take risk mention it in your resume. If you are a thorough team player and owing to this there was a positive development in the work undertaken mention it without hesitation. Students with an adventurous, open-mind and congenial attitude are always a welcome. They are an asset to the University.

8. If you have had a consistent track record, do mention it in your Resume. If you have always scored maximum in your favorite subject, it will vouch for your research capability in the desired field. A good, commendable academic performance is feather in cap, always.

9. Don’t fall a prey to clichés: “If given a chance, I will prove my mettle”, “I am passionate about”. Portray something unique about you.

10. Keep it sweet, short and simple: Let your resume be precise and objective. Keep it very goal oriented covering the major facts of your academic life. Don’t fill it with hobbies or things that are remotely connected to your availing a scholarship and of course your line of academic interest. Keep it subject-based.

I am sure these tips will certainly help you chisel a perfect resume. Remember that a resume is invaluable and will make or break your chances of being called for an interview. Spend sometime pondering over the points discussed in the article and come up with a brilliant resume.

Wishing you Success!!
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