Résumé, Curriculum Vitae (or CV) and Biodata are terms that are used interchangeably for a short document that summarizes your qualifications and work experience. There is a lot of material on résumés (REZ-u-may) on the web. Check out a simple google search on the term résumé. This blog is about the generic aspects of résumé. We will get to the specific aspects of how to translate military résumés into a civvy street résumé in a later blog. First the basics.
Definition
What is a résumé? Here is a description from Wikipedia:
A résumé (pronounced /ˈrɛzjʊmeɪ/ REZ-u-may or /rɛzjʊˈmeɪ/; French: [ʁezyme]; sometimes spelled resume) is a document used by individuals to present their background and skillsets. Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons but most often to secure new employment. A typical résumé contains a summary of relevant job experience and education. The résumé is usually one of the first items, along with a cover letter and sometimes job application packet, that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment. The résumé is comparable to a curriculum vitae (CV) in many countries, although in English Canada and the United States résumé is substantially shorter than CV.
Key Elements
If you break down a résumé, its key elements are:
Keywords
Keywords have become important over the past decade or so, as increasingly, automated keyword scanning tools are being used to obtain a first pass shortlist. This is because the number of applicants are generally far more than can what be manually scanned. Remember, the first shortlists are generally done by professional headhunters who are required to do hundreds of scans a day and they don't want to waste their time going through the whole list of applicants.
Time over Target
If you make the shortlist, the recruiter scans your résumé to determine whether it is worth a second look. These preliminary scans take all of 6 seconds (yes, SIX seconds!!) on the average where your name, current title and company, current position start and end dates, previous title and company, previous position start and end dates, and education are casually perused (see article...).
The Network
It is little wonder then, if your résumés appear to be going down a blackhole. My own experience has been terrible (this inspite of spending a few thousand rupees to get it written by a "professional") and must set a record of sorts as I have not received a single response in over 10 years that I have had my résumé up on the net (on numerous job portals). The reason is simple. While senior management jobs are routinely posted on job portals, they are generally filled up through references. Period. So unless you have a strong network, the chance of getting a job through a portal is precisely NIL. Job portals are for those in their first few years of work. I would put 15 years as the outer limit beyond which, you will have to rely purely on your network.
Web Resources
Monster.com has an interesting section called "Resume Center" which gives good advice on numerous aspects. Here is a sampling on their current highlights:
The CV has to be written for the reader, so, as you write your CV, put yourself in the shoes of the intended reader.
So, how many CV's should you ideally have?
Many people are surprised to learn that they should have as many CV's as job applications, each tailored for the specific opportunity and in line with the job description provided. Even job portals allow you to create at least five selectable profiles (though only one selected profile is made visible by default).
Write for the target level
Another key aspect is writing a résumé suitable to the level in management. Résumés for say "fresh graduates" would obviously be very different from that of a person say 5-10 years of experience. If you are targeting a position that requires over 20 years of experience, it is a very senior role and the content and style of the résumé should reflect that level of experience. Your language is a dead giveaway on your suitability for the job. At junior levels, the emphasis would be on your relevant technical skills. As you progress in your career, the emphasis has to change from technical to managerial and then to strategic skills where the focus would be quantifiable in terms of numbers indicating your impact on the firms performance.
Before Drafting
So before you sit down to draft your résumé, do some preliminary work understanding not only the company or position for which you are applying, but also in researching the huge amount of advise and feedback on résumés available on the net. And also advise for career changers. There is no substitute for online research and networking.
Career Changers
All of us who move from the military to civvy street are career changers! Yes, even the flyboys! The article at the link below will help you in determining the best form, content and highlights on your résumé.
Here is a synopsis of the article from the monster.com résumé centre titled "10 worst mistakes career changers make":
Here is another interesting article on the "Eight Worst Resume Mistakes". To summarize:
For those who can use portals, here is a sample list of Indian job portals:
The point to note is that none of these cater for military officers retiring from service. However, some of the western economies like the US is very well organized and a number of services are available specifically for veterans. A simple google search will reveal a number of such service providers and portals. While they may not services for foreign army veterans, you can get a lot of pointers on the transition to civvy street.
For those of you with more than 15 years of work experience, LinkedIn.com is presently the best professional networking website available.
Other international portals
Definition
What is a résumé? Here is a description from Wikipedia:
A résumé (pronounced /ˈrɛzjʊmeɪ/ REZ-u-may or /rɛzjʊˈmeɪ/; French: [ʁezyme]; sometimes spelled resume) is a document used by individuals to present their background and skillsets. Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons but most often to secure new employment. A typical résumé contains a summary of relevant job experience and education. The résumé is usually one of the first items, along with a cover letter and sometimes job application packet, that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment. The résumé is comparable to a curriculum vitae (CV) in many countries, although in English Canada and the United States résumé is substantially shorter than CV.
Key Elements
If you break down a résumé, its key elements are:
- Title
- Contact Information
- Content
- Job Objectives
- Career Summary
- Competencies
- Significant Acheivements
- Work Experience
- Academia (including certifications)
- Template or Layout
- Formatting
- Keywords
Keywords
Keywords have become important over the past decade or so, as increasingly, automated keyword scanning tools are being used to obtain a first pass shortlist. This is because the number of applicants are generally far more than can what be manually scanned. Remember, the first shortlists are generally done by professional headhunters who are required to do hundreds of scans a day and they don't want to waste their time going through the whole list of applicants.
Time over Target
If you make the shortlist, the recruiter scans your résumé to determine whether it is worth a second look. These preliminary scans take all of 6 seconds (yes, SIX seconds!!) on the average where your name, current title and company, current position start and end dates, previous title and company, previous position start and end dates, and education are casually perused (see article...).
The Network
It is little wonder then, if your résumés appear to be going down a blackhole. My own experience has been terrible (this inspite of spending a few thousand rupees to get it written by a "professional") and must set a record of sorts as I have not received a single response in over 10 years that I have had my résumé up on the net (on numerous job portals). The reason is simple. While senior management jobs are routinely posted on job portals, they are generally filled up through references. Period. So unless you have a strong network, the chance of getting a job through a portal is precisely NIL. Job portals are for those in their first few years of work. I would put 15 years as the outer limit beyond which, you will have to rely purely on your network.
Web Resources
Monster.com has an interesting section called "Resume Center" which gives good advice on numerous aspects. Here is a sampling on their current highlights:
- Is Loyalty a Hindrance?
- Handle your Work Haitus on your résumé
- Writing your First Professional CV
- Sample Job Objectives
- CV Do's and Dont's
- Complete guide on CV preparation
- The Art of Superior Communication
- 10 top reasons why you need a Cover Letter
- How to write an impressive résumé!
- A well-presented, selling document [not a biography of your past work experience]
- A source of interesting, relevant information
- A script for talking about yourself
The purpose of your CV is not to get you the job.
Its purpose is to get you an interview.
The CV has to be written for the reader, so, as you write your CV, put yourself in the shoes of the intended reader.
So, how many CV's should you ideally have?
Many people are surprised to learn that they should have as many CV's as job applications, each tailored for the specific opportunity and in line with the job description provided. Even job portals allow you to create at least five selectable profiles (though only one selected profile is made visible by default).
Write for the target level
Another key aspect is writing a résumé suitable to the level in management. Résumés for say "fresh graduates" would obviously be very different from that of a person say 5-10 years of experience. If you are targeting a position that requires over 20 years of experience, it is a very senior role and the content and style of the résumé should reflect that level of experience. Your language is a dead giveaway on your suitability for the job. At junior levels, the emphasis would be on your relevant technical skills. As you progress in your career, the emphasis has to change from technical to managerial and then to strategic skills where the focus would be quantifiable in terms of numbers indicating your impact on the firms performance.
Before Drafting
So before you sit down to draft your résumé, do some preliminary work understanding not only the company or position for which you are applying, but also in researching the huge amount of advise and feedback on résumés available on the net. And also advise for career changers. There is no substitute for online research and networking.
Career Changers
All of us who move from the military to civvy street are career changers! Yes, even the flyboys! The article at the link below will help you in determining the best form, content and highlights on your résumé.
Here is a synopsis of the article from the monster.com résumé centre titled "10 worst mistakes career changers make":
- Don't look for a job in another field without some intense introspection.
- Don't look for 'hot' fields unless they're a good fit for you.
- Don't go into a field because your friend is doing well in it.
- Don't stick to possibilities you already know about.
- Don't let money be the deciding factor.
- Don't keep your dissatisfaction to yourself or try to make the switch alone.
- Don't go back to school to get retreaded unless you've done some test drives in the new field.
- Be careful when using placement agencies or search firms.
- Don't go to a career counsellor or a career transition agency expecting they can tell you which field to enter.
- Don't expect to switch overnight.
Here is another interesting article on the "Eight Worst Resume Mistakes". To summarize:
- Not determining a target or goal for the resume
- Not understanding the needs or interests of the intended reader
- Focusing just on the "duties and responsibilities" of previous positions
- Leaving off quantitative information
- Forgetting to tell the reader HOW
- Using passive language, repetitive statements or the wrong technology
- Using gimmicks
- Thinking that inflating or exaggerating past experiences will make your resume more effective
For those who can use portals, here is a sample list of Indian job portals:
- Naukri.com
- TimesJobs.com
- Sampoorna.com
- MonsterIndia.com
- Shine.com
- JobStreet.com
- HeadHonchos.in
The point to note is that none of these cater for military officers retiring from service. However, some of the western economies like the US is very well organized and a number of services are available specifically for veterans. A simple google search will reveal a number of such service providers and portals. While they may not services for foreign army veterans, you can get a lot of pointers on the transition to civvy street.
For those of you with more than 15 years of work experience, LinkedIn.com is presently the best professional networking website available.
Other international portals
- Global Executive Appointments: Exec-Appointments
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