How to write a resume IPS IAS

Why is writing a good resume important?

If you want a job, the first thing you have to do is prepare a resume.
India is growing. The population is growing. There are more and more educated people everywhere. There are thousands and thousands of engineers, doctors etc. being created all over the country at a very fast rate. Because of all this it has become much harder to get a job.
Most of the companies want you to send them your resume as the first step of the job selection process. Now days, a good job offer attracts 1000’s of resumes. If you want to get selected for a job, you have to make your resume stand out from the rest. You have to get your resume read among the heap of other resumes. So, writing a good resume is a very very important first step when you want a job.

What is the purpose of a resume?

When preparing your resume, keep in mind that employers use resumes for several purposes:
Screen Applicants – Most employers will only look at a resume for about 30 seconds to determine whether or not an applicant is a good fit for their organization.
Develop Interview Questions – Statements on your resume can be used to formulate questions they may ask during an interview.
Communication Skills – Employers want to see how well you express yourself.
Qualifications – Employers will reference your resume when making hiring decisions based on how closely your qualifications match their needs.
Basically: Your resume should answer the employer's question, "Why should I hire you?" in 20 seconds or less. Because 20 seconds all the time your resume is going to get. The employer does not have too much time. He is not going to read though each and every resume in detail.
However, when writing a resume, the main purpose of a resume is to “get your self an interview” or reach the next step of the selection process.

The “key” to a good resume: Targeting!

A resume basically does what a good advertisement does. A good advertisement is always “targeted” for a particular part of the audience. For example, the soft drink companies know that their biggest consumers are the youth. So in all the soft drink adds you will see young “cool” people drinking the soft drink. These adds are designed so that they will appeal to the youth. These adds are targeted to the youth.
Note: To really understand targeting, check this article out. It is part of our “How to market?” article.
A good resume is also very similar. It is like a targeted ad. The only difference is here “you are the product” and the “target audience is the employer”. You have to appeal to the employer and his needs. You have to show the employer though the different parts of the resume that you and your qualifications are what he needs to satisfy the needs of his organization.
Simply put, a successful resume is not written only keeping you and your qualifications in mind. When writing the resume you have to keep, the employer, his needs and how you can satisfy those needs in mind.