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Writing a successful Resume

You have probably been asking yourself thousands of times, what is it finally- CV or Resume ? And what is the difference?

The primary differences between a resume and a curriculum vitae (CV) are the length, what is included and what each is used for. A Resume is a one or two page summary of your skills, experience and education. While a resume is brief and concise - no more than a page or two, a Curriculum Vitae is a longer (at least two page) and more detailed synopsis.

A Curriculum Vitae includes a summary of your educational and academic backgrounds as well as teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations and other details. Curriculum vitae is used primarily when applying for academic, education, scientific or research positions, fellowships or grants.

A Resume is a concise document typically not longer than one page as the intended the reader will not dwell on your document for very long. The goal of a resume is to make an individual stand out from the competition. it highlights job seeker's backgrounds and skills. Resume can be used for a variety of reasons, but most often they are used to secure new employment. A typical resume contains a summary of relevant job experience and education. The resume is usually one of the first items, along with a cover letter and sometimes an application for employment, which a potential employer sees regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants. The job seeker should adapt the resume to every position they apply for. It is in the applicant’s interest to change the resume from one job application to another and to tailor it to the needs of the specific post.

To maximize your chances for an interview, your resume should capture a person’s attention in 30 seconds.
  • Length It is best to limit a resume to one to two pages. Be as concise as possible in stating information in each section of your resume.
  • Font Avoid fonts smaller than 10 point and larger than 12 point.

Now let’s go down with the resume structure

  • Personal information. Identify Your name, address, phone number(s), and e-mail address. They should be the first readable itema on the first page. Usually it is placed after the header, in the top of the resume.
  • Objective (optional). An objective statement should basically include what you want to get out of your job, while also suggesting what you can do for the company. It tells the employer concisely and quickly what is your goal in applying for a position. Objective statements are not required, but in general it is a good idea to include one.
  • Key Qualifications (optional). List here the main key qualifications and competences that put you up from other applicants, such as Project Management, Business Plan Writing etc.
  • Employment Experience. This section of the resume can go by various names, depending you’re your specific experiences and the job for which you are customizing the resume. Some names that you can use are: Work Experience, Employment History, Professional Experience, Qualifying Experience, and Related Experience. Sometimes people include both volunteer and paid positions in the work experience section; others divide these into two sections, such as “Volunteer Experience” and “Employment History.” Use Action verbs to describe your responsibilities.
  • Education. The education section highlights your relevant education. This section may be placed before or after the work experience section of the resume, depending on the amount and quality of your work experience. If you have substantial work experience, you may include a relatively brief education section.
  • Activities and Honors. It is best if you limit your discussion of activities and honors to the most recent, most important, or most relevant ones to the position for which you are applying.
  • Languages list all the languages you speak, with a one-word description of your knowledge of that language. We suggest the following scale: Native, fluent, advanced, and intermediate. List any certificates and/or results like TOEFL scores, with date.
  • Computer skills write everything you know! List certificates and specialty studies as well.
  • Skills and Competences. Include skills that make you unique, such as Leadership skills, Organizational skills, Presentation skills etc. You can introduce other headers that suit your needs. Some resumes, for example, have a summary heading that brings in front what the author considers to be the most important in his/her resume.

When sending your resume via e-mail, do not forget to give the files meaningful names, for example "Resume-Lilit-Saribekyan" or "Lilit-Saribekyan-Web-Designer" when you apply for a specific position.

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