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The appraisal season is on, and employees across the world are excited and nervous at the same time. The annual performance review in most cases determines the future course of action which is to stick with the current employer or move ahead to further one's career goals.
The new financial year is set to begin soon and this is the right chance to look for new opportunities entering the workforce.
It has become a skill to attract the attention of hiring managers through a well-crafted resume in this competitive world. A resume creates your first impression in the eyes of the hiring manager. Hence, finding the right format among so many formats is a complicated task.
Yadhu Kishore Nandikolla, the HR head at Hyderabad-based MassMutual India, which is an IT services and consulting company said that the starting and most essential point is to be as authentic as possible.
He further said that this piece of document speaks on your behalf to the employer and it gives enough reasons as to why you should be hired.
Employees believe that drafting a resume takes a few hours, but Yadhu Kishore thinks that it is not the best way to move forward as companies are now taking the help of AI systems to wade through hundreds of resumes to find the best candidates. Hence, it became a challenging task to get your CV noticed and remembered.
The Role of Keywords
A Mumbai-based coach, Bhakti Talati, says that as employers are getting hundreds of resumes for one job role, it becomes quite easier to miss yours, only if you haven't included relevant keywords.
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According to Bhakti, keywords are short phrases and expressions which are related to the job requirements. One needs to read the job description thoroughly and highlight the important keywords and you can list them under three heads: Skills, responsibilities and qualifications. Keywords should be written in the same way as the job description.
For example, if a company looks for 'content creators' and your resume mentions 'content writer' — it will not be considered a match. She suggests identifying further keywords, and visiting the company's official website and LinkedIn page to understand its values better and how they describe itself. You can also visit the company's employees and check for a similar position. "Industry-specific language and terminology also count as keywords," Bhakti Talati added.
Focus on Format
While keywords and action words separate your resume from your competitors, choosing the right format is equally important. Many employees used to be confused about whether they should keep their resumes simple or plain. Do video resumes work better in attracting attention?
PwC's 2022 Global Workforce Hopes And Fears survey revealed that 54 per cent of the Indian workforce is millennials (born between 1981 and 1996), 26 per cent are Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980), 15 per cent are Gen Z (born between 1996 to 2010) and 5 per cent are baby boomers (born between 1946 to 1964), each has its own strength and unique selling points.
Umesh Bamel, associate professor, International Management Institute, New Delhi, emphasised adding further details about your social network, language proficiency, evidence of continuous learning, awards and recognition, relevant projects, and volunteering experience.
Lastly, using artificial intelligence tools to write a resume has advantages, however, it is important to review other aspects. While drafting your CV with the help of ChatGPT, it would be wise to check the relevance of your tone and language. Request your friend or mentor to read your CV before hitting the send button.
