The Right Way To Create a Resume

A resume is a summary of your basic information, educational background, work experience and references all fit in at a maximum of two pages. It is normally mistaken for a CV (Curriculum Vitae), which is drafted with a detailed approach. The primary difference between a CV and resume is the length of the document, and the information it carries. But the two must not be mistaken for being the same, many have made the mistake of developing a CV when asked for a resume and vise versa. 

Thus we consulted with Bishnu Karki, Business Manager at Merojob one of the leading job portals in Nepal to know more about how to draft the perfect resume for your next job application. 

What is a Resume? Does it have a format?
Resume is a single page document, which includes basic information, education, and training and work experience of the individual. Specially for graduating students and young professionals a resume, is a vital asset they must invest in. Their is a chronological format to a resume, ones name and basic details such as name, email address, contact details and location . Which is followed by ones career objective, which basically defines what their prospects are in terms of their professional career. Followed by, ones skills among them the most important are technical skills, and soft skills such as inter personal skills, leadership skills. It must be followed by ones work and training experiences and educational qualification. The final element is citing references, it is normally recommended to have at least two references.

What does the HR officer looks for in a resume? 
In the category of graduates and young professionals, the HR officer normally looks for the individuals ability to learn. As the company during the employment of the individuals, invests upon them specialized training according to their position. If they lack, good learning ability then it shall be tremendously difficult for both the candidate and the company. Job relation is also a key point, it is normally determined by analyzing the applicants resume. For better results, one must always list down all of their skills and abilities if they are fresh graduates and young processionals. As it gives a clear picture of your abilities, and helps better ones chances. The applicants must also tailor their resume according to the post they are applying for. Brief research and analysis of the required skills for the post, and if they posses the skills listing them down above other skill makes it visible to the HR officers. 

For example, if they are interested in sales then they must highlight aspects such as outgoing nature, good communication and interpersonal skill. On the technical side they must highlight that they are good at developing proposals, using MS Office Suite, data analysis. 

What process would you recommend for developing a resume? 
I have seen many who understand what a resume is and struggle with the process of developing one. One doesn’t require a professional resume developer to make one, here at merojob we took the initiative of giving our users the ability to download ones resume. Once they sign up into our platform, fill up their details, our software automatically develops a resume, which they can download and print. 
Apart from that, one can use the existing templates in Microsoft Word. They can choose from hundreds of templates, download it and edit the document. One can also look up resume formats in the internet and edit them accordingly.
For the cover letter, one can look up various cover letter formats and use it as a guide to developing their own cover letter. It is highly discouraged to copy and paste, either from the internet or from your friends and colleagues as their choice of words, writing style and information mentioned might not suit you.