What are the two types of transmission technology available?
(i) Broadcast and (ii) point-to-point
What is subnet?
A generic term for section of a large networks usually separated by a bridge or router.
Difference between the communication and transmission.
Transmission is a physical movement of information and concern issues like bit polarity, synchronisation, clock etc.
Communication means the meaning full exchange of information between two communication media.
What are the possible ways of data exchange?
(i) Simplex (ii) Half-duplex (iii) Full-duplex.
What is SAP?
Series of interface points that allow other computers to communicate with the other layers of network protocol stack.
What do you meant by "triple X" in Networks?
The function of PAD (Packet Assembler Disassembler) is described in a document known as X.3. The standard protocol has been defined between the terminal and the PAD, called X.28; another standard protocol exists between hte PAD and the network, called X.29. Together, these three recommendations are often called "triple X"
What is frame relay, in which layer it comes?
Frame relay is a packet switching technology. It will operate in the data link layer.
What is terminal emulation, in which layer it comes?
Telnet is also called as terminal emulation. It belongs to application layer.
What is Beaconing?
The process that allows a network to self-repair networks problems. The stations on the network notify the other stations on the ring when they are not receiving the transmissions. Beaconing is used in Token ring and FDDI networks.
What is redirector?
Redirector is software that intercepts file or prints I/O requests and translates them into network requests. This comes under presentation layer.
What is NETBIOS and NETBEUI?
NETBIOS is a programming interface that allows I/O requests to be sent to and received from a remote computer and it hides the networking hardware from applications.
NETBEUI is NetBIOS extended user interface. A transport protocol designed by microsoft and IBM for the use on small subnets.
What is RAID?
A method for providing fault tolerance by using multiple hard disk drives.
What is passive topology?
When the computers on the network simply listen and receive the signal, they are referred to as passive because they don’t amplify the signal in any way. Example for passive topology - linear bus.
What is Brouter?
Hybrid devices that combine the features of both bridges and routers.
What is cladding?
A layer of a glass surrounding the center fiber of glass inside a fiber-optic cable.
What is point-to-point protocol
A communications protocol used to connect computers to remote networking services including Internet service providers.
How Gateway is different from Routers?
A gateway operates at the upper levels of the OSI model and translates information between two completely different network architectures or data formats
What is attenuation?
The degeneration of a signal over distance on a network cable is called attenuation.
What is MAC address?
The address for a device as it is identified at the Media Access Control (MAC) layer in the network architecture. MAC address is usually stored in ROM on the network adapter card and is unique.
Difference between bit rate and baud rate.
Bit rate is the number of bits transmitted during one second whereas baud rate refers to the number of signal units per second that are required to represent those bits.
baud rate = bit rate / N
where N is no-of-bits represented by each signal shift.
What is Bandwidth?
Every line has an upper limit and a lower limit on the frequency of signals it can carry. This limited range is called the bandwidth.
What are the types of Transmission media?
Signals are usually transmitted over some transmission media that are broadly classified in to two categories.
Guided Media:
These are those that provide a conduit from one device to another that include twisted-pair, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable. A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and is contained by the physical limits of the medium. Twisted-pair and coaxial cable use metallic that accept and transport signals in the form of electrical current. Optical fiber is a glass or plastic cable that accepts and transports signals in the form of light.
b) Unguided Media:
This is the wireless media that transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor. Signals are broadcast either through air. This is done through radio communication, satellite communication and cellular telephony.
What is Project 802?
It is a project started by IEEE to set standards to enable intercommunication between equipment from a variety of manufacturers. It is a way for specifying functions of the physical layer, the data link layer and to some extent the network layer to allow for interconnectivity of major LAN
protocols.
It consists of the following:
802.1 is an internetworking standard for compatibility of different LANs and MANs across protocols.
802.2 Logical link control (LLC) is the upper sublayer of the data link layer which is non-architecture-specific, that is remains the same for all IEEE-defined LANs.
Media access control (MAC) is the lower sublayer of the data link layer that contains some distinct modules each carrying proprietary information specific to the LAN product being used. The modules are Ethernet LAN (802.3), Token ring LAN (802.4), Token bus LAN (802.5).
802.6 is distributed queue dual bus (DQDB) designed to be used in MANs.
What is Protocol Data Unit?
The data unit in the LLC level is called the protocol data unit (PDU). The PDU contains of four fields a destination service access point (DSAP), a source service access point (SSAP), a control field and an information field. DSAP, SSAP are addresses used by the LLC to identify the protocol stacks on the receiving and sending machines that are generating and using the data. The control field specifies whether the PDU frame is a information frame (I - frame) or a supervisory frame (S - frame) or a unnumbered frame (U - frame).
What are the different type of networking / internetworking devices?
Repeater:
Also called a regenerator, it is an electronic device that operates only at physical layer. It receives the signal in the network before it becomes weak, regenerates the original bit pattern and puts the refreshed copy back in to the link.
Bridges:
These operate both in the physical and data link layers of LANs of same type. They divide a larger network in to smaller segments. They contain logic that allow them to keep the traffic for each segment separate and thus are repeaters that relay a frame only the side of the segment containing the intended recipent and control congestion.
Routers:
They relay packets among multiple interconnected networks (i.e. LANs of different type). They operate in the physical, data link and network layers. They contain software that enable them to determine which of the several possible paths is the best for a particular transmission.
Gateways:
They relay packets among networks that have different protocols (e.g. between a LAN and a WAN). They accept a packet formatted for one protocol and convert it to a packet formatted for another protocol before forwarding it. They operate in all seven layers of the OSI model.
What is ICMP?
ICMP is Internet Control Message Protocol, a network layer protocol of the TCP/IP suite used by hosts and gateways to send notification of datagram problems back to the sender. It uses the echo test / reply to test whether a destination is reachable and responding. It also handles both control and error messages.
What are the data units at different layers of the TCP / IP protocol suite?
The data unit created at the application layer is called a message, at the transport layer the data unit created is called either a segment or an user datagram, at the network layer the data unit created is called the datagram, at the data link layer the datagram is encapsulated in to a frame and finally transmitted as signals along the transmission media.
What is difference between ARP and RARP?
The address resolution protocol (ARP) is used to associate the 32 bit IP address with the 48 bit physical address, used by a host or a router to find the physical address of another host on its network by sending a ARP query packet that includes the IP address of the receiver.
The reverse address resolution protocol (RARP) allows a host to discover its Internet address when it knows only its physical address.
What is the minimum and maximum length of the header in the TCP segment and IP datagram?
The header should have a minimum length of 20 bytes and can have a maximum length of 60 bytes.
What is the range of addresses in the classes of internet addresses?
Class A 0.0.0.0 - 127.255.255.255
Class B 128.0.0.0 - 191.255.255.255
Class C 192.0.0.0 - 223.255.255.255
Class D 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255
Class E 240.0.0.0 - 247.255.255.255
What is the difference between TFTP and FTP application layer protocols?
The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) allows a local host to obtain files from a remote host but does not provide reliability or security. It uses the fundamental packet delivery services offered by UDP.
The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the standard mechanism provided by TCP / IP for copying a file from one host to another. It uses the services offer by TCP and so is reliable and secure. It establishes two connections (virtual circuits) between the hosts, one for data transfer and another for control information.
What are major types of networks and explain?
Server-based network
Peer-to-peer network
Peer-to-peer network, computers can act as both servers sharing resources and as clients using the resources.
Server-based networks provide centralized control of network resources and rely on server computers to provide security and network administration
What are the important topologies for networks?
BUS topology:
In this each computer is directly connected to primary network cable in a single line.
Advantages:
Inexpensive, easy to install, simple to understand, easy to extend.
STAR topology:
In this all computers are connected using a central hub.
Advantages:
Can be inexpensive, easy to install and reconfigure and easy to trouble shoot physical problems.
RING topology:
In this all computers are connected in loop.
Advantages:
All computers have equal access to network media, installation can be simple, and signal does not degrade as much as in other topologies because each computer regenerates it.
What is mesh network?
A network in which there are multiple network links between computers to provide multiple paths for data to travel.
What is difference between baseband and broadband transmission?
In a baseband transmission, the entire bandwidth of the cable is consumed by a single signal. In broadband transmission, signals are sent on multiple frequencies, allowing multiple signals to be sent simultaneously.
Explain 5-4-3 rule?
In a Ethernet network, between any two points on the network ,there can be no more than five network segments or four repeaters, and of those five segments only three of segments can be populated.
What MAU?
In token Ring , hub is called Multistation Access Unit(MAU).
What is the difference between routable and non- routable protocols?
Routable protocols can work with a router and can be used to build large networks. Non-Routable protocols are designed to work on small, local networks and cannot be used with a router
Why should you care about the OSI Reference Model?
It provides a framework for discussing network operations and design.
What is logical link control?
One of two sublayers of the data link layer of OSI reference model, as defined by the IEEE 802 standard. This sublayer is responsible for maintaining the link between computers when they are sending data across the physical network connection.
What is virtual channel?
Virtual channel is normally a connection from one source to one destination, although multicast connections are also permitted. The other name for virtual channel is virtual circuit.
What is virtual path?
Along any transmission path from a given source to a given destination, a group of virtual circuits can be grouped together into what is called path.
What is packet filter?
Packet filter is a standard router equipped with some extra functionality. The extra functionality allows every incoming or outgoing packet to be inspected. Packets meeting some criterion are forwarded normally. Those that fail the test are dropped.
What is traffic shaping?
One of the main causes of congestion is that traffic is often busy. If hosts could be made to transmit at a uniform rate, congestion would be less common. Another open loop method to help manage congestion is forcing the packet to be transmitted at a more predictable rate. This is called traffic shaping.
What is multicast routing?
Sending a message to a group is called multicasting, and its routing algorithm is called multicast routing.
What is region?
When hierarchical routing is used, the routers are divided into what we will call regions, with each router knowing all the details about how to route packets to destinations within its own region, but knowing nothing about the internal structure of other regions.
What is silly window syndrome?
It is a problem that can ruin TCP performance. This problem occurs when data are passed to the sending TCP entity in large blocks, but an interactive application on the receiving side reads 1 byte at a time.
What are Digrams and Trigrams?
The most common two letter combinations are called as digrams. e.g. th, in, er, re and an. The most common three letter combinations are called as trigrams. e.g. the, ing, and, and ion.
Expand IDEA.
IDEA stands for International Data Encryption Algorithm.
What is wide-mouth frog?
Wide-mouth frog is the simplest known key distribution center (KDC) authentication protocol.
What is Mail Gateway?
It is a system that performs a protocol translation between different electronic mail delivery protocols.
What is IGP (Interior Gateway Protocol)?
It is any routing protocol used within an autonomous system.
What is EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol)?
It is the protocol the routers in neighboring autonomous systems use to identify the set of networks that can be reached within or via each autonomous system.
What is autonomous system?
It is a collection of routers under the control of a single administrative authority and that uses a common Interior Gateway Protocol.
What is BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)?
It is a protocol used to advertise the set of networks that can be reached with in an autonomous system. BGP enables this information to be shared with the autonomous system. This is newer than EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol).
What is Gateway-to-Gateway protocol?
It is a protocol formerly used to exchange routing information between Internet core routers.
What is NVT (Network Virtual Terminal)?
It is a set of rules defining a very simple virtual terminal interaction. The NVT is used in the start of a Telnet session.
What is a Multi-homed Host?
It is a host that has a multiple network interfaces and that requires multiple IP addresses is called as a Multi-homed Host.
What is Kerberos?
It is an authentication service developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kerberos uses encryption to prevent intruders from discovering passwords and gaining unauthorized access to files.
What is OSPF?
It is an Internet routing protocol that scales well, can route traffic along multiple paths, and uses knowledge of an Internet's topology to make accurate routing decisions.
What is Proxy ARP?
It is using a router to answer ARP requests. This will be done when the originating host believes that a destination is local, when in fact is lies beyond router.
What is SLIP (Serial Line Interface Protocol)?
It is a very simple protocol used for transmission of IP datagrams across a serial line.
What is RIP (Routing Information Protocol)?
It is a simple protocol used to exchange information between the routers.
What is source route?
It is a sequence of IP addresses identifying the route a datagram must follow. A source route may optionally be included in an IP datagram header.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
MICROPROCESSOR QUESTIONS
Which type of architecture 8085 has?
How many memory locations can be addressed by a microprocessor with 14 address lines?
8085 is how many bit microprocessor?
Why is data bus bi-directional?
What is the function of accumulator?
What is flag, bus?
What are tri-state devices and why they are essential in a bus oriented system?
Why are program counter and stack pointer 16-bit registers?
What does it mean by embedded system?
What are the different addressing modes in 8085?
What is the difference between MOV and MVI?
What are the functions of RIM, SIM, IN?
What is the immediate addressing mode?
What are the different flags in 8085?
What happens during DMA transfer?
What do you mean by wait state? What is its need?
What is PSW?
What is ALE? Explain the functions of ALE in 8085.
What is a program counter? What is its use?
What is an interrupt?
Which line will be activated when an output device require attention from CPU?
How many memory locations can be addressed by a microprocessor with 14 address lines?
8085 is how many bit microprocessor?
Why is data bus bi-directional?
What is the function of accumulator?
What is flag, bus?
What are tri-state devices and why they are essential in a bus oriented system?
Why are program counter and stack pointer 16-bit registers?
What does it mean by embedded system?
What are the different addressing modes in 8085?
What is the difference between MOV and MVI?
What are the functions of RIM, SIM, IN?
What is the immediate addressing mode?
What are the different flags in 8085?
What happens during DMA transfer?
What do you mean by wait state? What is its need?
What is PSW?
What is ALE? Explain the functions of ALE in 8085.
What is a program counter? What is its use?
What is an interrupt?
Which line will be activated when an output device require attention from CPU?
Resume Tips
The first interface you have with your employer
Your resume is the first interface you have with your employer. Make the most of this opportunity............. The employment market is changing all the time and so have resumes, evolving from a one-size-fits-all standard. Here are our tips to convert your resume into a catching one.
Follow These Basic Standards....
Don't overcrowd your resume; allow for plenty of white space.
Keep your resume to one page whenever possible.
Keep the number of fonts you use to a minimum -- two at the most.
Use a font that is easy to read. Times Roman works well.
Do not justify the lines of type on your resume. Allow the right side of the page to "rag."
Do not overuse capitalization, italics, underlines, or other emphasizing features.
Make sure your name, address, and a phone number appear on your resume and all correspondence, preferably at the top of the page.
Print your resume on white or cream paper using a good-quality printer.
Second- and third-generation photocopies must be avoided
Print on one side of the paper only.
Avoid Mistakes:
SPELLING MISTAKES:
To avoid spelling mistakes:
Don't use words with which you aren't familiar.
Use a dictionary as you write.
Perform a spell check on your finished resume.
Carefully read every word in your resume.
Have a friend or two proof read your resume for you.
PUNCTUATION MISTAKES:
Things to look for:
Periods at the end of all full sentences.
Be consistent in your use of punctuation.
Always put periods and commas within quotation marks.
Avoid using exclamation points.
GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES:
Grammar hang-ups to watch for:
Do not switch tenses within your resume.
The duties you currently perform should be in present tense (i.e., write reports)
Duties you may have performed at past jobs should be in past tense (i.e., wrote reports).
Capitalize all proper nouns.
When expressing numbers, write out all numbers between one and nine (i.e., one, five, seven), but
use numerals for all numbers 10 and above (i.e., 10, 25, 108).
If you begin a sentence with a numeral, spell out that numeral (e.g. Eleven service awards won while employed.).
Make sure your date formats are consistent (i.e.11/22/01 or Nov. 22, 2001, or 11.22.01. Choose one and stick with it.).
Choose Your Words Carefully:
Phrase yourself well:
Be on the lookout for the following easily confused words:
accept (to receive), except (to exclude)
all right (correct), alright (this is not a word)
affect (to bring about change), effect (result)
personal (private), personnel (staff members)
role (a character assigned or a function), roll (to revolve).
Use action words (i.e., wrote reports, increased revenues, directed staff).
REFERENCES:
In most instances it is not necessary to include names and address of references on the resume. If you include a reference, make it sure that the referenced person knows very well about you. It is also advisable to add the persons as references, whom the employer can contact easily. If possible add the phone number and e-mail ID of the reference. Never add a person as a reference, about whom you know nothing
STICK TO THE POINT
Employers have a busy schedule, so don't expect them to read through a long resume. Ideally, resumes should be of one page, or of two pages only if absolutely necessary, to describe relevant work experience.
WORDS COUNT
Use of language is extremely important; you need to sell yourself to an employer quickly and efficiently. Address your potential employer's needs with a clearly written, compelling resume. Avoid large paragraphs (five or six lines). If you provide small, digestible pieces of information, your resume will be read. Use action verbs. Verbs such as "developed", "managed", and "designed" emphasise your accomplishments. Don't use declarative sentences like "I developed the ..." or "I assisted in ...", leave out the "I". Avoid passive constructions, such as "was responsible for managing". Just say, "managed": that sounds stronger and more active.
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR EXPERIENCE
Employers need to know what you have accomplished to have an idea of what you can do for them. Don't be vague. Telling someone that you "improved the company's efficiency" doesn't say much. But if you say that you "cut overhead costs by 20 per cent and saved the company Rs 20 lakh during the last fiscal year", you are more specific.
HONESTY IS A GOOD POLICY
Employers will feel more comfortable hiring you if they can verify your accomplishments. There is a difference between making the most of your experience and exaggerating or falsifying it. A falsified resume can cost you the job later.
DOUBLE-CHECK FOR MISTAKES
Check your resume for correct grammar and spelling - evidence of good communication skills and attention to detail. Nothing can ruin your chances of getting a job faster than submitting a resume filled with preventable mistakes.
Make your resume easy on the eye. Use normal margins (1" on the top and bottom, 1.25" on the sides) and don't cram your text on the page.
Allow for some space between the different sections.
Avoid unusual or exotic fonts.
Preferred fonts: Arial and Times Roman
Writing your resume
Writing your resume is an essential aspect of applying for a job, as it requires a lot of effort and planning on your behalf. A badly worded and poorly presented resume can put off a potential employer totally!
We intend to provide some broad guidelines to help you write a resume that could work for you. Work for you to achieve what it is meant to i.e. to get you an interview call for a job.
At the outset, it is necessary to clarify that you could use the term "resume" or "curriculum vitae" (CV), even though technically a CV is primarily meant for job positions within the academic environment and is supposed to be a lengthy document. The difference is not strictly followed and it is safe to use these two terms interchangeably, but remember that whatever word you use, be sure that you know how to pronounce it accurately!
Your resume should be about two pages long
A resume should be about two pages long. It is supposed to be a brief presentation of your skills, work experience, achievements and education. Anything too long runs the risk of being skimmed over and not read properly. Long and detailed does not necessarily imply better! What your resume has to get across to the potential employer is just this - you have the required skills, experience and education to handle the job! This can be done by appropriately focusing on the key aspects unique to your experience, and leaving out the standard repetitive details, which would be similar to those of your competitors applying for the same job/position. So, try and stick to 2 pages!
Start off by identifying your job objective
The job objective is an excellent area to include in your resume and is usually omitted. It puts your resume in the right perspective for the reader and clearly shows where you are headed in your career plans. If you are applying for an entry level position in marketing, your job objective could be something like:
Objective: Interested in an entry level position in marketing in a multi-national corporation.
The 'multi-national corporation' phrase makes your objective generic regarding company choice. It would be advisable to modify each resume to suit specific companies that you apply to. Then the job objective would read like this:
Objective: Interested in an entry level position in marketing.
Provide a summary of your experience and skills
The next section that your resume should contain is a 5-6 point summary of your skills and experience. That includes:
* No. of years of past and relevant work experience
* a brief description of the work done
* specific skills acquired
* significant achievements
* educational qualifications.
This section is very useful, in providing a snapshot view of what your resume contains for situations where yours is one resume in a pile of fifty others. It allows minimal information loss in case the resume is quickly skimmed over and not given a detailed reading. In this section, the skills that you present should help in answering the question -"How can you contribute to the organization?"
In case of IT/Software professionals, the skill set could be added to the summary. But be sure, that all the skills mentioned are truly areas you have worked in or are comfortable working in.
Use language and content that communicates a proactive style
The style of writing that you use and the particular words or phrases can make a significant difference to your resume. It affects the impression created about you regarding your past work experience and your skills. For example, you might say in your past work experience that you "maintained records and accounts". A better way of expressing the same thing could be "Reported directly to the VP-Finance and managed over 1500 accounts...". Your language and content should focus on what you achieved e.g. saving so many lakh rupees for the organization, rather than a standard listing of responsibilities which sounds like a job profile common to anyone in a similar position to yours. If you have been a brand manager in the past, do not just list your job responsibilities like" responsible for sales, profits, advertising related to the brand...". Instead highlight things like " Implemented change in product formulation that saved Rs 50 lakhs per year for the brand...". Quantifiable parameters have a better impact than just saying " Implemented change in product formulation".
Prioritise details of your past work experience
After the summary section, you can go on to providing details of your past work experience. Leave aside the job objective and summary and that gives you just one and a half pages to cover the details of your work experience as well as your educational qualifications. You need to prioritise. Decide what weightage to give to different organisations/positions. You should not skip any place worked at, but you obviously cannot give all details of each position. A few points to note while preparing this section:
You could present the work experience in reverse chronological order
Start with the most recent work experience at the beginning of this section and the rest later on. That is the organisation where you are currently working first and the earlier ones worked in, later in the resume. This should highlight your relevant work experience at the outset.
Within an organisation, present your career path in the correct chronological order
While you may present the organisations you have worked in, in reverse chronological order, for a particular organisation it is easier to follow your career path if the positions are given in the way they happened e.g. " joined ABC co. as management trainee in 1989 and was promoted to assistant manager (finance) in 1991.....". You could then go on to elaborate your responsibilities and achievements at this position. Remember to highlight the more important designations with their accomplishments, as this will be more relevant than just focusing on your training period.
Mention responsibilities briefly, focus more on accomplishments
If responsibilities are similar across positions in an organisation, try to avoid repeating the same set of responsibilities with each position. That will unnecessarily increase the size of your resume without giving any additional value. Instead, try and include your different achievements at each position, or something that you introduced or did differently in your job. This would also hold true for situations where responsibilities are similar across organisations. Avoid tautology and stick to the accomplishments.
If worked in many organisations, merge information to reduce chronological details
To avoid presenting a long, chronological detail of each organisation worked in, try and merge information on similar positions/responsibilities across organisations into one category. This will be easier to read and will also avoid presenting a negative image of you being a job-hopper.
If changing your area of specialisation, classify the information by function
If you are changing your field from finance to marketing, then instead of just presenting the details of your past work experience in reverse chronological order by organisation, you could classify the information into different functional areas e.g. your responsibilities and achievements in finance (even if across companies); similarly for marketing. You should try and incorporate some marketing experience (and hopefully you will have some) if you intend to get into that area.
Include other information only if significant
You may like to mention your hobbies, interests or extra-curricular activities, under a separate heading, but it will really not add value to your resume unless you have made a significant achievement there. For example, mentioning mountaineering as a hobby is not relevant unless you have achieved something like taken a trip to Mount Everest or Kanchenjunga!
Such achievements which are not directly related to your work experience can be put under the heading "Other information".
Present educational qualifications with the most recent one first
When giving information on your educational qualifications in a separate section, it is advisable to begin by presenting the most recent degree/diploma achieved, as this is usually relevant to the work you are currently doing. For example, if you have acquired a post-graduate degree in management, give that information at the outset.
There is no need to go as far back as schooling, unless you are a fresh graduate with no work experience. Remember, the resume is just 2 pages and you need to give better reasons for being recruited than the school you studied in!
If you have acquired a degree in some other country, mention a degree that it is equivalent to which is internationally recognised, to put it in the right perspective for the reader.
Avoid tables while presenting details of educational qualifications because they occupy more space and interfere with the smooth flow of sentences and points.
Provide information on training if it is at least 3 months or more. Short term one week courses do not really look good on your resume unless you do not have enough to say in 2 pages!
Even if you are not a software/IT professional, today computer literacy is assumed for most positions. So don't list competencies in MS-Word and such like but do include any significant packages you may have learnt, helped develop or are in the process of learning.
For a candidate applying for an entry level position in an organisation, the educational qualifications will be more important as there is no significant work experience other than training. This section could therefore, come before work experience, in your resume.
References should be provided on request
Though it is useful to have names and contact numbers of people to give as references, it makes sense to provide them only on request. You should not give the details on your resume but provide the information later on, when asked for, or further on in the selection process.
The reason for this is that at the outset you do not know how long your resume will be with a company before you get an interview call. By then the persons you mentioned as references may have moved or their contact numbers could have changed.
Also you can tailor your list of references based on the company you are applying to. So there is no need to provide the same information to all the places you send your resume to.
It is also a good idea to inform your references that you have given their names before they receive a call out of the blue. This way when the employers who have included you in the short-list for recruitment, contact your references to check you out, there are no hitches or surprises.
Try and follow these guidelines and you will be surprised at the improvements you can make to your resume!
Remember the resume format is flexible depending on the specifics of your background and experience.
WRITING A RESUME
What is a resume?
A resume is a concise written statement which highlights the qualifications and skills you possess as a result of your life experiences.
It communicates a maximum amount of relevant information through a minimum number of words. A resume is a printed synopsis, a capsule biography designed to persuade an employer to grant you an interview or to request your formal application.
Who should have a resume?
Everyone! In today's tough job market, the average individual changes jobs at least once every 4-6 years. The primary tool used by almost every employer to weed out prospective employees is the resume. The resume is your entry ticket to the job game.
When should I begin putting my resume together?
Now! A resume is something that grows and changes as you do. It's never too early to get started.
A well-prepared resume is a necessary tool for effective employment seeking. The time and effort devoted to resume preparation is a worthwhile investment in your future. Another major advantage to developing your own resume is that the very discipline required to collect, analyze, and prepare your data for writing provides the opportunity for necessary self-assessment. In addition, you will be better prepared to interview effectively with your educational and employment history at your fingertips.
Where to start?
Think of your resume as an advertisement. Before you write the advertisement, you must know what the product is that you are selling. You are the product! Make sure that you can clearly state what the benefits of this product are: your skills, abilities, competencies, motivation, and potential. Start by sketching your past work and educational experience.
Do not worry about form, that will be covered later. The important thing is to create a pool of information on which to draw. The best resumes are those that target the employer's needs. Do a little research into the employer's needs. This can be done through the job referral itself, annual reports and other publications by the employer, and publications in the Career Services Library .
Creating Your Resume
The Resume Heading:
You do not need to title this document as a resume; it should be readily apparent that it is a resume. The heading should consist of your name (which should be in bold capital letters), your address, phone number (including zip codes and area codes), and e-mail address. The ease with which a potential employer can contact you is vital. If you are in a transition period, you can list a current address and a permanent address.
Career or Job Objective:
This is a brief statement telling the reader what type of position you are seeking. Don't leave it to the employer to assume anything. They don't have time to guess. An objective is favored by most resume advisors.
Sample Objectives:
"A position in real estate management or development, requiring financial, analytical, and communication skills."
"Entry level position in a consumer goods manufacturing company."
"A position requiring a combination of editorial, research or administrative skills in a non-profit or research organization."
Education:
Whether educational experience is discussed first will depend on the individual. The education of a recent college graduate with little experience will make up the bulk of the resume. The resume is read from top down, therefore, put the most impressive or relevant data first. Normally, the further along one is in his or her professional career, the less importance will be given to their additional credentials and more importance will be given to specific accomplishments and experiences.
Under the heading of education list the institutions you have attended, after high school, names and dates of degrees conferred, special certificates, and majors. Grade point average (GPA) is a concern of many employers; you do not have to list it, but if it is impressive you should. Examples are GPA in major or senior year. Courses should not be listed by name and number. Your transcripts will define these specifics. Honors and extracurricular activities may be better if listed under separate headings. See examples listed at the end of this pamphlet.
The Content or Body:
There are three basic resume formats: chronological, functional, and a combination of the two. All of these formats combine the previous headings in various order, so as to present the information in an appropriate manner depending on the individual and type of position you are seeking. The following paragraphs will discuss each format and the pros and cons. Examples are given at the end of this pamphlet.
Chronological Resume The chronological resume lists most recent experience first, then the rest follow in reverse order.
Pros:
When the name of your last employer is an important consideration;
When staying in same field as prior jobs;
When job history shows real growth and development;
When prior titles are impressive;
In highly traditional fields (education, government).
Cons:
When work history is spotty;
When changing your career goals;
When you have changed employers too frequently;
When you wish to de-emphasize age;
When you have been doing the same thing too long;
When you have been absent from the job market for a while;
When you are looking for your first job.
Compiling a Chronological Resume
1. Start with present or most recent position and work backward.
2. Detail only the last four or five positions, or employment covering the last few years.
3. You do not need the complete date, year and month are sufficient.
4. Do not repeat details that are common in several positions.
5. Within each position listed, stress major accomplishments and responsibilities that demonstrate your full competency to do the job. Use action verbs.
6. Keep your next job target in mind, as you describe your prior positions.Emphasize accomplishments that are most related to the position you are seeking.
Education is not included in the chronological order. A general rule is, if it is within the last five years, it should go at the top of the resume. If earlier, it should be placed at the bottom.
Functional Resume
If the functional format is used, you will need to identify several functional or topical headings under which you will describe all elements of your work experience that give evidence of development of these particular skills. For example: editorial and writing, research, administrative, and organization.
These are major skill areas. One may describe, under a single heading, experience gained in more than one job. No attention is given to when or where these experiences were obtained, nor is it important to even identify, by name, the employers. In fact, "pure" functional resumes have no dates or organizations identified. See the example of a functional resume, attached.
Pros
When you want to emphasize capabilities not used in recent work experiences;
When changing careers;
When entering the job market for the first time;
When reentering the job market after an absence;
If career growth in the past has not been good;
When you have had a variety of different, relatively unconnected work experience;
When much of your work has been free-lance, consulting, or temporary in nature.
Cons
When emphasizing a management growth pattern; for highly traditional fields;
When you have performed a limited number of functions in your work;
When your most recent employers have been highly prestigious.
Combination of Chronological and Functional Resumes
The functional resume effectively communicates what your skills and competencies are, but fails to communicate where and when you acquired these skills. This is its major limitation. Many employers seek to know the context of your skill development. The combination resume highlights your skills in functional categories as well as answers the questions of "where" and "when?”
Experience:
This is the most important part of the resume and usually the most lengthy. Job title alone will not do. You should describe your actual responsibilities, make your positive assets known, express your duties in terms of your accomplishments and use action words. Stress the benefits that your previous employer derived from your contributions and your strong points in terms of benefits to future employers. If your job experience has only been part time or limited to summer jobs or volunteer work, do not short change yourself. Think about the positive aspects, the skills used and accomplishments.
Begin with your current or most recent job and work backwards. Make sure all your time is accounted for, do not leave time gaps. Be sure to list all your work experience, whether paid or unpaid. Employers like to see volunteer and community work.
List the job title, company name, location, duties on the job and dates of employment. If it is a job you went to each summer, just list the years and note below the years, "summer".
Other Optional Sections:
Honors/Awards
This section would include any honors or awards received pertaining to your academic career, sports, and job related. Also include any scholarships you may have received.
Extracurricular Activities
List any clubs you belonged to during your college career or subsequently. If you held an office, be sure to include that. No dates are needed in this section, only the organization's name and your office if you held one. Any professional organizations related to your career look good to an employer. Also in this section list any sports that you played competitively. during college.
Computer Skills
List computer programs you know how to operate.
Special Certification
List any certification (i.e. CPR, First Aid) pertinent to the career you are pursuing.
References
At the end of your resume you should include a page titled, "References". You should have at least 3 references. You will need their name, title, address, and phone number typed on this sheet of paper. Be sure to let your references know you are using them! If the companies ask for letters of reference, contact your references, ask them to write a letter on their stationary, and mail it to you or the employer depending on instructions given by the employer. References should be people who are familiar with your abilities, either in college or at work. Use former employers or college staff. The higher up in the organization, the better. Do not use personal friends or relatives.
Wording
Remember that an employer usually only skims a resume, spending 40 to 50 seconds on it. For this reason it is important to avoid long sentences and paragraphs. When describing experience, concentrate on achievements and accomplishments, not assigned duties. Wherever possible, qualify results with figures: "increased membership or sales by X%.", "reconciled budget of $X.00" Also keep in mind the following hints:
Do not use personal pronouns. The subject of every section is "I", and it becomes redundant.
Start sentences with verbs that convey action.
Use an outline format. Short sentences-even fragments. Delete repetitive statements.
Avoid abbreviations.
Use the vocabulary of the field for which you are applying, not from the field from which you are coming.
Whenever possible, refer to specific quantitative qualifiers or results.
Be sure to use correct voice and tense in you wording-past and present tense depending on employment situation.
Be consistent once you have chosen a style and format.
Always write in the employer's interest.
Appearance
Now that you have created a product with which to market yourself, we come to the final and one of the most important aspects of the resume: Appearance!! Your resume must be aesthetically pleasing to hold the readers attention as long as possible. The following are suggestions to help you with this area:
A resume should not look like a page out of a novel.
The use of margins and white spaces is very important in creating a positive visual presence.
Spacing is important to allow important items to stand out.
Boldface, underlining, and capitalizing should be used sparingly and consistently, to help the reader key into those areas you believe are important: skill areas, job titles, or workplace.
Indenting helps to separate different type of information and makes reading easier.
Only use letter perfect type and triple check for typos and spelling errors.
Guidelines to Remember:
A resume should be one page in length-two only if necessary.
A resume should be professional in appearance.
A resume should be typed or printed on (8 1/2" X 11") white bond or off-white colors.
A resume may have underlined or italicized words for added emphasis.
A resume should not contain a photograph.
Gimmick resumes should be used with care and good taste.
Important credentials should be presented first
Specific information on work experience should be included.
Do not use unusual type styles.
Have good quality copies made.
Your resume is the first interface you have with your employer. Make the most of this opportunity............. The employment market is changing all the time and so have resumes, evolving from a one-size-fits-all standard. Here are our tips to convert your resume into a catching one.
Follow These Basic Standards....
Don't overcrowd your resume; allow for plenty of white space.
Keep your resume to one page whenever possible.
Keep the number of fonts you use to a minimum -- two at the most.
Use a font that is easy to read. Times Roman works well.
Do not justify the lines of type on your resume. Allow the right side of the page to "rag."
Do not overuse capitalization, italics, underlines, or other emphasizing features.
Make sure your name, address, and a phone number appear on your resume and all correspondence, preferably at the top of the page.
Print your resume on white or cream paper using a good-quality printer.
Second- and third-generation photocopies must be avoided
Print on one side of the paper only.
Avoid Mistakes:
SPELLING MISTAKES:
To avoid spelling mistakes:
Don't use words with which you aren't familiar.
Use a dictionary as you write.
Perform a spell check on your finished resume.
Carefully read every word in your resume.
Have a friend or two proof read your resume for you.
PUNCTUATION MISTAKES:
Things to look for:
Periods at the end of all full sentences.
Be consistent in your use of punctuation.
Always put periods and commas within quotation marks.
Avoid using exclamation points.
GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES:
Grammar hang-ups to watch for:
Do not switch tenses within your resume.
The duties you currently perform should be in present tense (i.e., write reports)
Duties you may have performed at past jobs should be in past tense (i.e., wrote reports).
Capitalize all proper nouns.
When expressing numbers, write out all numbers between one and nine (i.e., one, five, seven), but
use numerals for all numbers 10 and above (i.e., 10, 25, 108).
If you begin a sentence with a numeral, spell out that numeral (e.g. Eleven service awards won while employed.).
Make sure your date formats are consistent (i.e.11/22/01 or Nov. 22, 2001, or 11.22.01. Choose one and stick with it.).
Choose Your Words Carefully:
Phrase yourself well:
Be on the lookout for the following easily confused words:
accept (to receive), except (to exclude)
all right (correct), alright (this is not a word)
affect (to bring about change), effect (result)
personal (private), personnel (staff members)
role (a character assigned or a function), roll (to revolve).
Use action words (i.e., wrote reports, increased revenues, directed staff).
REFERENCES:
In most instances it is not necessary to include names and address of references on the resume. If you include a reference, make it sure that the referenced person knows very well about you. It is also advisable to add the persons as references, whom the employer can contact easily. If possible add the phone number and e-mail ID of the reference. Never add a person as a reference, about whom you know nothing
STICK TO THE POINT
Employers have a busy schedule, so don't expect them to read through a long resume. Ideally, resumes should be of one page, or of two pages only if absolutely necessary, to describe relevant work experience.
WORDS COUNT
Use of language is extremely important; you need to sell yourself to an employer quickly and efficiently. Address your potential employer's needs with a clearly written, compelling resume. Avoid large paragraphs (five or six lines). If you provide small, digestible pieces of information, your resume will be read. Use action verbs. Verbs such as "developed", "managed", and "designed" emphasise your accomplishments. Don't use declarative sentences like "I developed the ..." or "I assisted in ...", leave out the "I". Avoid passive constructions, such as "was responsible for managing". Just say, "managed": that sounds stronger and more active.
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR EXPERIENCE
Employers need to know what you have accomplished to have an idea of what you can do for them. Don't be vague. Telling someone that you "improved the company's efficiency" doesn't say much. But if you say that you "cut overhead costs by 20 per cent and saved the company Rs 20 lakh during the last fiscal year", you are more specific.
HONESTY IS A GOOD POLICY
Employers will feel more comfortable hiring you if they can verify your accomplishments. There is a difference between making the most of your experience and exaggerating or falsifying it. A falsified resume can cost you the job later.
DOUBLE-CHECK FOR MISTAKES
Check your resume for correct grammar and spelling - evidence of good communication skills and attention to detail. Nothing can ruin your chances of getting a job faster than submitting a resume filled with preventable mistakes.
Make your resume easy on the eye. Use normal margins (1" on the top and bottom, 1.25" on the sides) and don't cram your text on the page.
Allow for some space between the different sections.
Avoid unusual or exotic fonts.
Preferred fonts: Arial and Times Roman
Writing your resume
Writing your resume is an essential aspect of applying for a job, as it requires a lot of effort and planning on your behalf. A badly worded and poorly presented resume can put off a potential employer totally!
We intend to provide some broad guidelines to help you write a resume that could work for you. Work for you to achieve what it is meant to i.e. to get you an interview call for a job.
At the outset, it is necessary to clarify that you could use the term "resume" or "curriculum vitae" (CV), even though technically a CV is primarily meant for job positions within the academic environment and is supposed to be a lengthy document. The difference is not strictly followed and it is safe to use these two terms interchangeably, but remember that whatever word you use, be sure that you know how to pronounce it accurately!
Your resume should be about two pages long
A resume should be about two pages long. It is supposed to be a brief presentation of your skills, work experience, achievements and education. Anything too long runs the risk of being skimmed over and not read properly. Long and detailed does not necessarily imply better! What your resume has to get across to the potential employer is just this - you have the required skills, experience and education to handle the job! This can be done by appropriately focusing on the key aspects unique to your experience, and leaving out the standard repetitive details, which would be similar to those of your competitors applying for the same job/position. So, try and stick to 2 pages!
Start off by identifying your job objective
The job objective is an excellent area to include in your resume and is usually omitted. It puts your resume in the right perspective for the reader and clearly shows where you are headed in your career plans. If you are applying for an entry level position in marketing, your job objective could be something like:
Objective: Interested in an entry level position in marketing in a multi-national corporation.
The 'multi-national corporation' phrase makes your objective generic regarding company choice. It would be advisable to modify each resume to suit specific companies that you apply to. Then the job objective would read like this:
Objective: Interested in an entry level position in marketing.
Provide a summary of your experience and skills
The next section that your resume should contain is a 5-6 point summary of your skills and experience. That includes:
* No. of years of past and relevant work experience
* a brief description of the work done
* specific skills acquired
* significant achievements
* educational qualifications.
This section is very useful, in providing a snapshot view of what your resume contains for situations where yours is one resume in a pile of fifty others. It allows minimal information loss in case the resume is quickly skimmed over and not given a detailed reading. In this section, the skills that you present should help in answering the question -"How can you contribute to the organization?"
In case of IT/Software professionals, the skill set could be added to the summary. But be sure, that all the skills mentioned are truly areas you have worked in or are comfortable working in.
Use language and content that communicates a proactive style
The style of writing that you use and the particular words or phrases can make a significant difference to your resume. It affects the impression created about you regarding your past work experience and your skills. For example, you might say in your past work experience that you "maintained records and accounts". A better way of expressing the same thing could be "Reported directly to the VP-Finance and managed over 1500 accounts...". Your language and content should focus on what you achieved e.g. saving so many lakh rupees for the organization, rather than a standard listing of responsibilities which sounds like a job profile common to anyone in a similar position to yours. If you have been a brand manager in the past, do not just list your job responsibilities like" responsible for sales, profits, advertising related to the brand...". Instead highlight things like " Implemented change in product formulation that saved Rs 50 lakhs per year for the brand...". Quantifiable parameters have a better impact than just saying " Implemented change in product formulation".
Prioritise details of your past work experience
After the summary section, you can go on to providing details of your past work experience. Leave aside the job objective and summary and that gives you just one and a half pages to cover the details of your work experience as well as your educational qualifications. You need to prioritise. Decide what weightage to give to different organisations/positions. You should not skip any place worked at, but you obviously cannot give all details of each position. A few points to note while preparing this section:
You could present the work experience in reverse chronological order
Start with the most recent work experience at the beginning of this section and the rest later on. That is the organisation where you are currently working first and the earlier ones worked in, later in the resume. This should highlight your relevant work experience at the outset.
Within an organisation, present your career path in the correct chronological order
While you may present the organisations you have worked in, in reverse chronological order, for a particular organisation it is easier to follow your career path if the positions are given in the way they happened e.g. " joined ABC co. as management trainee in 1989 and was promoted to assistant manager (finance) in 1991.....". You could then go on to elaborate your responsibilities and achievements at this position. Remember to highlight the more important designations with their accomplishments, as this will be more relevant than just focusing on your training period.
Mention responsibilities briefly, focus more on accomplishments
If responsibilities are similar across positions in an organisation, try to avoid repeating the same set of responsibilities with each position. That will unnecessarily increase the size of your resume without giving any additional value. Instead, try and include your different achievements at each position, or something that you introduced or did differently in your job. This would also hold true for situations where responsibilities are similar across organisations. Avoid tautology and stick to the accomplishments.
If worked in many organisations, merge information to reduce chronological details
To avoid presenting a long, chronological detail of each organisation worked in, try and merge information on similar positions/responsibilities across organisations into one category. This will be easier to read and will also avoid presenting a negative image of you being a job-hopper.
If changing your area of specialisation, classify the information by function
If you are changing your field from finance to marketing, then instead of just presenting the details of your past work experience in reverse chronological order by organisation, you could classify the information into different functional areas e.g. your responsibilities and achievements in finance (even if across companies); similarly for marketing. You should try and incorporate some marketing experience (and hopefully you will have some) if you intend to get into that area.
Include other information only if significant
You may like to mention your hobbies, interests or extra-curricular activities, under a separate heading, but it will really not add value to your resume unless you have made a significant achievement there. For example, mentioning mountaineering as a hobby is not relevant unless you have achieved something like taken a trip to Mount Everest or Kanchenjunga!
Such achievements which are not directly related to your work experience can be put under the heading "Other information".
Present educational qualifications with the most recent one first
When giving information on your educational qualifications in a separate section, it is advisable to begin by presenting the most recent degree/diploma achieved, as this is usually relevant to the work you are currently doing. For example, if you have acquired a post-graduate degree in management, give that information at the outset.
There is no need to go as far back as schooling, unless you are a fresh graduate with no work experience. Remember, the resume is just 2 pages and you need to give better reasons for being recruited than the school you studied in!
If you have acquired a degree in some other country, mention a degree that it is equivalent to which is internationally recognised, to put it in the right perspective for the reader.
Avoid tables while presenting details of educational qualifications because they occupy more space and interfere with the smooth flow of sentences and points.
Provide information on training if it is at least 3 months or more. Short term one week courses do not really look good on your resume unless you do not have enough to say in 2 pages!
Even if you are not a software/IT professional, today computer literacy is assumed for most positions. So don't list competencies in MS-Word and such like but do include any significant packages you may have learnt, helped develop or are in the process of learning.
For a candidate applying for an entry level position in an organisation, the educational qualifications will be more important as there is no significant work experience other than training. This section could therefore, come before work experience, in your resume.
References should be provided on request
Though it is useful to have names and contact numbers of people to give as references, it makes sense to provide them only on request. You should not give the details on your resume but provide the information later on, when asked for, or further on in the selection process.
The reason for this is that at the outset you do not know how long your resume will be with a company before you get an interview call. By then the persons you mentioned as references may have moved or their contact numbers could have changed.
Also you can tailor your list of references based on the company you are applying to. So there is no need to provide the same information to all the places you send your resume to.
It is also a good idea to inform your references that you have given their names before they receive a call out of the blue. This way when the employers who have included you in the short-list for recruitment, contact your references to check you out, there are no hitches or surprises.
Try and follow these guidelines and you will be surprised at the improvements you can make to your resume!
Remember the resume format is flexible depending on the specifics of your background and experience.
WRITING A RESUME
What is a resume?
A resume is a concise written statement which highlights the qualifications and skills you possess as a result of your life experiences.
It communicates a maximum amount of relevant information through a minimum number of words. A resume is a printed synopsis, a capsule biography designed to persuade an employer to grant you an interview or to request your formal application.
Who should have a resume?
Everyone! In today's tough job market, the average individual changes jobs at least once every 4-6 years. The primary tool used by almost every employer to weed out prospective employees is the resume. The resume is your entry ticket to the job game.
When should I begin putting my resume together?
Now! A resume is something that grows and changes as you do. It's never too early to get started.
A well-prepared resume is a necessary tool for effective employment seeking. The time and effort devoted to resume preparation is a worthwhile investment in your future. Another major advantage to developing your own resume is that the very discipline required to collect, analyze, and prepare your data for writing provides the opportunity for necessary self-assessment. In addition, you will be better prepared to interview effectively with your educational and employment history at your fingertips.
Where to start?
Think of your resume as an advertisement. Before you write the advertisement, you must know what the product is that you are selling. You are the product! Make sure that you can clearly state what the benefits of this product are: your skills, abilities, competencies, motivation, and potential. Start by sketching your past work and educational experience.
Do not worry about form, that will be covered later. The important thing is to create a pool of information on which to draw. The best resumes are those that target the employer's needs. Do a little research into the employer's needs. This can be done through the job referral itself, annual reports and other publications by the employer, and publications in the Career Services Library .
Creating Your Resume
The Resume Heading:
You do not need to title this document as a resume; it should be readily apparent that it is a resume. The heading should consist of your name (which should be in bold capital letters), your address, phone number (including zip codes and area codes), and e-mail address. The ease with which a potential employer can contact you is vital. If you are in a transition period, you can list a current address and a permanent address.
Career or Job Objective:
This is a brief statement telling the reader what type of position you are seeking. Don't leave it to the employer to assume anything. They don't have time to guess. An objective is favored by most resume advisors.
Sample Objectives:
"A position in real estate management or development, requiring financial, analytical, and communication skills."
"Entry level position in a consumer goods manufacturing company."
"A position requiring a combination of editorial, research or administrative skills in a non-profit or research organization."
Education:
Whether educational experience is discussed first will depend on the individual. The education of a recent college graduate with little experience will make up the bulk of the resume. The resume is read from top down, therefore, put the most impressive or relevant data first. Normally, the further along one is in his or her professional career, the less importance will be given to their additional credentials and more importance will be given to specific accomplishments and experiences.
Under the heading of education list the institutions you have attended, after high school, names and dates of degrees conferred, special certificates, and majors. Grade point average (GPA) is a concern of many employers; you do not have to list it, but if it is impressive you should. Examples are GPA in major or senior year. Courses should not be listed by name and number. Your transcripts will define these specifics. Honors and extracurricular activities may be better if listed under separate headings. See examples listed at the end of this pamphlet.
The Content or Body:
There are three basic resume formats: chronological, functional, and a combination of the two. All of these formats combine the previous headings in various order, so as to present the information in an appropriate manner depending on the individual and type of position you are seeking. The following paragraphs will discuss each format and the pros and cons. Examples are given at the end of this pamphlet.
Chronological Resume The chronological resume lists most recent experience first, then the rest follow in reverse order.
Pros:
When the name of your last employer is an important consideration;
When staying in same field as prior jobs;
When job history shows real growth and development;
When prior titles are impressive;
In highly traditional fields (education, government).
Cons:
When work history is spotty;
When changing your career goals;
When you have changed employers too frequently;
When you wish to de-emphasize age;
When you have been doing the same thing too long;
When you have been absent from the job market for a while;
When you are looking for your first job.
Compiling a Chronological Resume
1. Start with present or most recent position and work backward.
2. Detail only the last four or five positions, or employment covering the last few years.
3. You do not need the complete date, year and month are sufficient.
4. Do not repeat details that are common in several positions.
5. Within each position listed, stress major accomplishments and responsibilities that demonstrate your full competency to do the job. Use action verbs.
6. Keep your next job target in mind, as you describe your prior positions.Emphasize accomplishments that are most related to the position you are seeking.
Education is not included in the chronological order. A general rule is, if it is within the last five years, it should go at the top of the resume. If earlier, it should be placed at the bottom.
Functional Resume
If the functional format is used, you will need to identify several functional or topical headings under which you will describe all elements of your work experience that give evidence of development of these particular skills. For example: editorial and writing, research, administrative, and organization.
These are major skill areas. One may describe, under a single heading, experience gained in more than one job. No attention is given to when or where these experiences were obtained, nor is it important to even identify, by name, the employers. In fact, "pure" functional resumes have no dates or organizations identified. See the example of a functional resume, attached.
Pros
When you want to emphasize capabilities not used in recent work experiences;
When changing careers;
When entering the job market for the first time;
When reentering the job market after an absence;
If career growth in the past has not been good;
When you have had a variety of different, relatively unconnected work experience;
When much of your work has been free-lance, consulting, or temporary in nature.
Cons
When emphasizing a management growth pattern; for highly traditional fields;
When you have performed a limited number of functions in your work;
When your most recent employers have been highly prestigious.
Combination of Chronological and Functional Resumes
The functional resume effectively communicates what your skills and competencies are, but fails to communicate where and when you acquired these skills. This is its major limitation. Many employers seek to know the context of your skill development. The combination resume highlights your skills in functional categories as well as answers the questions of "where" and "when?”
Experience:
This is the most important part of the resume and usually the most lengthy. Job title alone will not do. You should describe your actual responsibilities, make your positive assets known, express your duties in terms of your accomplishments and use action words. Stress the benefits that your previous employer derived from your contributions and your strong points in terms of benefits to future employers. If your job experience has only been part time or limited to summer jobs or volunteer work, do not short change yourself. Think about the positive aspects, the skills used and accomplishments.
Begin with your current or most recent job and work backwards. Make sure all your time is accounted for, do not leave time gaps. Be sure to list all your work experience, whether paid or unpaid. Employers like to see volunteer and community work.
List the job title, company name, location, duties on the job and dates of employment. If it is a job you went to each summer, just list the years and note below the years, "summer".
Other Optional Sections:
Honors/Awards
This section would include any honors or awards received pertaining to your academic career, sports, and job related. Also include any scholarships you may have received.
Extracurricular Activities
List any clubs you belonged to during your college career or subsequently. If you held an office, be sure to include that. No dates are needed in this section, only the organization's name and your office if you held one. Any professional organizations related to your career look good to an employer. Also in this section list any sports that you played competitively. during college.
Computer Skills
List computer programs you know how to operate.
Special Certification
List any certification (i.e. CPR, First Aid) pertinent to the career you are pursuing.
References
At the end of your resume you should include a page titled, "References". You should have at least 3 references. You will need their name, title, address, and phone number typed on this sheet of paper. Be sure to let your references know you are using them! If the companies ask for letters of reference, contact your references, ask them to write a letter on their stationary, and mail it to you or the employer depending on instructions given by the employer. References should be people who are familiar with your abilities, either in college or at work. Use former employers or college staff. The higher up in the organization, the better. Do not use personal friends or relatives.
Wording
Remember that an employer usually only skims a resume, spending 40 to 50 seconds on it. For this reason it is important to avoid long sentences and paragraphs. When describing experience, concentrate on achievements and accomplishments, not assigned duties. Wherever possible, qualify results with figures: "increased membership or sales by X%.", "reconciled budget of $X.00" Also keep in mind the following hints:
Do not use personal pronouns. The subject of every section is "I", and it becomes redundant.
Start sentences with verbs that convey action.
Use an outline format. Short sentences-even fragments. Delete repetitive statements.
Avoid abbreviations.
Use the vocabulary of the field for which you are applying, not from the field from which you are coming.
Whenever possible, refer to specific quantitative qualifiers or results.
Be sure to use correct voice and tense in you wording-past and present tense depending on employment situation.
Be consistent once you have chosen a style and format.
Always write in the employer's interest.
Appearance
Now that you have created a product with which to market yourself, we come to the final and one of the most important aspects of the resume: Appearance!! Your resume must be aesthetically pleasing to hold the readers attention as long as possible. The following are suggestions to help you with this area:
A resume should not look like a page out of a novel.
The use of margins and white spaces is very important in creating a positive visual presence.
Spacing is important to allow important items to stand out.
Boldface, underlining, and capitalizing should be used sparingly and consistently, to help the reader key into those areas you believe are important: skill areas, job titles, or workplace.
Indenting helps to separate different type of information and makes reading easier.
Only use letter perfect type and triple check for typos and spelling errors.
Guidelines to Remember:
A resume should be one page in length-two only if necessary.
A resume should be professional in appearance.
A resume should be typed or printed on (8 1/2" X 11") white bond or off-white colors.
A resume may have underlined or italicized words for added emphasis.
A resume should not contain a photograph.
Gimmick resumes should be used with care and good taste.
Important credentials should be presented first
Specific information on work experience should be included.
Do not use unusual type styles.
Have good quality copies made.
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