Enhance Look of Resume

A Resume does the talking on behalf of the candidate and goes a long way in putting up the first impression. However, a resume that has been presented shabbily will not get a preference over other candidates, in spite of the impressive credentials. Thus, it is necessary to look after the design, format and presentation of the resume along with its content. Read further to find some guidelines to enhance the look of resume

Resume Chronology

Most important aspect of resume writing is deciding the chronology of the details you wish to put down in your resume. It is important to prioritize and decide on the details you wish to highlight and bring to notice.

• Start the resume by mentioning your contact details like name, address, email id and contact number on the top
• The actual resume starts with the objective, followed by key skills, experience, educational qualifications and ends with references.
• Put the title first and highlight it. Start writing details about the title from the next line.
• You can put in details like achievements, hobbies, extra qualifications before references. Prioritize these details depending upon the resume length, its importance and its relevance to your job profile.

Highlighting the Contents

Any employer would not scan a candidate's resume for more than a few seconds. In order to make the most of this little time, it is necessary to make it easy for the reader to spot the relevant details quickly. Hence, it is important to highlight such details and ensure it grabs the reader's attention.

Presentation of Details

Resume should be concise, concrete and clear. It is important to mention only those details that matter to the employer the most. Hence, shortlist the qualifications, experiences and responsibilities, most relevant to the job profile and include them in your resume.

• Highlight the titles like objectives or experience in bold letters.
• The font style and font size should be readable and should appear professional
• Mention details in bullet points. Avoid writing in passages as it may irritate the reader.
• Align the contents either to the center or left of the page. Make sure that you align the title to the left side.
• Organize the contents with proper spaces and highlights. Ensure the contents do not look cluttered.

Paper Quality

A poor quality paper might put a negative impression on the employer. A thin paper with yellowish tinge or multiple folds also might disappoint the reader.

• The Paper should be thick and bright white.
• Paper of A4 size is considered as ideal for resume writing.
• The Paper should not be crumpled or posses more than two folds.
• Make sure the print is legible and ink is not smeared anywhere on the paper.

Paper Folding

Do not fold the resume more than 2 times. A paper that has been crumpled or has multiple folds may annoy the reader. A neat and well-folded paper makes it easy for the employer to read the contents.

• While folding the paper, make sure the folds are not done haphazardly.
• Fold the paper in correspondence to the envelope size.
• Make sure the resume is not folded more than 2 times

Resume Length

Ideally, the resume length should not exceed 2 pages. However, it may get restricted to one page in case you are a fresher. For a highly experienced candidate, the resume can be exceeded till 3 pages. A lengthy, cluttered resume might not hold the reader's interest for long and so it has to be shortened and concisely written. In such a case, mention only the recent and the relevant experiences.

Follow the given guidelines to enhance the look of resume. The resume will impress the employer only when it is organized, planned and presented well. These guidelines will help you present the resume in professional way and to get you the desired result.