Preparing Your Curriculum Vitae (CV)

A person is as good as his resume, or so the saying goes in professional circles. One cannot but overlook the emphasis and the importance laid on the word resume because of the simple reason that a resume reflects upon the personality of its holder. It speaks eloquently about its maker's talents, capabilities and qualifications and is therefore rightly considered to be the unspoken measurement of its maker. In as much as an impressive resume is capable of granting success to its owner, a carelessly prepared resume can destroy its owner's career and spoil his chances of success with equal finality. It is therefore essential for a candidate desiring success to prepare a resume which not only highlights his positive traits but is also free from the common errors committed by novices due to sheer lack of guidance. The following are some of the common mistakes found in resumes along with suggestions to rectify them:

v Grammatical and typing errors: Very often resumes' are found to be full of grammatical mistakes in form of incorrect usage of words, spelling mistakes, wrong sentence construction etc. which give the reader a bad impression about its holder and raises a doubt about his efficiency. Typing errors also point to the fact that care was not taken while preparing the resume and are interpreted as lack of interest on part of the candidate. Both the above mentioned errors should be avoided at all costs as nothing could be more destructive to an aspiring candidate than a poorly prepared resume. One's resume, after being prepared should be subjected to a thorough scrutiny by one's close friends and well wishers so that the errors, if any, can be identified and rectified well in time.

v One-job resume: More often than not, candidates try to design their resume to suit the requirements of a particular job. On the contrary, a resume should be tailored in such a way that it suits a number of jobs and does not cater completely to any single opening. A versatile resume is far more likely to secure a large number of offers for its holder than a strictly selective resume suitable only for a single interview.

v Excessive use of nouns: A noun is an unavoidable part of speech, but if used excessively, gives one's resume a passive feel. In order to lend a more vibrant approach to a resume, one must use verbs in a positive manner, which would give the impression of a dynamic and an action oriented personality.

v Boastfulness: A boastful resume often looses its charm and purpose for the same reason that a boastful person soon looses his audience ie. overbearance and self proclaimation. A resume is method of communication between two or more unknown individuals and hence a modest and humble approach would be more suitable for the achievement of one's objectives as compared to a boastful tone, which would be more likely to put off its reader.