Mistakes one should not do while creating résumé & CVs ?

This CGPA disease is prevelant because recruiters/HR dept is full of such people, who think CGPA should be considered to filter out candidates.
Someone should filter their brains through a logical filter.

We at my current firm, raise a red flag then moment someone mentions these words - Top 10 University rankers, Distinction in Engineering, Topper in College and blah blah blah. Not that I am demeaning those the marks, just that we have to be extra cautious about a possible candidate who might consider his work to be another 75% worth of effort.
 
blufox said:
This CGPA disease is prevelant because recruiters/HR dept is full of such people, who think CGPA should be considered to filter out candidates.
Someone should filter their brains through a logical filter.

We at my current firm, raise a red flag then moment someone mentions these words - Top 10 University rankers, Distinction in Engineering, Topper in College and blah blah blah. Not that I am demeaning those the marks, just that we have to be extra cautious about a possible candidate who might consider his work to be another 75% worth of effort.
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Though I agree with you entirely (I missed out a spot in 2 of our Indian MNCs way back in college even after clearing the aptitude and tech rounds because I was 5 marks less than their "cut-off"), when it comes to freshers, how do you propose sieving through the thousands of people who apply?

PS: Just FYI, but I was lucky to be rejected by those 2 companies.. today I am very satisfied in my profile and earning quite a lot more than my peers who are still present there. :)
 
Sei said:
Though I agree with you entirely (I missed out a spot in 2 of our Indian MNCs way back in college even after clearing the aptitude and tech rounds because I was 5 marks less than their "cut-off"), when it comes to freshers, how do you propose sieving through the thousands of people who apply?

PS: Just FYI, but I was lucky to be rejected by those 2 companies.. today I am very satisfied in my profile and earning quite a lot more than my peers who are still present there. :)
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I was not given a chance to sit in the written tests as a fresher just because I didnt have an engineering degree, though I scored 92 percentile score in CDAC entrance test. Though I hate the score based cur-off system its the only way hr filters the freshers. btw, I share same experience as yours to be lucky enough to get rejected by 4 companies. :) (now they are in my blacklist :devil: )

As an interviewer; whenever I see a guy showing off his academic scores, I get down to the very basics. I've seen one case where I rejected a guy. it was a fun interview.
 
booo said:
I was not given a chance to sit in the written tests as a fresher just because I didnt have an engineering degree, though I scored 92 percentile score in CDAC entrance test. Though I hate the score based cur-off system its the only way hr filters the freshers. btw, I share same experience as yours to be lucky enough to get rejected by 4 companies. :) (now they are in my blacklist :devil: )

As an interviewer; whenever I see a guy showing off his academic scores, I get down to the very basics. I've seen one case where I rejected a guy. it was a fun interview.
Click to expand...

Mine too! :devil:
 
Do not write about anything that you cannot justify.

Most of the stuff is covered, esp., being honest about what one has actually done.

I will touch upon a different one: "hobbies".

Do not write "reading" - esp., if you haven't read any books. Once having nothing else to discuss, I asked one fresher what exactly he "read". I persisted and the answers were "English books" which became "picture books" which became "comics" which ended up with "Tinkle".

If you want to mention "trekking" be ready to talk about your last trek, and so on.
 
If you are fresher your degrees are like gold i remember when i had completed by B.Com no one was ready to take me in everyone wanted B.E in Electronics or Computers but luckily i got a break and now i work with IITians , and i have seen how poor some of the B.E students in there logical reasonsing
 
Nice thread ! I want to ask you all, slightly OT, if a person(read fresher) is to be interviewed and as soon as he enters the room, how should he greet the interviewer ? Good Morning Sir ? or Hello Sir would also do, or would a "Hello Sir" indicate casual behavior ? Same question if its a over-the-phone interview.
 
"Hello Sir" is still formal. "Hi"/"Hey" can be considered informal.

Though IMO, it is better to go with a simple "Good Morning". This is true for both in-person and on the phone.

I'm not sure if "Sir" is needed at this point; unless you feel that the person sitting on the other end deserves it (very, very senior person in age/position). But again, it depends from company to company. Most foreign MNCs (and even a few Indian ones) have done away with titles. This is totally your choice. It will not hurt/increase your chances in any manner.
 
The "Sir"ism is strongly discouraged in many companies. my first company was cybage, pune. I was a fresher and the other guy was CTO. I addressed him with a sir, he politely asked me to address him by his name. After that I never called anyone sir.

So, if you are meeting face to face, I would suggest that you greet the people with "Good morning/afternoon/evening" and extend your hand for a hand shake. It will look nice and show your confidence. :)
 
Like @Sei said, go with 'Good Morning' or 'Mr. Lastname, nice to meet you' (if you know their name and have had some interaction with them previously). If they invite you to use their first name, go ahead and use it.
 
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Mr. Lastname works in some cultures and is old fashioned in others. Some are on a first name basis from the first time they meet, so you should be well aware of which country you're in :P . In the Indian corporate environment, first name is completely acceptable.

Also, to whoever asked the question about "Hey/hi", I hope you don't over think on such tiny details and end up screwing the main interview. IMO, unless the interview's for a senior management position, such details don't matter.
 
Awesome thread with great insight from experienced industry vets., bookmarked.

I am in the rat race as of now kind of confused as well. Some details I want to shed about the resume that I have prepared ( I am a fresher with no prior job experience (loads of freelancing and oss contribution))-

1. My resume consists of 2 full page, though I can shave some column but it won't fit in 1 page. Is that fine?
2. I have highlighted many aspects of many resume using Bold styling. Does that make it bad? (Specially the headliners)
3. As someone above said about mentioning facts in numbers - will it be apt for me to mention the payments I earned during freelancing? Seems lame to me :|
4. Is it ok to provide reference if not specially asked?
5. Instead of using ordered list I ended up using unordered list with # . Is it ok?

Though far from complete (Project wise) I'd love your inputs.

Some pointers and column that I am not very keen to include are - Research Interest and Hobbies , Personal Details.

Should I remove the above two column ?

P.S - I have created my resume in LaTeX :p
Looking for Intership and Job
 
Dark Star said:
Awesome thread with great insight from experienced industry vets., bookmarked.

I am in the rat race as of now kind of confused as well. Some details I want to shed about the resume that I have prepared ( I am a fresher with no prior job experience (loads of freelancing and oss contribution))-

1. My resume consists of 2 full page, though I can shave some column but it won't fit in 1 page. Is that fine?
2. I have highlighted many aspects of many resume using Bold styling. Does that make it bad? (Specially the headliners)
3. As someone above said about mentioning facts in numbers - will it be apt for me to mention the payments I earned during freelancing? Seems lame to me :|
4. Is it ok to provide reference if not specially asked?
5. Instead of using ordered list I ended up using unordered list with # . Is it ok?

Though far from complete (Project wise) I'd love your inputs.

Some pointers and column that I am not very keen to include are - Research Interest and Hobbies , Personal Details.

Should I remove the above two column ?

P.S - I have created my resume in LaTeX :p
Looking for Intership and Job
Click to expand...


LaTeX is good but 2 pages is not; especially since you are a fresher. Get it at least 1.5 pages.
Don't highlight words in a line by marking them bold. This is not good - "I have solid understanding and good experience in C#, C++..." Headlines in bold are fine.
Don't mention the pay directly - mention the scope of the project and your tech skills provided.
Not sure whether you should provide reference unless specifically asked.
How long is the list? :)
Hobbies and Personal Details are unnecessary. Research Interests are only worth it if they are relevant to the job on hand. Otherwise they might question you that you want to work in some other field but you applied for this job; are you planning to leave soon etc.
 
@Sei - I can easily shave 1/2 page by reducing PD and removing Research Interest.

On to the bold part you got it wrong. I have only highlighted either company name or project. For instance -


# Triage Team - Worked as an Indian representative & bug tester for Mandriva Linux.
Click to expand...

The above is fine or should I undo the bold styling?

Well I can list a page full of ref. but for now I have resorted to only 2 :p

Other than that only name and designation should suffice or I list the contact details too (in ref)?



The above format is ok'ish or just something needs to rectified?

Edit- Where should I stuff my blog and portfolio link(s)? At the top?
 
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Dark Star said:
@Sei - I can easily shave 1/2 page by reducing PD and removing Research Interest.

On to the bold part you got it wrong. I have only highlighted either company name or project. For instance -




The above is fine or should I undo the bold styling?

Well I can list a page full of ref. but for now I have resorted to only 2 :p

Other than that only name and designation should suffice or I list the contact details too (in ref)?

The above format is ok'ish or just something needs to rectified?

Edit- Where should I stuff my blog and portfolio link(s)? At the top?
Click to expand...


Leave out the references. If it goes to the next stage, HR from the company will contact you for further details.

I would suggest you reformat your 'professional profile'. Always better to include specifics. General adjectives like 'Budding IT professional' and 'Consistent academic record' don't stand out like hard facts do.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when a human looks at an A4 page, studies have shown that the human eyes jump usually to about a distance of 20% from the top of the page and tend to concentrate towards the left of the page. So make sure to include what you think are your best points (either experience or academic performance) in that position and the important points should be to the left.

One example is the the format below. Even if the HR person is going through your resume quickly, the immediate points of working for 2+ years on an OSS project and freelance writing for a major website will stand out.

Mandriva Linux Project (July, 2010 - Present)
  • Bug Testing - Involved in testing and debugging drivers for wi-fi adapters in Mandriva Linux 2011.1 and 2011.2
  • India representative - Helped manage the Indian testing group and acted as the liason with the teams in France and Brazil.
TechEnclave (July 2011 - Present)
  • Freelance writer - Contributed to the software news section of Indian tech portal with an audience of 6,00,000 monthly visitors.
If it is a blog where you have also posted personal information at some time, leave it out. If you are not applying for a web design or artist profession, leave out the portfolio.
 
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Dark Star said:
@Sei - I can easily shave 1/2 page by reducing PD and removing Research Interest.

On to the bold part you got it wrong. I have only highlighted either company name or project. For instance -




The above is fine or should I undo the bold styling?

Well I can list a page full of ref. but for now I have resorted to only 2 :p

Other than that only name and designation should suffice or I list the contact details too (in ref)?



The above format is ok'ish or just something needs to rectified?

Edit- Where should I stuff my blog and portfolio link(s)? At the top?
Click to expand...

I was quite sure that you must not have used the bold part like that; was just giving an example of what I have seen. :) But, even keeping that in mind, do you really think highlighting Mandriva Linux improves the readibility? It should look fine with highlighting it too. Just my opinion.

Also, you can mention the blog and portfolio links at the bottom of the CV. Only e-mail at the top.
 
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whatsinaname said:
Leave out the references. If it goes to the next stage, HR from the company will contact you for further details.

I would suggest you reformat your 'professional profile'. Always better to include specifics. General adjectives like 'Budding IT professional' and 'Consistent academic record' don't stand out like hard facts do.

Should I be throwing some number to support the statements or should I do that during HR interview?

Another thing to keep in mind is that when a human looks at an A4 page, studies have shown that the human eyes jump usually to about a distance of 20% from the top of the page and tend to concentrate towards the left of the page. So make sure to include what you think are your best points (either experience or academic performance) in that position and the important points should be to the left.

One example is the the format below. Even if the HR person is going through your resume quickly, the immediate points of working for 2+ years on an OSS project and freelance writing for a major website will stand out.

Mandriva Linux Project (July, 2010 - Present)
  • Bug Testing - Involved in testing and debugging drivers for wi-fi adapters in Mandriva Linux 2011.1 and 2011.2
  • India representative - Helped manage the Indian testing group and acted as the liason with the teams in France and Brazil.
TechEnclave (July 2011 - Present)
  • Freelance writer - Contributed to the software news section of Indian tech portal with an audience of 6,00,000 monthly visitors.
If it is a blog where you have also posted personal information at some time, leave it out. If you are not applying for a web design or artist profession, leave out the portfolio.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply, much appreciated! I will edit the resume asap (will take some time though, no TeX installation + no net)

I have not mentioned Mandriva and TE in my work experience instead I have created a special section for them (I know that's insane but this is how I have compiled my experience) .

JMfx2Cf.png

Work Exp one page 1

h6ZvIfI.png

A&A on Page 2

Should I mention about the award(s) from lower standard such as Science Olympiad, Quizes and what not. Didn't felt like including it.

After reading your reply I feel like reformatting my resume.

Is it ok to list WIP projects in resume?

Sei said:
I was quite sure that you must not have used the bold part like that; was just giving an example of what I have seen. :) But, even keeping that in mind, do you really think highlighting Mandriva Linux improves the readibility? It should look fine with highlighting it too. Just my opinion.

Also, you can mention the blog and portfolio links at the bottom of the CV. Only e-mail at the top.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

Edit - Should I be carrying my projects / articles in disc to support my statement(s)?
 
I would avoid that white text on black banner if I were applying online. Most companies have an automated process for extracting information from resumes uploaded to their job portal and if it encounters any such unexpected graphics your resume won't make it past the preliminary check for keywords. Most such scanners are rudimentary and expect only black text on a white background.
 
Dark Star said:
Should I be throwing some number to support the statements or should I do that during HR interview?
Thanks a lot for the detailed reply, much appreciated! I will edit the resume asap (will take some time though, no TeX installation + no net)
I have not mentioned Mandriva and TE in my work experience instead I have created a special section for them (I know that's insane but this is how I have compiled my experience) .
Work Exp one page 1
A&A on Page 2
Should I mention about the award(s) from lower standard such as Science Olympiad, Quizes and what not. Didn't felt like including it.
After reading your reply I feel like reformatting my resume.
Is it ok to list WIP projects in resume?
Thanks :)
Edit - Should I be carrying my projects / articles in disc to support my statement(s)?
Click to expand...

You won't need to mention any numbers during your interview (and I suggest that you not bring it up unless asked for them). They will see your GPA in your academic section.

I think all your points are very spread out across your resume and not concise. For example, you can create an 'Open Source Contributions' section under work experience and list the two items under it (KDE contributions and Mandriva contributions). You might want to be clear about what work you actually did. Did you write the front end for the widgets? Did you create scripts that feeds data to the widgets? Think of it from the point of view of the company. They want to know what technologies you might have used and the actual scope of the projects you worked on.

You can and should include any large WIP projects. If you are working on your B.Tech thesis, include that. If you interned somewhere during your undergraduate program, include that.

Personally, I wouldn't include the blog, Asus power meet and hacking competition in the resume. If you won a medal at the national or international science olympiad, that would be a nice resume point.
 
Dark Star said:
Thanks a lot for the detailed reply, much appreciated! I will edit the resume asap (will take some time though, no TeX installation + no net)

Should I mention about the award(s) from lower standard such as Science Olympiad, Quizes and what not. Didn't felt like including it.

After reading your reply I feel like reformatting my resume.

Is it ok to list WIP projects in resume?
Click to expand...
I think you should highlight your experiences in triaging/bug reporting first, and then experiences with moderating forums.
You should also think about whether to highlight 3rd prize in Hacking activity. I would say keep it only if you have really good skill in these sort of activities and thorough internal knowledge about the internals (OS / networking etc..) and not just experience in hacking using some existing tools.

Edit - Should I be carrying my projects / articles in disc to support my statement(s)?
Click to expand...
Not required.
 
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