Create a Good First Impression

by Arva Rangwala
(Cairo, Egypt)

In our medium sized organization, incoming resumes for all positions are scanned and shortlisted by me (HR Assistant) for further interviewing.

I have reviewed a lot of resumes, and the best way for a candidate to create a good resume is to include specific information and qualifications which match the job applied for, along with a solid objective in the beginning, which gives a great first impression.

Keep the format neat and elegant and don't overdo it with very fancy fonts. Use easily readable ones, the best, in my opinion, are Arial or Verdana.

Many candidates provide more personal data that is not really related to the work they are supposed to perform. I have had a resume which had almost half a page of personal information which extended to details like number of children.

What happens is, most of us have hundreds of resumes to go through and don't have time to read all these irrelevant details. Therefore, I usually put them directly in the bin. Also, the personal data should be best kept at the end of the resume and limited only to volunteer work (if it's relevant to the job).

Many people apply for different positions and do not change their job objective and experience details accordingly in their resume, which could affect their chances of getting shortlisted.

If you are applying for different positions the best way is to keep 2-3 resumes handy, which details qualifications and experiences, accordingly.

Also, do remember to get good advice with grammar and spelling, and be aware of the meaning of vocabulary used (if your resume is created by a professional resume writer) so that you are prepared and know what your resume states.