resume crafting workshop

How to Optimize Your Resumé?

A Resume Crafting Workshop

Indian Institute of Technology BombayAugust 16, 2011

1Copyright © 2011 Gurome Inc.

Copyright © 2010 Gurome, Inc. 2

Structure of This Workshop

Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Structuring your resume Part 3: Examples: before and after Part 4: Resume-appropriate communication and

interviewing strategy Part 5: Answers to specific questions

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The Types of Companies Visiting IITB

Core Companies: Google, Intel, nVidia, Daimler India, Shell, Schlumberger, Sony

Japan, Novartis, DRDO, Citrix R&D, Dr. Reddy’s, etc.

Non-core: Consulting: McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Booz, Deloitte, KPMG Finance: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Deutsche

Bank, Credit Suisse FMCG: ITC, P&G, Britannia

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What Do The Companies Look For?

At the end of the day, they all want the same things

Strong academic background

Analytical and communication skills

Ability to work with people

Diverse interests and extracurricular activities

Relevant experience

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Core:

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Capacity: intellectual, analytical and creative ability to learn quickly, identify issues, make judgements and propose solutions

Achievement: plenty of drive, enthusiasm, resilience and confidence –someone who can always get things done

Relationship skills: character and ability to work effectively with others in a diverse team; sensitivity and influencing skills to work well as part of a team

Technical skills: Understanding and approaching technical issues coupled with an enthusiasm for technical challenge


R&D:

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Capacity: intellectual, analytical and creative ability to learn quickly, identify issues, make judgements and propose solutions

Achievement: plenty of drive, enthusiasm, resilience and confidence –someone who can always get things done

Relationship skills: character and ability to work effectively with others in a diverse team; sensitivity and influencing skills to work well as part of a team

Technical skills: Understanding and approaching technical issues coupled with an enthusiasm for technical challenge

Evidence of interest in research – details of research projects and publications and patents


Consulting:

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A complete professional: accomplished and well rounded, with diverse backgrounds and experiences; fun to work with

Problem solving: superior intellectual abilities as well as a practical sense of what works in complex organizations

Achieving: tremendous energy, determination, and judgment, particularly when working with multiple stakeholders under tight deadlines

Personal impact: strong communication skills—particularly when addressing conflicting points of view; adept at building trusting relationships with people

Leadership: excellent leadership skills to bring people together to drive change


Finance:

Well-rounded résumés that include a strong academic background, extracurricular activities and community work

Candidates who display excellent communication skills, maturity and a take-charge attitude – team players with a passion for excellence

Clearly defined motivations for finance

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FMCG:

Functional Competencies: a firm grounding in functional knowledge, strong analytical skills, a drive to achieve results and the business acumen to bring about continuous improvement.

Leadership Competencies: which enable people to have a long term perspective and people who can build strong teams and empower them to achieve long term plans.

people “who exhibit passion at work, display a ‘can do’ attitude and possess high levels of energy.”

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Key questions to keep in mind while writing a résumé

Does your résumé have a good structure? Does your résumé make an impressive introduction? Does your résumé convey your career story? Is your résumé well differentiated? Is your résumé suitably tailored to the audience? (e.g.,

how well do you know the companies where you are seeking a position? )

Does your résumé look pleasing? Is it too long?

12Copyright © 2010 Gurome, Inc.


Five-Step Process for Resume Crafting Step 1: Think hard and identify who your top target companies

are – keep in mind your fit with the companies.

Step 2: Decide on the structure of all the three resumes, keeping in mind which companies will they go to.

Step 3: Populate the resumes – start with the most comprehensive version first and then trim and edit to make it fit the desired length.

Step 4: Format to make the resume look attractive.

Step 5: Review and seek feedback. And reiterate until every section/word is precise, pleasing to the eye, and presents a complete story.

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Structuring your résumé - I DO NOT BE LIMITED BY TRADITIONAL SECTIONS; TREAT THEM AS

GUIDELINES – LABEL SECTIONS AS PER YOUR NEEDS BUT DON’T GO OVERBOARD

Some Traditional sections:

Objectives Profile or Key Accomplishments Work/Internship Experience Projects and Key Courses Extracurricular Activities Positions of Responsibility Honors and Awards Publications and Patents

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Structuring your résumé - II Highlight your accomplishments at the very beginning - a brief

glimpse of what you have done and where you would want to see yourself in the organization/in future

Pay attention to topic headings. Instead of one “work experience” that covers all, try to catch the reader’s attention with any thing that can potentially differentiate you, e.g., “Overseas Experience”, “Leadership Experience”

Quote figures to convey: scale of the project; percentage increase in sales/revenue; people supervised

Provide examples that bring out your leadership, interpersonal skills. If you have worked with teams in different geographies and time zones bring it out

Be specific in extracurricular activity/interests section. “Reading books” is NOT an extracurricular activity that can be mentioned in a résumé

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Structuring your résumé - III

Do’s and Don’ts of Bullet Points

Stay consistent with period/full stop at the end of each bullet point - best is to use phrases and skip periodsDon’t start a bullet point with a word or phrase in bold-face (unless it serves as a subtitle)Include “what”, “why” and “impact” in every major activityOrder your bullet points according to their importance, impact, or chronology in the storyUse industry-relevant keywords

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“What”, “Why”, “Impact” of an Activity

Original Version: Conceptualized and implemented a novel algorithm for the Optimization of OPC setup file Parameters that got used in a new product launch

Revised version: Developed an algorithm to enable a faster and more precise calculation of Optical Proximity Correction parameters for the photolithography process; the algorithm was incorporated in a new product launched in Dec 2010

What: Developed an algorithm Why: to enable a faster and more precise calculation of Optical Proximity

Correction parameters for the photolithography process Impact: the algorithm was incorporated in a new product launched in Dec 2010

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Ordering of Bullet Points

Original Version: Worked with an employee of Mentor graphics, developer of caliber workbench as a team to implement an algorithmAnalyzed Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) algorithms and learnt Caliber workbench.Conceptualized and implemented a novel algorithm for the Optimization of OPC setup file Parameters.

Revised version: Conceptualized and implemented a novel algorithm for the optimization of a new lithography tool jointly developed by IBM and Mentor Graphics The algorithm was later incorporated in the high-profile product line, giving IBM a substantial edge in semiconductor tools industryWork involved collaboration with a team from Mentor graphics, with visibility at senior management level

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Section-Specific KeywordsProfessional summary keywords: Proven leadership in…, Award winning XYZ…, Proficient in…, Extensive experience in…, Impressive record in…, Strong team leader…, Led multidisciplinary teams

Internship and research projects keywords: Conducted, Coordinated, Managed, Oversaw, Functioned, Developed, Organized, Mobilized, Acquired, Implemented, Demonstrated,

Leadership experience/positions of responsibility keywords: Led…, coordinated…, Built a team of x…, Initiated/started…, Was elected/chosen…

Awards and Recognition keywords: Won…, Was awarded…, Recognized…, Competed…, Acknowledged…,

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Industry-Specific KeywordsConsulting-specific keywords: Developed a comprehensive solution, Communicated with client team, negotiated/persuaded/influenced partners, Led/collaborated with a x-person teamFinance-specific keywords: Same as consultingIn addition: Developed an algorithm for investment decisions in emerging markets, Designed a portfolio optimization software…, blogged on emerging trends in the investment banking industry…Marketing-specific keywords: Same as consultingIn addition: Developed a strategic plan…, led marketing effort for xyz, Assessed social media marketing plan for abc…Core keywords: Calculated the energy requirements of…, developed a solution for…Developed xyz in abc environment, Worked on xyz software tool to solve…, integrated abc in a xyz platform

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Style

Make your résumé easy on the eye of the reader. Choose a warm font (calibri, cambria) unless specified otherwise. Select a font size that is not a strain on the eye (11 calibri) Do not mix fonts. Be consistent with the grammatical style. Use the same tense

throughout. Avoid repeating the same key phrases. Avoid underlines. They make the document look cluttered. Use boldface to indicate positions held and bullets to emphasize

your skills. Avoid superlatives such as excellent, outstanding, highly

motivated. Avoid making any spelling errors. Avoid inappropriate email IDs (such as [email protected])

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Sample Resume 1: Before

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• Target position: Consulting and Finance

• Background: EE, Not-so-high CPI: 6.88• Good internship and project experience• But mostly technical • Extracurricular and leadership experience median

1st Draft of Resume:• Structured to emphasize technical exp• Busy, with low-impact language• Formatting and font good, but space-consuming

Download the sample resume files from: http://www.gurome.com/Document/22356/attachment/resume-workshop-sample-files.zip?version=0


Sample Resume Case 1: Before

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Refer to file : slide # 24 Case 1 without comments



Sample Resume Case 1: With Comments

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Refer to file : slide # 25 Case 1 with comments.doc rev 2



Sample Resume Case1: Edited Version

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Refer to file : slide # 26 Case 1 final




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• Target positions• Core: Engineering positions• Non-core: Consulting and Finance

• Background: MechE, Good CPI: 8.5• Good internship and project experiences• Leaning towards nontechnical

1st Draft of Resume:• Structured to emphasize non-technical experience in

1-pager• Formatting and font good, but too many things in

bold; too busy• Content/Language: Not concise – diluted.


Sample Resume Case 2 – 1 Page: Before

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Refer to file : slide # 28 Case 2 without comments



Sample Resume Case 2 – 1 Page: With Review Comments

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Refer to file : slide # 29 Case 2 with comments



Sample Resume 2 – Core: As Submitted

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Sample Resume 2 – Core: As Submitted

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Sample Resume 2 – Non-Core: As Submitted

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Sample Resume 2 – Non-Core: As Submitted

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• Target position: Consulting

• Good internship and project experience• Excellent extracurricular experience

1st Draft of Resume:• Structured to emphasize academics• Busy, with low-impact language• Formatting and font OK



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Sample Resume 3: After

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SUMMARY SECTION:

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Before

After


INTERNSHIP SECTION:

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Before

After


POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY: BEFORE

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POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY: AFTER

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KEY ACADEMIC PROJECTS: BEFORE

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KEY ACADEMIC PROJECTS: AFTER

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EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: BEFORE

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EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: AFTER

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• Target position: Core – R&D

• Background: MSc Statistics• Extracurricular and leadership experience

median

1st Draft of Resume:• Does not emphasize most relevant things• Busy, with low-impact language• Filled with less important material to

increase length


KEY ACADEMIC PROJECTS: BEFORE

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KEY ACADEMIC PROJECTS: AFTER

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Page 2: BEFORE

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Page 2: AFTER

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Communication Strategy: Before and After

All communications – written and verbal - with the employers must be consistent with the resume, professional, and timely

Do background research on the company you are interviewing with and try to find out which of your skills/project areas they would be most interested in

Be proactive once the offer is made Be careful with Social Media – manage your presence on the web

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Interviewing Strategy

Greet your interviewer: A good morning with a smile is more effective than a nervous “good morning”

Listen, organize your thoughts, speak List out what you have undertaken and the key impact the

project has had Gauge the interviewer’s level of interest from his body language

and accordingly switch tracks Always make eye contact while speaking When the interviewer give you a free run to speak order projects

according to their importance It may help to jot down main points and rehearse beforehand

especially if you have difficulty in expressing yourself in English

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Questions & Answers


Need Urgent Help?Specific resume review: Students can engage Gurome

experts to get two versions of their resumes reviewed - technical and non-technical. Gurome experts will provide inputs on how to address the weaknesses in the resume and make the resume well differentiated.

Fee: Rs.500 per resume (50% discount on the regular fee of Rs. 1000 per resume).

Specific resume editing post webinar: An expert from Gurome will hold individual sessions with the candidate to understand her/his background, develop a story and help them craft her/his resume from scratch.

Fee: Rs. 2000 per resume


Need Urgent Help?



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resume crafting workshop

Business

key academic

strong academic

leadership

sample resume

traditional

product launched

bullet points

specific keywords