e-Guru

• Art of Drafting resume
• Guidelines for telephonic interview
• Pre-Interview Tips
• Interview Manners and enquiry

Art of drafting resume

• Your resume is an essential tool for your job search. Resumes don't get jobs, they get interviews. They give a brief overview of your background, skills and experience. An effective resume is basically a selling tool - a chance for you to market your skills and strengths that make you an ideal candidate for the job. Make it as thorough as possible.
• Resume is a self –promotional document that presents you in the best possible light, it is the most powerful channel between you and your potential employer, for the purpose of getting invited to a job.
• It is your personnel document that has to be compact in style and organized in presentation. It is a very important Document so you have to identify relevant details from the heap of information.
• Academic qualification, professional experience and current job description are of primary importance.
• Resume has to be simple and lucid in appearance. Avoid high-sounding and formal language. Chronological pattern in case of a continuous career is a must. Go as per skill-sets, if otherwise.
• Remember that employers receive hundreds of resumes and may only glance over them to find those that catch their eye. You need to ensure that yours will catch their eye by paying attention to your résumé’s organization, appearance and content.

Focus Points for drafting a resume:

• Job Objective: This is the most important and indispensable matter; it must focuses on a specific job title or occupational field.
• Name and address: Write the first and the last names without indicating marital status. The contact address must have residence telephone, fax and e-mail and not office numbers. Specify if somebody else's facilities are being used.
• Work experience: List the assignments beginning with the latest. The challenges faced must reveal your forte. Divide the experience in each organization in to tenures and list the accomplishments in a way that brings out the managerial expertise picked up by you while on the job.
• Education: Give the academic qualifications especially if you are from prestigious institutions and have had an exemplary academic record. Briefly mention scholarships and medals. This is at the junior level. At the senior level, give the details of professional qualifications attained.
• Personal information: This is optional. Do not go over board on hobbies. This gives an impression that personal interests supersede the professional ones.
• Additional information: Details that might be relevant to employment objectives but do not fit in any category are to be given in this.

In brief a good resume must have the following features.
Informative
Well-structured
Truthful
Neatly presented

The Look of Your Resume

Organization

• Use action words to describe skills, completed tasks, job responsibilities.
• Expect to write more than one draft.
• Be brief, concise and action-oriented.
• Use bullets to set off each major idea.

Appearance

• Error-proof your resume.
• Spelling, punctuation,typing errors, erasures, and correction fluid marks will screen you out from being considered for an interview.
• Use bond paper in white, eggshell or cream with black print.
• Be sure to leave plenty of margin space (approximately 3/4 to one inch).
• Better to use two pages than to squeeze everything on one page.
• Use standard print style for easy reading.
• Use letter quality or laser printers. Photocopies should be sharp and clean. Black spots, smudges or shadows are not acceptable.
• Special effects are primarily used for the creative industries of public relations, advertising, marketing and the media. Others should be conservative in nature.

Content

• It is unnecessary to put the word "Resume" at the top of the page.
• Listing job objectives can be restrictive.Your objective may be to get an interview for every job for which you qualify.
• Continuing education, certifications, company training workshops and licenses are included in the Education segment.
• DO NOT include personal characteristics (height, weight, age), gender, religion, marital status, health, number of children or organizations considered controversial.
• DO NOT include salary requirements or reasons for leaving a job.
• DO NOT include references in a resume.
• Never send a resume without a personalized cover letter.
• Avoid the use of the word "I".
• Avoid jargon and exaggeration.
• Do not use a nickname on the resume.

Action Verbs

The following is a list of possible action verbs to help in describing your job duties and responsibilities:

Administer	Facilitate	Perform
Advocate	File	Persuade
Analyze	Formulate	Plan
Assemble	Gather	Prepare
Assist	Identify	Process
Balance	Implemant	Produce
Budget	Initiate	Program
Build	Inspect	Promote
Coach	Install	Record
Coordinate	Interview	Recruit
Consult	Investigate	Repair
Counsel	Maintain	Represent
Create	Manage	Research
Deliver	Market	Reveiw
Demonstrate	Mediate	Schedule
Design	Monitor	Supervise
Develop	Motivate	Synthesize
Direct	Negotiate	Test
Establish	Observe	Transcribe
Evaluate	Operate	Utilize
	Organize	Write

Proofreading Checklist

Before you send in your resume, take a moment to double-check these items:

• Is the pertinent personal data correct - phone number, address, and work address?
• Is your highest educational attainment shown first?
• Does your objective briefly state your employment goals without getting too specific to rule you out of consideration for other jobs?
• Does your objective focus on what you can bring to the employer rather than what you want from the employer?
• Have you included professional courses that support your candidacy?
• Have you avoided listing irrelevant job responsibilities or job titles?
• Does each position history list your most important job responsibilities first?
• Does your resume emphasize the contributions, achievements and problems you have successfully solved during your career?
• Have you made information prominent by underlining, bolding, italicizing, using bullets and paying attention to the organization and layout of the page?
• Have you included any volunteer or community service activities that can lend strength to your candidacy?
• Is the resume long enough to present yourself in a good fashion but short enough to make the employer bring you in for more information?
• Do your phrases begin, wherever possible, with powerful action verbs and phrases?

Interview Tips

Guidelines For Telephone Interviews
Nowadays a majority of screening tests is carried out over the telephone. The concept of telephonic Interview is gaining more acceptances in the new era of communication revolution.

Telephone interviews are designed to reduce expenditures especially in the case of out-of-town candidates, is now used as a highly successful method in screening candidates for in-person interviews.
 This methods gives the employer an opportunity to evaluate the candidate on the following areas:-

1. Communication skill
2. Knowledge on the subject
3. Presence of mind

while it’s important that you stay prepared for the interview, speaking on the phone isn’t always as easy as it might seem. This critical conversation could make or break your dream. This is what you can do.
Here we give some tips on how to prepare for telephonic interview.

• Get as much as Primary information from every possible source about the company and the vacancy that exists.
• Enquire about the exact name and designation of the interviewer, before you start answering.
• Ensure that you have right and through information about the profile.
• Stabilize your Mental frame and mood before you start answering your questions
• Prepare a brief matter about yourself, which must be short, and to the point.
• To wet your mouth keep a glass of water handy, this will help you to get over your nervousness.
• Don't get nervous while answering and keep your voice and tone as normal as possible.
• Speak clearly, precisely and slowly with out an exaggerated accent.
• Never interrupt the interviewer.
• If you don't understand the question, it's perfectly acceptable and within you’re right to ask for it to be repeated.
• Frame your answers carefully and keep them to the point. It’s perfectly acceptable to take your time to collect your thoughts before speaking up, keep it short.
• Rehearse well about the questions you want to ask the interviewer. You can ask about the Company profile, expected emoluments and other relevant information, which you deem fit and proper.
• Try to leave the impression as a positive and interested person, by asking and enquiring about the face –face interview. (Which is your main objective)

Pre interview preparation

How prepared are you to attend an interview and make a good impression?
  
Here are some tips that will give you an advantage over your competition.

Information Gathering: - Take lots of inputs about your prospective employer through electronic and personal references,
Venue confirmation: - When and where the interview is scheduled, check out about that and find out how long it will take you to get there from where you are. Always make allowances for roadblocks and breakdowns.
Rehearsal: - Practice in advance, the answers for technical, personal and to queries about your career, and why you want this particular job.
Mandatory inputs: Always Make sure to have extra copies of your CV and certificates.
Brushing up: -Visit the rest room, check your appearance, and take a few quiet moments to calm yourself down.

Interview Manners 

Be Punctual: - It is better to arrive at the venue before time and have a view about the company rather than being late.
Feel Confident: - The level of confidence should be visible from the expressions and behavior; it is only possible when you have done your homework, i.e. gathered complete information.
Introduce with dignity: - Shake hands with confidence, introduce yourself, and wait to be invited to sit down.
Positive Body language: - Don’t put your nervousness on display by sitting on the edge of your chair, swinging your legs or fiddling with your clothes. Sit straight and with open hands.
Be true and always keep a smile on your face: -Smile, and speak of your achievements with confidence. This is not the time or place for modesty!
 
Finally, smile and thank the interviewers for their time, and express definite interest in the job.

Enquiries
At last the interview is over, Finally the mission is accomplished, the heart beats on a much faster pace than at the time of interview, But still one BIG ? always  there

AM I OR AM I NOT? Never let the thought or the situation overtakes you.
Be patient and Wait for the results as told to you at the interview, if not, it is customary to wait up to two weeks before you call.

If you haven’t got the job, it is perfectly acceptable to ask why. You may get a response, but you may not like the reply. At least you will know. This is not the occasion to throw a tantrum or declare that they have passed up an opportunity to hire the perfect candidate. Rather, learn from the feedback, and let it go!