7 Sure Fire Ways To Book That Job Interview

(Source: Planet Geek)

Up-to-Date Details Are Important 

This is probably the most underrated element of a resume. Personal details like home address, contact number, email and in some cases, a professional photo must be stated and placed clearly in a section that is easily noticed. Employers will have a general idea how to contact job seekers for future references or how to keep in touch.

Arrange Them Chronologically

Putting up-to-date details will be more effective if job seekers put their experiences in chronological order. This is to make the resume easily understood and read by the hiring manager or HR. Hiring managers have so little time to go through a resume and if the applicant's relevant experience is at the end of the resume, chances that this information will not be read. Remember, the current and important details come first, followed by the rest. 

(Source: Ivan Samkov, Pexels)

Typo-free And Grammatically Correct!

Truth be told, there are so many people that skimmed their resume, ready to send their applications everywhere but have forgotten to carefully check their grammar and words usage. Broken grammar shows incompetence in the language, especially when English is the company’s preferred medium. Typographical and factual errors should be avoided. Asking a  friend or a close acquaintance to look out for mistakes is a best bet for job seekers.

Important note: Make sure you the spelling of the company’s name is correct, otherwise get ready for rejection. It is best to not use words that will leave a negative impression, words like “need”, “first time” and “maybe” are definitely discouraged.

(Source: Cottonbro, Pexels)

Show Your Creative Side

This is a must if the company needs a designer or a graphic artist. An easy-to-read resume is admirable but taking risks in trying to stand out can pay good rewards too. A well-designed resume catches the eye and keeps employers interested, which is an added advantage to any job hunter. Even if the job requires more analysis, a minimally-designed resume will not hurt anyone as long as it’s easy to look at and read. Avoid putting unnecessary images, pictures or icons that can be too distracting. Bold all the headers and put divider or border to top it off. Remember to not overdo it!

[Read: Top 10 Best Paying Jobs In Malaysia]

Concise and Complete

Let's just say you have a long list of working experience from part-time jobs to internships. Your resume only needs to be one or two pages long. You should only put the ones that are significant, relevant and related to the position you are requesting at the company. Resumes should be neat and straight to the point. It is advisable that you put some of this sections on; (1) skills, (2) objectives, (3) work history, (4) training and (5) references. If you want to, sections that talk about interest or hobbies can be placed last.

(Source: Mentat Dgt, Pexels)

Be Professional

When writing a resume, you should show professionalism with a suitable template. Jargons must be eliminated especially if it is related to the work scope. Avoid babbling and putting long sentences in the resume; nobody wants to read it. Politeness is always appreciated, displaying confidence is vital and being a team-player is a must.

Never Oversell and Over-exaggerate!

Overselling can make a commodity stretched too thin and it only leads to a bad situation of self-destruction. Confidence is good but nobody likes a narcissist, so remember to tone it down. The most common problem about Malaysian first-time employees is that they have unrealistic expectations about salary and benefits (Jobstreet, 2013). So, to land your first job, make sure to do your research about the average salaries first or you will end up looking demanding.