A resume that speaks

How effective are your resumes in securing you an interview? The answer is very. Professional resumes and networking have changed since LinkedIn. So special care has to be taken to make sure your interviewer notices your profile and finds you worth interviewing. But this should be no reason for you to fret as the basic objectives of your resume and how you present yourselves and your achievements essentially remain the same.

For instance, here are a few elements you can focus on

• Highlight your achievements -- unique experiences or extraordinary achievements that will ensure that your resume stands out from the pack Demonstrate how you’ve stepped and helped your team put together a presentation or cover a glitch. This can be a testament to your leadership skills
• Prove that you can be committed and demonstrate how you stood firm to complete long-term projects. Have you worked in a company for several months or have you just hopped, skipped and jumped your way through different firms?
• Do mention your hobbies and personal interests

But make sure they reflect the part of your personality that is competing for the position in the company. Keep relevant interests in your resume and chop off the rest. Everybody is looking for a “fun and intelligent team” otherwise called FIT. By fun, they mean people who would enjoy working with the company. For instance, you should be the candidate they would be willing to travel with if they were to catch a plane.

Your resume will go a long way in helping them determine whether you would fit into the culture of the company. Intelligence is important, obviously. Companies look for candidates eager to learn and quickly at that. While already being armed with technical skills can be a plus, you should also demonstrate the flexibility to learn on the job.

Finally, teamwork! No one can build a company out of mavericks- that is just not the way it works. So you have to be a strong team player and should be able to appreciate the fact the collective achievement is greater than individual accomplishment. So in order to be able to identify a FIT candidate, managers often ask about interests outside of work. The best candidates can easily explain and demonstrate why are they interested in a particular skill or activity.

Likewise, be prepared to solve a crisis situation when faced with one. Many people just lose perspective when they join a team and fail to spot at the solution right in front of them. Lastly, thank-you notes go a long way. Courteous communication is crucial throughout the interview process.