As the current academic year comes to an end, a lot of freshers will be joining the workforce. But in the sea of candidates, how do you make your resume stand out from the rest & get your dream job?

At 2gethr, a plethora of companies come together to form a community. We collected the HRs & TAs of around 20 top-notch companies & grilled them for hours (you bet we loved it) to come up with a comprehensive guide that can help you get hired super easy! Read on to find what HRs & TAs look for when going through the tide of applications across different roles and industries.

"First impression is the last impression"

In a digital world, where all jobs are listed on platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, Instahyre, Monster, etc, your CV is the first point of contact for recruiters.

A well-optimized CV can give you a significant leg up in getting shortlisted for the job & position that you really want.

Here's what HR heads and recruitment specialists say makes for a good CV:

Relevancy aligning to the JD: "Customize your CV depending on the job you are applying for." You might have heard this multiple times, & it is mostly true (sadly). But the most important part of any CV is the relevance to the job roles & requirements. You might be an avid photographer applying for a photography role, but if your CV only mentions your engineering educational background, then your chances of getting shortlisted, well for lack of any better word, got shot!

Relevant Experience: Experience is not everything, but relevant experience plays a vital role in getting shortlisted for any job. Even if the experiences are not full-time roles, but internships or freelance projects, it's important to showcase your passion and skill for the job you have applied for. Don't be disheartened though, your experience is not the only thing that matters, rather it's your curiosity to learn & grow.

A single-page CV for >10 years: Though not true for all, most employers want to know all about you by just looking at one sheet of paper. It's best to have a one-page CV that:

• Is true to facts

• Highlights details

• Is up to date & covers all major points

• Has been customized according to the organization's needs

• Covers all important information

• Mentions your key skills

• Mentions your tech stack or any other relevant skills

Less frequency of switches: Loyalty to the company is very important for most recruiters. This is understandable considering how much time & money is spent on recruitment along with all the additional training required by the new joiners. Working with the same organization for a long time also gives the organization time to analyze you which can be represented by your growth (read promotion, not appraisal) within the same company!

‍Now that you have got a hang of what makes for a good CV, & started building out your CV for that perfect job, here are a few mistakes you should avoid making:

Missing details about roles & responsibilities: A pain point that HRs brought up is the lack of details in the section covering the experience of candidates. Giving a brief about your roles & responsibilities can help the recruiter understand what hands-on experience you have actually got instead of just your designation.

Wrong contact details: For a role that you will be applying for online, the only way a recruiter can connect with you is your contact details, both phone number & email address. Having an outdated contact detail, or even a typo in your contact detail can push recruiters away.

Typos & grammatical errors: Everyone makes mistakes, & that is completely acceptable. But imagine trying to impress someone & making a blunder. Embarrassing right? Your CV is your best foot forward when applying for any job, so it makes sense that there are no mistakes that can embarrass you, or rather, get you rejected. Proofread your CV multiple times to make sure there are no typos or grammatical issues. You can also use some grammar-checking software to make sure there aren't any grammatical issues.

Ctrl C + Ctrl V: Not two humans are exactly the same, neither are two similarly designated roles. If you just copy-paste your roles & responsibilities from one job to another job or even paraphrase, it implies to HRs that you took shortcuts in making your CV. Shortcuts while commuting is one thing, but better skip them while looking for jobs. Ensure that your CV is updated as per the job description of the role you are looking to apply for.

Bragging or faking: A lot of freshers get their little bit of experience in startups where they handle multiple roles & responsibilities. Most HRs are knowledgeable enough to appreciate this. But the one thing they don’t appreciate is bragging or faking. Rome wasn’t built in a day, & neither did handling multiple roles mean you did something worth winning the noble prize. It's better to be honest while making your CV or interviewing. Honesty, in this case, is your best policy.

Now that you have the basics of building a well-rounded CV cleared, it will be a short while before you start getting shortlisted for the position of your dreams.

Our next part of this blog will cover how to ace interviews, so stay tuned!