Is your Resume interview ready?

Resumes are not just professional summaries anymore. Your resume is your brand. It is an effective tool that would set the stage for your interview. Before you get the chance to impress the recruiter, your resume carries the potential to do so. If you don’t get your resume right, a lot of things can go wrong. I am confident that nobody wants that. The oil and gas industry is vast with thousands of companies looking for the right talent. In such times, it is about finding the right career opportunity at the right place. We will start with the basics and in this article, I will help you understand if your resume is interview ready.

Is your resume interview ready?

Know the difference between a CV and Resume

There is a common misconception among the freshers and graduates. They often use these two terms interchangeably, not realizing that there’s huge difference between the two.

A CV or a curriculum vitae is Latin for “the course of your life”, pretty deep we agree. A CV shows the work-life you have had. A CV is a more detailed document of your accomplishments and your work life. A resume, on the other hand, is a one-page document that gives an overview of your work life.

(Suggested Read: Difference between a CV and Resume)

A CV would work perfectly fine if you have good amount of experience and need to provide extensive details to your potential employer. On the other hand, if you have just begun with your job search, a resume would reflect your professional or any previous internship experience. Both documents have their unique relevance. Many employers ask for both and some just ask for a resume. Make sure you know the difference.

Preparing an Interview Ready Resume

Your resume is your brand. What is needed in a resume is everything that helps you present yourself as a brand. It should include valuable content that covers important professional information and the main highlights of your career path.

From the career objective to your skills, your resume should talk about your strengths. Your resume should convince your interviewer that you can be a potential employee.

The Right Length

If you think that a detailed 2-3 page resume would do justice to your expertise and experience, you are probably not thinking right.

Recruiters spend only 15 to 20 seconds to go through your resume. The average time spent reading a resume is 6 seconds. With a lengthy resume, you are only bringing down your chances of getting interviewed. Consequently, the chances of getting hired.

Here’s why you should prepare a one-page resume:

• Conveys meaningful and resourceful information about yourself
• Helps you avoid making mistakes
• Makes you appear more organized
• Your strengths and accomplishments become more visible
• Saves time

A two-page resume is recommended only when you have a great deal of information, experience, and achievements to share.

Putting the Right Skills on Resume

Your eligibility for a particular job also depends on your skills. Communication skills, Leadership skills, Analytical skills, Technical Skills, Soft Skills and so on. Lately, the importance of soft skills is increasing in the modern workforce. Organizations realize that talent and eligibility earn you the job but to handle complex situations at work and pressure, soft skills play a crucial role.

Generally speaking, skills must be listed as per the requirement of the job. Start with your best skill and then talk about the less stronger skill. You can even skip putting in some skills, which are not relevant to the job.

(Suggested Read: Most valued Soft Skills in Oil and Gas Industry)

Using the Right Keywords

                                                   You have the hiring manager’s attention when you put those keywords right at the top of the resume.

Using the right keywords can help you optimize your resume for Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Applicant Tracking System is a software that offers hiring and recruiting tools to companies.

When you apply for a job online, your resume is not directly going to a recruiter or hiring manager. It’s first being processed by an ATS. Whether that human recruiter ever sees your resume could depend on how well your resume is optimized for ATS algorithms.

One of the common ways in which the ATS filters the applications is by searching the key skills, titles, and keywords. If you are not using the keywords relevant to the job description, there are very few chances that your resume will show up on top. The best way to figure out which skills and keywords to include in your resume is by analyzing the job role.

There is no way you can afford to neglect the ATS. Today, over 90% of Fortune 5oo companies and many small and medium-sized companies use the ATS.

Interview Ready Resume Building

Your preparation for a career in oil and gas begins with an investment in your resume. Considering it merely an important document for finding a job is not enough. Build a resume that speaks who you are and what you stand for. Remember, a strong personal brand goes a long way in your career. And your resume is your brand.

What is needed in a resume is your persona, your true self. In the modern professional world, your individuality is the competitive differentiating factor. Make it matter.

Feel free to reach out to us for building an interview ready resume. Explore our Career Help section for more insights.

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Energy Dais.)