General Guidelines
● Simple and Easy to read
○ The resume should be simple and straightforward because employers have a
limited time to review your resume
○ Any point should not span more than one line. If you have a point that spans
two lines, try to break it into two separate one-line points
● Reverse-chronological layout
○ List your most recent experience (professional or academic) first and cover
the earlier experiences later
● Decreasing Order of detail
○ The most recent work experience or academic achievement matters the most
so cover that in more detail and explain the earlier ones briefly
● Professional font
○ Use a basic, clean font like Arial or Times New Roman
○ Font size should be between 10 and 12 points
● Active language
○ Try to shorten the sentences using power words like “achieved,” “earned,”
“completed” or “accomplished”
● Avoid First Person Pronouns
○ Don’t use words like “I” ,“me” or “my.”
○ Instead of saying “I hit and exceeded sales quotas 100% of the time” say “Hit
and exceeded sales quotas 100% of the time.”
● Separate sections for Academic, Professional, and Extracurricular
achievements
○ Have separate sections for academic achievements, professional experience
or internships, extra-curricular achievements, positions of responsibility, etc.
○ The order of the sections depends on which section is the strongest
(Refer to the sample resume template for more clarity)
● Use Resume Objective or Resume Summary
○ If you have experience in your prospective industry from some part-time
work or an internship, use a Resume Summary
Example:
Right: Certified data scientist with 10 months' experience from a data science
internship at a private investment banking startup. Achieved 125% investment
returns by pioneering a new alpha extraction method and modeling relevant
financial metrics
Wrong: I have just finished a data science internship where I learned many
new data analysis skills and knowledge. During this time, I created Al models,
studied machine learning, assisted with statistical analysis, and designed
automated pipelines.
○ If you don’t have experience in your prospective industry, then use
a Resume Objective
The objective tells your potential employer how your career goals align with
their plans. You’ll still use relevant skills, experience, and quantifiable
achievements
Example:
Right: Recent university graduate in computer science. Created a class
project utilising Al to beat 500+ students at determining winners across
multiple sports disciplines. Seeking to leverage 98% CGPA and 80 data
science-related classroom hours to obtain the junior data scientist position at
Shell
Wrong: I've just graduated from university with a bachelor's degree in
computer science. I haven't had any paid working experience yet, but I have
the will to learn and many classroom hours.
Educational background Do’s and Dont’s
● High School related
○ Do not mention percentages or marks from classes 10 and 12
● Graduation related
○ Clearly mention the following details
■ Course and educational institution name
■ Start and end year of the course
■ Exchange programs/ Scholarships (if any)
■ Mention your scores if the percentage is >80% or >8 CGPA
Extra-Curricular Achievements
● Certifications
○ Add certifications that are relevant to your category.
Example: In the case of a Business analytics role, SQL certification, Excel
certification from Udemy, Coursera, Google Analytics, etc. that increases your
credibility
● Volunteer Experience
○ Any volunteer experience like Working with AIESEC, NGO, or for any social
cause shows your enthusiasm to give back to the community
○ You could have also volunteered or coordinated with various college or
company events which can be included
○ If you have had multiple volunteer positions in your past, choose the most
job-related ones
● Sports or Other Competitive Events
○ Briefly highlight an extraordinary achievement in the field of sports or
competitive events like hackathons/case study competitions etc which
showcase your leadership skills and enthusiasm
● Professional Portfolio
○ For ex: if you’ve been writing a personal blog, Add the Blog URL to your
resume contact information section
○ You may also add links to your other professional account links like Linkedin/
Github/ Hackerrank / Kaggle
○ Note: Please do not include links to social media accounts like Facebook /
Instagram etc
Important Pointers
● List your Achievements over Responsibilities
Example:
Right: Exceeded monthly sales KPIs for 4 months in a row
Wrong: Carried out Sales operations for 4 months
● Show the impact that you made to stand out from the crowd
Example:
Right: Increased landing page CTR by more than 7% in the first month
Wrong: Launched a social media campaign for my company
● Be Truthful
Example:
Right: Be honest and precise about your knowledge and expertise
Wrong: Lie, use misleading information, or inflate your skills
● Proof-read and edit
○ Before sharing your resume, make sure, there are no spelling or grammar
errors
○ You can make use of free online tools like Grammarly, to check for grammar,
sentence structure, and spelling(s)
References:
Sample Resume_1: Click here
Sample Resume_2: Click here
Sample Resume Template (download and edit): Click here
Same Video Link_1: Click here
Same Video Link_2: Click here
Same Video Link_3: Click here
Same Video Link_4: Click here
Same Video Link_5: Click here
