There is no right or wrong way to organise a resume (also known as a Curriculum Vitae’ (CV). A resume is a summary of your skills, accomplishments, experiences and education designed to capture a prospective employer’s interest. The purpose of a resume is to secure an interview!

The most effective resumes are attractive, interesting, easy to read, neat, well organised, professional looking, and targeted to your objective. It needs to be clear and concise, outlining your work history and IT experience, along with other relevant information.

No magic formula ensures a perfect resume, but adhering to the following basic guidelines and sample resume will allow you to articulate your skills and experience in a way that is easy for any employer to digest.

• Writing Style and Content
• General Appearance
• Cover Letter

Writing Style and Content

• Write clearly, concisely, and positively.
• Use short sentences and paragraphs.
• Start each sentence with a strong action word when describing your duties and accomplishments (eg achieved, administered, designed, managed, organised, developed.
• Make statements that indicate how you have used your skills to solve problems.
• Be specific and quantify accomplishments wherever possible.
• Present strongest points first.
• Information should be factual and accurate. Describe your experience with concrete words rather than vague descriptions. Avoid being verbose.
• Use enough key words to define your skills, experience, education, professional affiliations, etc.
• Use jargon and acronyms specific to your industry. It is always wise to spell out acronyms in brackets as well.
• Present information in reverse chronological order within categories - list education and career history starting with the most recent first.
• Double check your grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Misspellings and poorly constructed sentences communicate negative impressions.
• Proofread carefully. Have someone else look over your resume and cover letter as well.
• Do not include salary requirements. If specifically requested, details can be outlined in your cover letter.
• Do not include information that is not relevant to your employment objective. Avoid excessive personal or educational details.
• Do not include personal information such as age, gender, height, weight, marital status, number of dependents, religion, health status, or political inclination.
• Nationality or visa status is relevant only if it affects your availability for employment.

General Appearance

• Use white or light-coloured, high-quality paper.
• Type or print on one side of the paper only (A4 usually).
• Use bold type, capital letters, underlining, and indention to emphasise key points.
• Avoid excessive use of different fonts and graphics throughout the resume.
• Short statements, set out in bullet point form are quicker and easier to read than lengthy sentences or paragraphs.
• Balance the content on the page.
• Layout is important – use wide margins and allow plenty of “white space” to avoid giving your resume a crowded look.
• Your resume should be prepared using a word processing package, not handwritten and printed on either a laser or inkjet printer, to portray a professional image.
• Reproduce copies using a high-quality printer or photocopier.
• The typesetting should not be too small – it should be legible, about a size 10 or 12 font.
• Do not use gimmicks such as oddly sized or brightly coloured paper, fancy typesetting, or special binding.

Cover Letter

A cover letter should:

• Always accompany a resume, unless the advertisement insists explicitly that the applicant NOT include one.
• Outline your area of speciality, the type of position you are seeking, your preference for permanent or contract position, your income expectations (if specifically requested) along with your main strengths.
• Be specific by relating experiences or results in their past to the qualities the hiring company is looking for. They should be concise and crafted with good grammar.
• Be customised to the hiring company to show that you have researched the company and can connect what is happening in the company with your experience and knowledge.