Before going into the specifics, if you are a fresh grad and this is your first job hunt and if you don’t have enough experience or achievements to talk about, then this suggestion may not be applicable to you. In that case a simple profile with education and internship will do. To beef it up further, talk about not what we were taught, but about what you have learned! You see everyone is taught the same thing in school and university assuming you are taking the same subjects. I agree that there are different teaching methods depending on the university you attend and they do have an impact on your learning but generically speaking it is very similar. For example a student writing a BA degree in engineering will be taught similar subjects, provided they are coming from the same education system, but here is a point. Why do certain graduates from the same class become professional superstars while others don’t? It’s not what you were taught but what you learned! The learning capability is not dependent on anyone but one’s self. There is nobody to blame for that. So it is important to express in your own words what YOU have learned from your graduation program. Also include both academic and non academic achievements. Both, in my opinion, are just as important. Were you are cricketer or a squash player? Team sport or a one man show? Did you depend on the entire team for success or only yourself? Without going deeper and varying off the subject, the above points will add greater value to your profile and will increase your chances of getting an interview.

For professionals, people with 5+ years of experience, here is what you need to do to increase your chances of an interview. Most profiles that I come across talk about roles & responsibilities, employment regions, employment dates, education & extracurricular activities. This is not enough simple because there is no substance or depth. In fact if you can scrap the roles & responsibilities and replace them with achievements and targets, that will have a much better impact on the reader. You see achievement talks about what you have accomplished. It’s the direct result of your efforts and your presence in that role. For example most General Manager roles in an specific industry have similar roles & responsibilities. So if you want to learn about what a GM does then you can pick up any ordinary GM profile to find out. It talks about the job role and not the person. An outstanding GM profile will talk about the person.

Their achievements. So the first thing that you need to do with your profile is to replace roles & responsibilities with achievements. The second exercise is to incorporate and highlight values.

For example; increased sales by 45% with last year closing at $20m. Be specific where you can be! A professional recruiter is matching candidates based on a performance profile given by the client. Even when the position is directly advertised by the employer, the HR manager is looking for very specific requirements given by the line manager. If you are specific with your achievements, your chances of getting the interview increase dramatically because it shows 2 things. Firstly, it shows that you are a goal oriented person. Secondly it really doesn’t matter if your achievements match with their requirements 100%. What it does show is how close you got to your targets. It also serves another purpose where you will know before the interview that the hiring manager is genuinely interested in your qualifications & achievements which is why you have been called. This saves time and disappointment of them not having full details of what you have done, achieved and not just what you have earned, degree. Be specific, be concise. When you are sitting in front of the hiring manager you will have plenty of opportunity to explain reasons, circumstance & challenges. In the profile it’s all about getting all the information into 2 pages at best while imparting maximum impact to the reader!

I hope the above is helpful to you in getting more interviews and finding better jobs! Good luck!!

Part 2 of 2. By Danish Haidri