10 Ways to Improve Your Resume

1. A bulleted style will make your CV reader-friendly: Employers usually screen CVs for within 20 seconds, and they will find your CV more readable if you use bullet points as it’s easier to read.
2. Follow "The CV Rule": – List your jobs, in a preferred order with your title/position:    Title/position, name of employer, city/state of employer, dates of employment. Dates might be important to some employers, but not as important as your position was and whom you worked for.
•  Education also follows the same rule, the preferred order for listing your education is: Name of degree, name of university, graduation year, followed by other information.
•  If you haven't graduated, list your information the same way. There is a reason why experience and education are listed in reverse order on your CV. That’s because that your most recent education and experience are most important and relevant to the reader.

3. Remove "responsibilities" from your CV: Expressions like "Duties included", "Responsibilities included" or “Responsible for” on your CV. CV should be achievements-driven, not assignment-driven.  Your job-description will not push your CV. Your CV should be achievement-oriented and inform your potential employer that you have gone above and taken initiative and worked accordingly.

4. Remove jumble from your CV: Don’t impede read-able-ness.

• Needless dates: A list of dates doesn’t add anything to your CV. Always ask yourself if those dates will be of any use to the employer reading your CV.
• Parentheses: Don’t set off dates of employment with parentheses, use commas.
• "References: Available upon request": It is optional and you give references upon request. It actually means ….end of my CV".
• Articles: "a", "an" and "the". CVs are written in concise phrases. Phrases that employers will understand. Articles will clutter up that concise form.  

5. Use verbs to describe your jobs ( Try not mix noun and verb phrases): Examples:
• Managed and controlled all marketing aspects of company's India presence.
• Complete administrative responsibilities of….. [noun]
• Analyzed market forecast sales and prepared budgets ……

Should be:

• Supervised marketing and sales standards.
• Completely oversaw administrative aspects of operation.
• Avoid using verbs like, "to be", "to do" and "to work". Everyone works but you need to be more specific. "Collaborate (d)" is a good word, example - “Collaborated with ……..”

6. Highlight skills that describes your past job activities - the ones you would like to use and want to use in your next job: Don’t describing things from your past job that you have no intention of doing again. Even if they are skills that are in great demand, don't highlight them if you don’t want to use it.

7. The one-page CV principle: Keeping your CV to one page is good, but don't go to overboard like using tiny type. Experienced people need more than one page. Resist having one full page and just a little bit on your second page. If you text fills up a third or less of the second page, consider condensing to one page. How to condense your text:
• Narrow your margins -You can have margins as narrow as .75" all around and still have a nice-looking document.
• A smaller point size, but not smaller than font size 11-point.
• Lot of people use a two-column format with headings in the left-hand column to conserve space.

8. Focus of your CV: Employers spent a minimum amount of time screening CVs, so always focus on highlighting to the employer what you want to do and what you're good at. Focus by using objective statements. Try adding a section called "Summary of ……." or "Profile".

9. Don't over list your experience on your CV: Senior level people list about 15 years worth of jobs. Try not mentioning your college graduation if it was more than about 10 years ago.

10. Make sure to use acronyms and jargons that are understandable in your CV. High-tech field are notorious for these terms. Employers in the jobseeker's field understand all these terms.