The checklist before any interview will always contain the word “Résumé.” Yes, this is an inevitable word in a to-do-list before an interview.  Candidates might wonder why Résumé is very important in an interview, but very much to their surprise, this term “Résumé” plays a vital role in evaluation of candidature of the candidate. Let’s discuss the importance of résumé in an interview with an example of two different candidates who had applied for the same job in a company, candidates namely Vijay and Ajay had applied for the job and were called for the interview. Vijay was busy with other works and he didn’t make any effort to prepare a new résumé but decided to use his friend’s résumé which he had copied earlier. So Vijay, made some updates to his friend’s résumé and had kept it ready for the interview. On the other end Ajay, intentionally allocated some time for preparing his résumé, he made a self-analysis of his strengths, academic achievements, experience in volunteering, extra and co-curricular activities carried out, and finally he had many points to prepare his résumé in an effective manner. Due to his effort Ajay’s résumé was clear and suitable for the job applied. Whereas since Vijay had copied his friend’s résumé, it wasn’t suitable for the job applied, but was a normal résumé. On the day of interview, the efforts put by both the candidates were testified by the interviewer. First candidate interviewed was Vijay, since his résumé was prepared without any self-analysis. His answers to the interviewer contradicted to the points mentioned in the résumé. Vijay couldn’t justify the terms available in the résumé with that of his qualities. So obviously his chances of securing the job had become obscure. After Vijay, Ajay entered the interview room, his résumé was clear and effective since it was prepared well. Ajay was able to answer the questions and was able to justify the terms mentioned in the résumé with his preparedness; there was correlation between his thoughts, résumé and his responses. And thereby very much to the surprise of Vijay, Ajay secured the job. In the example mentioned above you would have understood the importance of résumé preparation and its weightage in an interview.

Résumé can be called as your “Menu Card” in an interview, since you are meeting a stranger turned- -interviewer for the first time and you have got the opportunity to express your abilities, qualities and skills to secure the job you have applied. You are in a position to prove your suitability in an interview and for that, résumé should be effective. So résumé preparation is a vital act before any interview. Résumé should be unique and it has to be prepared by the candidate with utmost care.

The components of the résumé can be your career objective, academic credentials (tabulate to make it legible), skillsets, certifications, extra and co-curricular activities, projects, case studies, internships, volunteering activities, references etc. A fresher’s résumé should be within two pages in size, since the interviewer cannot spend more time to read your résumé, your résumé should be as short as possible with all the relevant contents. Candidates should have examples to justify their points in the résumé.  For example, if the candidate had mentioned the strength as “Optimist”, there are chances for the interviewer to question the interviewee’s optimistic quality. In such instance the interviewee must be in a position to narrate an incident which proves his optimism. Also the candidate should know the meaning of all the words used in the résumé and the ways to justify the usage of the word in the résumé. Candidates can mention their project details briefly to attract questions related to the project from the interviewer and thereby the possibility of answering the questions will be increased (provided you have done the project by yourself). Ensure the correctness of contact details like phone number and e-mail ID. Avoid using your parents/friends phone number and e-mail ID. And always keep a copy of your résumé in your e-mail and that will help you unexpectedly. So Take utmost care while drafting your resume.