Create an
Impressive Resume

Create an Impressive Resume

Watch and Learn

It may be tempting to come up with a one-size-fits-all resume for all your applications, but avoid this at all cost.

Crafting a tailored resume that lists your outstanding qualities and achievements will help you to differentiate yourself from the competition. By highlighting key skills that are most relevant to the job, you will stand a higher chance of being selected.

01

Analyse the Job Description

Refer to the job description to identify the skills the hiring manager is looking for

Learn more 
02

List Experiences and Skills

Highlight and link your relevant qualifications, experiences and accomplishments to the needs of the position

Learn more 
03

Be Results-Oriented

Employ strategic use of Competency + Action + Results (C.A.R.) framework to highlight your skills and experiences

Learn more 
04

Apply Finishing Touches

Optimise your resume structure in an easy to read format

Learn more 

01

Analyse the Job Description

Pay close attention to the job description and use strong action verbs to highlight the competency that is explicitly stated and inferred from the job description. Some of these competencies are commonly referred to as technical skills and transferable skills. In addition, read between the lines and identify other skills that can be inferred.

App

Technical Skills

Technical skills refer to your knowledge and expertise required to perform the required tasks or use specific tools in the role. These skills will vary across industries and functions.

Transferable Skills

Transferable skills refer to "people skills" or "self-management" skills that can be applied across careers. Your transferable skills can enhance the technical skills that you bring to the job.

Practice: Identify the Skills Employers are Looking for

When analysing a job description, we recommend highlighting the key skills mentioned so you are clear on what the employer is looking for.

Hover over the highlighted text below to practice identifying the types of technical and transferable skills needed for the role.

Eg. Internship for Digital Business Services Southeast Asia

Responsibilities

  • Support change leaders to drive continuous improvement programs that are impactful in how we deliver services to our customers
  • Assist in the coordination, planning and management of initiatives with the focus on capturing status and supporting metrics, and communicating issues, risks and roadblocks
  • Conduct analytical activities to provide insights for decision making
  • Establish reporting dashboards and provide regular status updates to management

 

Additional Examples of Technical and Transferable Skills

In each job description, you will find a few sentences that provide a glimpse to the actual job scope. Identify potential technical and transferable skills that the employer looks out for through analysing each sentence. See below for examples of how you can identify the respective skills.


Electrical Engineer

Sound Engineering Knowledge - "Sound engineering knowledge in electrical field equipment (e.g. switchgears, transformers, protective relaying, generators, etc.)"

Public Speaking - "Conduct technical training to share best practices in areas of expertise."



Business Planning Analyst

Technology Infrastructure Time and Material Price Model Review - "Drive monthly reviews with CTI APAC functional teams on T&M expenses"

Negotiation - "Managing vendor and reviewing contracts in large complex infrastructure environment"



Project Management Specialist

Advanced Excel - "Track order bookings, revenue recognition, OTD and contribution margin"

Collaboration - "Work closely with Inquiry-To-Order (ITO) team to understand customer’s order requirements"

 

While looking at the job description, highlight the key skills the employer is looking for. In addition, read between the lines and identify other skills that can be inferred. Additionally, find out expected skills in various sectors through Skillsfuture Framework.

02

List Your Experiences and Skills

Be selective and only showcase the relevant and useful ones to each specific role. Include both your work experiences and extra-curricular activities to show your interest and passion. This allows recruiters to figure out your suitability for the advertised role. Make use of verbs when listing your qualities and achievements.

App

Outside-the-Classroom Experiences

Below are some of the common experiences listed on resumes. Think back a few years and identify some of your more notable experiences.

...

Work Experiences

...

Global and Local Internships

...

Overseas Exchange

...

Extra-Curricular Activities

...

Hall Involvement

...

Community Groups

...

Hobbies

...

Voluntary Work

 

In which of these experiences did you demonstrate or acquire the skills expressed in the job description? Those are the experiences you must prioritize in your resume.

03

Be Results-Oriented

When writing about your experiences in your resume's "work experience" and "extra-curricular activities" section, structure each example as a C.A.R. statement to maximise their impact on the reader.

App

Writing C.A.R. Statements

  • Competency

    Start each sentence with a strong action verb that highlights the competency that you're trying to communicate.
    Competencies can be grouped into various categories such as communication skills, creative skills, leadership skills, etc.

    Opt for strong action verbs such as "collaborated" and "initiated" to highlight the competency at the start of the sentence.
    Avoid weak verbs such as "assisted" and "supported".

    Examples of strong action verbs to highlight your competencies:
    • Communication skills - negotiated, collaborated
    • Creative skills - conceptualized, designed
    • Leadership skills - spearheaded, led

  • Action

    Explain who you worked with and the tools you utilised to achieve a positive outcome or desired goal.
    You may include your individual contribution to the project

  • Results

    Express the significant quantitative or qualitative outcome of your action.
    Quantify the results wherever possible such as the percentage increase in sales, the number of students recruited, the amount of money raised, and the grades achieved.
    For qualitative results, you can state the purpose of your action. For example, "to increase sales in the next quarter" or "to investigate the role of market supply in consumer behaviour".

C.A.R. Framework in Action

Compare the work experiences in the "before" and "after" sections. You will see that the "after" utilises a strong action verb to demonstrate the competency, explains the action taken and expresses the quantitative and qualitative outcome of the action.

Before

 

After

 

04

Apply Finishing Touches

How you present your resume is as important as what is written on it. A well-formatted resume is easy on the eyes and allows the recruiter to quickly spot the competencies you have and the results you have achieved. Recruiters are quickly turned off by poorly formatted resumes and typos.

App

Presenting Your Resume

Resume Format

A reverse chronological order resume is recommended for fresh graduates to:

  • tailor different qualification and skill sets to each specific role, and
  • highlight past work experiences and achievements, starting with the most recent
Sections to include
  1. Name and Contact Details
  2. Education
  3. Work Experience
  4. CCA/External Projects
  5. Additional Skills/Interests
Presentation Tips
  • One Page
  • All Dates in MMM YY format
  • All bullets to be properly aligned across the entire document
  • Black font with white background, balance of text and space
  • Simple, formal and readable font (Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana - Font Size: 11/12)

Get started with a base template

01

Analyse the Job Description

Pay close attention to the job description and use strong action verbs to highlight the competency that is explicitly stated and inferred from the job description. Some of these competencies are commonly referred to as technical skills and transferable skills. In addition, read between the lines and identify other skills that can be inferred.

App

Technical Skills

Technical skills refer to your knowledge and expertise required to perform the required tasks or use specific tools in the role. These skills will vary across industries and functions.

Transferable Skills

Transferable skills refer to "people skills" or "self-management" skills that can be applied across careers. Your transferable skills can enhance the technical skills that you bring to the job.

Practice: Identify the Skills Employers are Looking for

When analysing a job description, we recommend highlighting the key skills mentioned so you are clear on what the employer is looking for.

Hover over the highlighted text below to practice identifying the types of technical and transferable skills needed for the role.

Eg. Internship for Digital Business Services Southeast Asia

Responsibilities

  • Support change leaders to drive continuous improvement programs that are impactful in how we deliver services to our customers
  • Assist in the coordination, planning and management of initiatives with the focus on capturing status and supporting metrics, and communicating issues, risks and roadblocks
  • Conduct analytical activities to provide insights for decision making
  • Establish reporting dashboards and provide regular status updates to management

 

Additional Examples of Technical and Transferable Skills

In each job description, you will find a few sentences that provide a glimpse to the actual job scope. Identify potential technical and transferable skills that the employer looks out for through analysing each sentence. See below for examples of how you can identify the respective skills.


Electrical Engineer

Sound Engineering Knowledge - "Sound engineering knowledge in electrical field equipment (e.g. switchgears, transformers, protective relaying, generators, etc.)"

Public Speaking - "Conduct technical training to share best practices in areas of expertise."



Business Planning Analyst

Technology Infrastructure Time and Material Price Model Review - "Drive monthly reviews with CTI APAC functional teams on T&M expenses"

Negotiation - "Managing vendor and reviewing contracts in large complex infrastructure environment"



Project Management Specialist

Advanced Excel - "Track order bookings, revenue recognition, OTD and contribution margin"

Collaboration - "Work closely with Inquiry-To-Order (ITO) team to understand customer’s order requirements"

 

While looking at the job description, highlight the key skills the employer is looking for. In addition, read between the lines and identify other skills that can be inferred. Additionally, find out expected skills in various sectors through Skillsfuture Framework.

02

List Your Experiences and Skills

Be selective and only showcase the relevant and useful ones to each specific role. Include both your work experiences and extra-curricular activities to show your interest and passion. This allows recruiters to figure out your suitability for the advertised role. Make use of verbs when listing your qualities and achievements.

App

Outside-the-Classroom Experiences

Below are some of the common experiences listed on resumes. Think back a few years and identify some of your more notable experiences.

...

Work Experiences

...

Global and Local Internships

...

Overseas Exchange

...

Extra-Curricular Activities

...

Hall Involvement

...

Community Groups

...

Hobbies

...

Voluntary Work

 

In which of these experiences did you demonstrate or acquire the skills expressed in the job description? Those are the experiences you must prioritize in your resume.

03

Be Results-Oriented

When writing about your experiences in your resume's "work experience" and "extra-curricular activities" section, structure each example as a C.A.R. statement to maximise their impact on the reader.

App

Writing C.A.R. Statements

  • Competency

    Start each sentence with a strong action verb that highlights the competency that you're trying to communicate.
    Competencies can be grouped into various categories such as communication skills, creative skills, leadership skills, etc.

    Opt for strong action verbs such as "collaborated" and "initiated" to highlight the competency at the start of the sentence.
    Avoid weak verbs such as "assisted" and "supported".

    Examples of strong action verbs to highlight your competencies:
    • Communication skills - negotiated, collaborated
    • Creative skills - conceptualized, designed
    • Leadership skills - spearheaded, led

  • Action

    Explain who you worked with and the tools you utilised to achieve a positive outcome or desired goal.
    You may include your individual contribution to the project

  • Results

    Express the significant quantitative or qualitative outcome of your action.
    Quantify the results wherever possible such as the percentage increase in sales, the number of students recruited, the amount of money raised, and the grades achieved.
    For qualitative results, you can state the purpose of your action. For example, "to increase sales in the next quarter" or "to investigate the role of market supply in consumer behaviour".

C.A.R. Framework in Action

Compare the work experiences in the "before" and "after" sections. You will see that the "after" utilises a strong action verb to demonstrate the competency, explains the action taken and expresses the quantitative and qualitative outcome of the action.

Before

 

After

 

04

Apply Finishing Touches

How you present your resume is as important as what is written on it. A well-formatted resume is easy on the eyes and allows the recruiter to quickly spot the competencies you have and the results you have achieved. Recruiters are quickly turned off by poorly formatted resumes and typos.

App

Presenting Your Resume

Resume Format

A reverse chronological order resume is recommended for fresh graduates to:

  • tailor different qualification and skill sets to each specific role, and
  • highlight past work experiences and achievements, starting with the most recent
Sections to include
  1. Name and Contact Details
  2. Education
  3. Work Experience
  4. CCA/External Projects
  5. Additional Skills/Interests
Presentation Tips
  • One Page
  • All Dates in MMM YY format
  • All bullets to be properly aligned across the entire document
  • Black font with white background, balance of text and space
  • Simple, formal and readable font (Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana - Font Size: 11/12)

Get started with a base template

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