UAE: How to prepare a resume that will land you your dream job

Experts offer pro tips to applicants as the country's job market recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic

Employees in the UAE are looking for greener pastures as the UAE’s job market is recovering fast after the successful handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the question is how job seekers can optimize their resume to land them their dream job.

The HR and recruitment consultants in the UAE suggest that one of the simplest ways to find the right job quicker is to write a powerful CV that is laser-sharp, truthful and well-presented that concisely summarises their skills, experience and achievements.

Deepa Sud, CEO at Plum Jobs, a Dubai-based HR business transformation and executive search consultancy, stresses that resume needs to be relevant, interesting and easy to read and the applicant must be honest with regard to job title, dates of employment.

“If you have left your job, state your end date of employment. Quantify your achievements with hard facts rather than cliched statements. Sometimes, I am baffled by the amount of irrelevant information people include in their CVs and then complain that they are not being shortlisted for interviews,” says Sud.

Anjali Samuel, managing partner, Mindfield Resources, said UAE job-seekers resumes must talk about experience, relevant achievements and responsibilities in a succinct manner.

“Job-seekers must understand that the entire objective of their resume is to help recruiters learn about what value they bring to the role in a succinct manner. In a world of information overload from multiple channels, it is critical to showcase relevance,” she said.

What to avoid in a resume

Samuel added that certain things are an absolute no-no to put on one’s resume, for example, one must avoid using an unprofessional email address, exact address, too many short training courses and hobbies that you have not indulged in for the past five years.

Deepa Sud advised that candidates should not exaggerate their skills and experience and avoid irrelevant information such as father’s name, blood type, and statement that CV is the truth. She also suggested not to insert infographics, diagrams and overstuffing of the keywords. Most importantly, one must not use dating app photographs in the CV.

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Vijay Gandhi, regional director for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Korn Ferry, noted that the bullet points also shouldn’t read like a job description, listing every responsibility you had.

“Resume is your time to show what happened because you were there, so list your accomplishments first. Unless you’re applying for a job as a graphic designer, never put your resume together in a programme other than Word or Pages because resumes created in programmes like InDesign sometimes don’t get picked up by the applicant tracking system,” added Gandhi.

“Whenever possible throughout the application process, show that you’re enthusiastic about the opportunity. Though cover letters are getting outdated, attach one if the application asks for it,” he added.

“Only go after positions that you genuinely want. Passion for an industry or role is hard to fake on a resume, so your excitement will stand out,” Vijay Gandhi concluded.

- waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com