As the industry's demand for engineers' have increased over the year, the ingredients essential in an effective resume have proliferated. The Smart Techie spoke to some HR managers' to ascertain what constitutes a well-crafted resume.
"A resume should follow a chronological format and convey the candidates' objectives and skill sets in a manner that is clutter free and crisp," says Smita Sah, HR Manager, e-infochips.

HR managers suggest that dumping modesty is the first step in drafting a resume. A candidate should evaluate his performance in each of his previous jobs and ask himself 'What was my contribution to my division and company?' the exercise would help the job seeker identify his accomplishments, and including it in the resume would help him prepare an effective pitch for the position up for grabs.

Since accomplishments are none in the case of entry-level candidates, their resumes must portray skills and enthusiasm. Experienced candidates, on the other hand, are often guilty over qualifying themselves. "They dump their resumes with huge amounts of data believing that that it would fill in the gaps and project embellished image that is capable of performing well beyond the applicant's capabilities," says P.D. Divaker, HR Manager, SAIC.

Agrees, Chaitanya Nadkarny, Director—Operations and HR, ThoughtWorks "They pile their resumes with all the unimportant projects and assignments they have undertaken since their college days, which makes their achievements almost incomprehensible from the pile. Further, if a resume is more than three pages long, one does not generally move beyond the second page."

For a senior managerial post, the role the candidate played and the responsibilities he handled with his ex-employee must find an elaborate weightage in the resume. However, stating his reasons for joining a new organization along with the years of experience speaks volume about the candidature of the applicant, adds Sah.