• A good handwriting gives a pleasing effect and fetches your pleasing marks! It is a medium to put your data and information across. There are a few practical ways to make your handwriting look better.
  
  
• Form your alphabets well. Make sure that all the small alphabets are of same heights, and the tall ones also reach to uniform height.
  
  
• The secret of good handwriting is sufficient spacing. It you leave spacing between words generously, two things happen – firstly, you make the entire appearance very neat. And secondly, you answers will seem longer than they really are!



• Exertion of pressure on the pen should be the same through out the span of examination.
  
  
• Make a habit of writing daily at home to achieve speed.

The 'Write' Resume

Your resume is your personal sales tool for success in business. It's the all-important first stage in selling yourself and your skills to recruitment agencies and potential employers.

For job seekers entering the market, it's important to present yourself, your skills and study achievements in the most positive light.

That's why the resume is so important in communicating your unique set of skills to prospective employers.

As a result, it's essential to plan what you need to say to accurately detail what you can offer. You may need to redraft your resume several times until you get it right.

It's important to keep it simple, concise and correct.

It should highlight your strengths and achievements and encourage readers to understand what you can offer the organisation, while still wanting to see you for an interview.

Top tips for writing a winning resume are:

• Layout is important. Use spacing to ensure your resume is easy to read and easy to follow.
• Proofread your resume for spelling errors. Get a friend to proof it as well.
• Include your contact details, including phone number, address and email.
• Keep personal details to a minimum. Just give the necessary information.
• List your most recent work experience first.
• Use short statements or bullet points to make it quicker and easier to read.
• Put headings in bold but avoid too many fonts and graphics.
• Include any volunteer and charity work or significant achievements.

Writing a technical resume

If you are in the technical or engineering profession, or looking to enter these fields, there are several areas which your resume should be focused on. Here are several useful tips.

Customise your resume

The common mistake that technicians and engineers often make is to copy a "ready-made" resume from career guidebooks, thus failing to highlight the important aspects of their technical or engineering career. Remember to tailor your resume according to the job and industry that you are applying for.

Know who you are writing for

Although the position is technical in nature, the first person to see your resume may not be the manager with technical or engineering background. Often, your resume will be reviewed by gatekeepers -- the Recruitment Manager or HR Manager who may not have in-depth technical knowledge. With this in mind, it would be useful to start your resume with a "Summary of Skills" where you list your relevant technical skills, matching technical terminologies with those used in the advertisement. This summary will help the Recruitment or HR Manager to identify quickly if you have the required technical knowledge and expertise.

Know what to highlight

Always include what is relevant and marketable. Pay careful attention to the job requirements stated in the advertisement or job posting; then select skills and experience that are appropriate for the position. Use specific technical terms and be clear about the responsibilities that you handle, using words such as "maintenance", "repair", "trouble-shooting", "design", etc. Remember to include the operating systems, machinery, equipment or computer software that you have used. Highlight the work that you have done in specific industries and the number of years you were in that industry. Explain briefly the products or services that your previous employers were offering. Include details of your involvement in specific projects, the customers whom you came in contact with (especially for engineering/technical sales positions), and the contractors, governing bodies and approving institutions that you had liaised with. If you were in a supervisory or management capacity, state the number of staff who was reporting to you.

Experience first

In the technical and engineering fields, it is often more important for the recruiter to know what you can do rather than the paper qualifications that you own. As such, put your experience first in your resume, before your educational qualifications. Highlight achievements rather than job description and where possible, quantify these achievements. In doing so, remember to use "action" words (e.g. "planned", "managed", "initiated", "conceptualised", etc). If you are a fresh graduate and do not have much experience, focus on your industrial attachment and projects that you undertook during your studies.

Non-technical or Soft Skills

Today, recruiters not only look for technical skills, they also want someone with soft skills, e.g. project management, supervisory/leadership, communication and presentation skills. Remember to demonstrate such skills in your resume.

Proof-read it

No matter how confident you are with your writing skills, always proofread your resume a few times to check for typo-errors, omissions and inconsistencies. Ensure that your resume is neat and legible, avoiding fanciful typefaces and small fonts. Let a trusted friend or family member go through your resume for a final proofread.

Covering Letters... all you need to know...

1. Should I write my covering letter by hand?

Covering letters should be typed with black ink unless the employer has specified that they want it written by hand. In which case a good quality pen should be used and you should take care not to make mistakes and crossings out.

2. How long should my cover letter be?

Do not exceed one side of A4. Use formatting to balance the letter in the centre of the page.

3. Who do I address the letter to?

If you have the name of the employer then address the letter to them, if not try to find a name on the company webpage or by telephoning and asking who the head of department is. If you cannot find a name, then address your letter Dear Sir/Madam.

4. When do I need to send out a cover letter?

A cover letter should always be sent out to accompany your CV.

5. How should I close the letter?

A covering letter is a formal business letter and as such should be closed with 'yours sincerely'.

6. What are the main points I need to include in my letter?

First Paragraph - State what position you are applying for and what makes you the best candidate for that job. If you are responding to an advertisement, refer to the publication in which it appeared.
Second paragraph - Give details of what you can contribute to the company and how your qualifications make you particularly suitable. If applying to an advertised job relate your skills to those that are specified in the description.
Third paragraph - Write your career aims linking them to the company's field of expertise and the job to which you are applying. Request an interview at the reader's convenience and state that you will be in touch. Incorporate this information into a maximum of four short paragraphs, include a contact address and your signature.

7. Can I send out the same letter for each application?

It is advisable to tailor a covering letter for the job to which you are applying. It is easier for an employer to dismiss a standard letter.

8. What do I do after I have sent the letter off?

Keep a record of when you posted the letter, and follow up with a telephone call after about a week. While you are waiting to hear back from the company continue to apply for other jobs, do not put all your eggs in one basket.

9. Should I use different fonts and what paper should I use?

This is a formal letter so do not use fancy fonts, stick with Times, Times New Roman or Arial. It should be black ink on white paper, do not use personal stationary. Print the letter on the same paper you used for your CV.

10. What type of language should I use?

Keep it simple, avoid cliches and commonly used catch phrases. Try not to use too many 'I can, I have, I am' starts to sentences. Your language should be hard hitting and easy to understand, use plenty of action verbs such as "designed", "implemented", avoid abbreviations and slang.

How to tailor your CV for your industry sectors

The qualities that an employer will look for in an applicant will vary between industry sector. By tailoring your CV to the specific industry to which you are applying you can greatly increase your chances of securing an interview. When you first write your CV you should include every achievement, omitting something only if it is out of date, unimpressive, irrelevant or for the purpose of space conservation. The document you create will be your core CV, which is never sent to anyone. From your core CV you tailor for each audience by choosing only those pointers that will interest the receiver.

Introduction

Sum up your key qualities emphasizing those that you know the employer wants to hear. Do not include strengths if they are not particularly relevant to the job. Write a brief career aim, obviously stating that the industry that you are applying for is where you want your career to be heading in the long term.

Previous employment

Whilst you cannot alter for whom you worked and for how long, you can edit your role and responsibilities within those companies without the need to fabricate. For example if you are going for a managerial position you should emphasize that your previous jobs entailed considerable responsibility including decision making duties. Draw focus to a specific project that encompassed many of the skills you perceive to be important attributes for a manager to possess - delegation, meeting deadlines, consistency, teamwork. Describe your role in the project, your actions and the resultant positive consequences for the company, use quantitative reference if possible. If you are applying for a sales position highlight your powers of persuasion with reference to your achieved monthly targets, name drop prestigious clients and include details of how much you earned for your last company. Your potential employer wants a sales person who gets results. In essence, think of what the job you are applying for entails and what the employer wants from the successful candidate to that job. Then highlight areas or projects from your previous positions that required you to use those desired skills, emphasizing how successful you were at achieving results.

Hobbies and interests

Active pursuits are a good way to unwind and relieve stress, therefore applicants for positions of responsibility may choose to include some sporting activities amongst their repertoire. Those seeking managerial positions should consider emphasizing their participation in team sports. Cultural diversity and worldly awareness are also traits employers may look for. If you are applying for a writing position then perhaps you want to state what you enjoy reading. If you aspire to be a designer state that you enjoy visiting exhibitions and which designers you most admire. The content of this section often has little bearing upon interview selection, however it can do no harm to show that you carry your passion for your subject outside of the workplace.

References

It is recommended not to include references as part of your CV, however if they are requested you can be selective as to which you give out. Include references that are relevant to the sector you are applying to. For example if you are applying for a journalist job include a reference from the local paper you worked on, and/or the manager of the printing press you produced your student newspaper on. Do not include a reference written by your old manager on the checkout at the local supermarket unless it is unavoidable.

Tailoring for individual companies

Not only can you tailor your CV to the industry sector you are applying for, you can also make fine adjustment so as to perfectly suit the company that a particular application is being sent out to. To do this you need to carry out some research on the company and the easiest way to do this is on the Internet. Visit the companies' homepage to find in what area their specialisation lies. Try to deduce how many people they employ. Are they are large company? Do they have a modern or traditional outlook? What areas are they expanding into? The answers to this type of questioning can help you formulate an idea of the sort of candidates they are looking for. Importantly, by seeing where the company is heading in the future, your CV can state that you want to head in the same direction, perhaps you have experience and skills which complement that particular area which you can emphasize. It is possible that you have worked for a competitor of the company you are applying to. This could work to your favor (depending on circumstances under which you left the competitor company) and so when describing your previous employment make a point of focusing on the time you spent at the competitor.

How will your friends react when you tell them you've landed yourself a great job? How will you feel with the dreaded bank manager is off your back because you have secured a substantial pay-cheque each month?

Most graduates hitting the job market for the first time expect to have to fill in loads of application forms, to take part in two-day interviews with all sorts of aptitude and personality testing, and to travel up and down the country with little to show for it.

But the truth is job hunting can be a fun, exciting and rewarding as long as you stay focused and concentrate on the profession you really want to follow.

It is unfortunate that many graduates get pulled along by the 'rush' to get selected and therefore spend a lot of time chasing jobs that don't really suit them. Hence this is why many graduates change jobs three or more times within the first 18 months out of college/university.

So, how do you stay focused with 200,000 graduates all after the 'best' jobs? Listed below are five top tips to help you tackle your job hunt in a systematic and business-like manner:

1. Be Realistic

It is tempting to think that you can be 'all things to all employers' but if this is your approach you will be swamped by what is on offer and will be unable to decide what to do. So, firstly and most importantly you need to decide what profession you want to be in.

Why? Because it is the primary concern of the graduate recruiter to find graduates who can actually do the job on offer and what better insurance policy is there than someone who has done a related course or who has had practical experience during his/her vacation work?

The closer your targeted job relates to your course or work experience the higher your salary expectation can be. So high-tech electronics companies will be looking for graduates with degrees in electronics or computing whereas a broadcasting company is likely to be interested in graduates from a broader range of disciplines with practical experience as well.

For instance, graduates who have had some experience of working on local radio, a local newspaper, hospital radio or something similar will interest them more than a graduate with a purely academic background. So decide upon your profession and target your applications/CV accordingly.

2. Be Smart

Think about, then action your individual job hunt. Be ahead of the game by re-writing your CV and application forms to have a business emphasis. Steer away from the common student writing style which includes too much emphasis on hobbies, course details, references, holiday travel and grades of every examination ever taken such as swimming, gymnastics and dance.Focus instead on your language and choose words in your CV/application form that have a business-like tone. Words like solved, performed, redirected, developed, implemented, sold and supervised create a positive business-like impression and say so much more about you than woolly words like involved, assisted, hardworking, helpful and ambitious.

3. Be Special

Decide what is special about you? What are you offering your 'new' employer? Many graduates feel that being a graduate is enough, so they don't work too hard on what they have to offer. This can also apply to some graduates within a job so they don't settle in or endear themselves to others once within the organisation because the 'I am a graduate' bit takes over.

Overcome this hurdle by forgetting the qualification bit and thinking in terms of your unique business skills. What can you do that would add value to your chosen company? What are you going to bring to an organisation? What personal skills do you have to offer? Yes, the focus is on how 'You' can make a positive difference to your chosen organisation.

4. Be Sexy

The thing to remember is that a lot of graduate applications are very dull, boring and lack enthusiasm for the job on offer. Create a bit of intrigue and sex appeal by committing your enthusiasm and talents to paper.

Employers love qualifications but they are also looking to recruit the other qualification, which is your personality. The bit, which determines how you come across, and how much potential you have. It also gives you the edge over other candidates with similar qualifications as yourself, so don't downplay its importance. Remember that if you don't include it on your CV/application form it could be assumed that you don't have a personality!

5. Be Professional

Invest as much time and effort as you can into researching your chosen profession and putting your application together. So many graduates see a position they like the look of and just throw anything down on paper in the vain hope that it will get them the job.

Researching the company and writing a personalised CV/application form may seem to be a fruitless exercise if you don't get offered the job but it is a catch 22 situation. If you don't put the effort in, your application doesn't stand a chance.

Spend at least a couple of hours finding out about the position on offer and a similar amount of time, if not more, writing the application/CV.

This time can be reduced further if you spend a little bit of time discovering more about what makes employers choose certain applications rather than others.