The truth is; very many applicants are pitifully inadequate when it comes to write resume. It is our motive in this thread to shed more light on how to write effective resume, and point out to another document that will do more justice to the topic. The importance of writing effective resume can be seen from the fact that employers will ignore you no matter how good you are.
There are so many people who don’t know how to write good resume as evidenced by a lot of ignorant comments peddled around. People churn out laughable resumes that will guarantee you not being called for an interview.
Here is the general layout of a good resume. Please note that there is slight difference between
the order for new applicant and old applicant. For inexperienced applicant, this is how it should be ordered:
1. Objective
2. Career Summary
3. Other Interesting tidbits
a. Class
b. Courses taken
c. Skills
4. Education
5. Work Experience
6. Other items
For experienced applicant, here is the layout
1. Objective
2. Career Summary
3. Skills
4. Work Experience
5. Education items
6. Other items
For inexperienced applicant, they are not going to be hired based on their experience, hence education comes before work experience. A young Accountant (say) who served in a school where she was required to teach Principles of Accounts or Business Education will not rely on that. On the other hand, an experienced Accountant who has put in about 10-15 years will not rely on his education which will have little or no bearing to what he is doing now.

For a new person in labour market, include your class if it is 2:1 or 1st.
Be right back

For a fuller and better discussion, log on to our website @ www.getemployedquickly.com We have prepared an MS-Word which you can digest.
Objective Statement: This is one of the tools used to create an effective resume. It is also used to make statement about what value proposition you are bringing to the company.
One thing I want you to know upfront is that resume writing is more of an art than science. The Dos and Don’ts are not always clear cut. Some will tell you it is old fashioned, a waste of precious space to include it, and somebody even derisively labeled it the Obvious Statement. On the other hand, others are adamant about its desirability. Sometimes ago, a survey was conducted in US, a whopping 40% said, not including it annoys them so much that they will not even consider those who do not include it. What does that imply? It means, statistically, 4 out of 10 employers will not call you for interview simply because you did not include this. So to be at the safer side, I think it is sensible to include it.
Many people are not savvy enough in the way they write it. They write selfish objectives such as ‘A position that allows me to hone my ability to be a better Accountant’. Hey, wake up. You are not being employed to achieve your private agenda. You are employed to add value to the company. The golden rule is: write from the point of view of the employer.
Others, while they are knowledgeable enough to include it write fluffy and meaningless objective. Others write vague or overly broad ones. Objective statement need to be short and sharp for it to be effective.
Here are some examples of effective objectives. Notice they are short and sharp, and looking to add value to the company.
1. Looking for the post of Assistant Executive - Human Capital (Internal Firm Services) where I can facilitate the development of the company through my unique abilities of being a dedicated employee who do not compromise standards
2. A position as Business Accountant where my qualities of being an innovative, capable, dedicated employee who can work with little or no supervision to achieve corporate objectives.
3. Wants a position of Accounting Officer where my educational background, my skills and abilities can be used to realize the mission and vision of the company
Remember, your resume will only get a few seconds attention, at best! You have to generate interest right away, in the first sentence they lay their eyes on. Having an objective statement that really sizzles is highly effective. And it's simple to do. One format is:
OBJECTIVE: An Bleep position in an organization where yyy and zzz would be needed (or, in an organization seeking yyy and zzz).
Bleep is the name of the position you are applying for. Yyy and zzz are the most compelling qualities, abilities or achievements that will really make you stand out above the crowd of applicants. Your previous research to find out what is most important to the employer will provide the information to fill in yyy and zzz.
If you are applying for several different positions, you should adapt your resume to each one. There is nothing wrong with having several different resumes, each with a different objective, each specifically crafted for a different type of position. You may even want to change some parts of your resume for each job you apply for. Have an objective that is perfectly matched with the job you are applying for. Remember, you are writing advertising copy, not your life story.

THE SUMMARY
The "Summary" or "Summary of Qualifications" consists of several concise statements that focus the reader's attention on the most important qualities, achievements and abilities you have to offer. Those qualities should be the most compelling demonstrations of why they should hire you instead of the other candidates. It gives you a brief opportunity to telegraph a few of your most sterling qualities. It is your one and only chance to attract and hold their attention, to get across what is most important, and to entice the employer to keep reading.
This is the spiciest part of the resume. This may be the only section fully read by the employer, so it should be very strong and convincing. The "Summary" is the one place to include professional characteristics (extremely energetic, a gift for solving complex problems in a fast-paced environment, a natural salesman, exceptional interpersonal skills, committed to excellence, etc.) which may be helpful in winning the interview. Gear every word in the "Summary" to your targeted goal.
Here are some examples
1. A young, hard-working, focused and intelligent graduate. Worked as a form teacher, was also the Accounting and Economics teacher during the service year where I had the opportunity to mentor and coach the students and had 99% success rate in the external exam, up from 62%.
2. Intelligent, ambitious, hard working and dedicated programmer with the ability to network and multitask. Acquired a laptop which was used to train other students and develop websites. Income realised was used to train myself and fund a business centre on campus. The business to acquire much needed business and technical expitise.
3. An energetic Computer Science graduate with the uncanny ability to motivate and gets things done a great mobiliser, a team player and a natural team leader. Was the Senior Prefect and the best graduating student in high school and the Students Union President in University.

Other Interesting Titbits
These are other pieces of information that enhance your candidature. This article is geared towards those that are young in the labour market. These are the people that are hired not because of their experience but because of what they learn in school. Having a 1st or 2:1 enhances that, and if you are in that category, you are better off putting the information there. The actual courses taken in school if you are applying for a position related to your course. If you are an accountant seeking an accounting job, you should include this. Remember you are going to be hired based on your knowledge and not experience. Of course, an old hand need not include these. A resume is actually a form of advert. Anything that enhances your candidature should be included.
SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In this final part of the assertions section of your resume, you go into more detail. You are still writing to sell yourself to the reader, not to inform them. Basically, you do exactly what you did in the previous section, except that you go into more detail.
In the summary, you focused on your most special highlights. Now you tell the rest of the best of your story. Let them know what results you produced, what happened as a result of your efforts, what you are especially gifted or experienced at doing. Flesh out the most important highlights in your summary.
You are still writing to do what every good advertisement does, communicating the following: if you buy this product, you will get these direct benefits. If it doesn't contribute to furthering this communication, don't bother to say it.

Next comes other details which you may or may not include. In this category are things such as
1. Awards received. Include only if relevant
2. Professional Affiliation. Include only if they are current, relevant and impressive
3. Publication. Include only if published. Summarise if there are many
4. Personal Interest\Hobby. Very many are into football. This can spark lively discussion during interview, and let you clinch the job if you are in the same club with the interview. However, you may not want people to know if you love boxing
5. References. In Nigeria, seems the rule is to always include it

1. Awards received. Include only if relevant
2. Professional Affiliation. Include only if they are current, relevant and impressive
3. Publication. Include only if published. Summarise if there are many
4. Personal Interest\Hobby. Very many are into football. This can spark lively discussion during interview, and let you clinch the job if you are in the same club with the interview. However, you may not want people to know if you love boxing
5. References. In Nigeria, seems the rule is to always include it

Why bother anyway. I am happy to let you know that you now have an interesting option. I am happy to introduce our website to you. It is www.getemployedquickly.com?source=FirstGradeResume&website=Nairaland .This is the biggest, smartest and most innovative job hunting website. Now, you don’t need to start jumping from one website to another, looking for jobs. We have done that for you. We go to Jobberman, and all other websites to look for job. We subscribe to all many other so they send job openings straight to our email. We also move from one company’s site to another. We said we are the most innovative. For any job that you are qualified for, we help you write a strong resume. At the end of the day, you save time, money and money. Give it a try. You would surely marvel about our innovativeness. See you at the top.

Thank you.God bless you for ur time and effort.

Wow! Thanks

Nice one. Pls i got a CV and i need your help on it. Need some corrections on it.

U try sha bt 4naija na who u sabi b ya CV. I gat a friend he said he wrote his CV afta workin 4 2weeks (F.govt work wt beta pay)

Swiftlee: Wow! Thanks

Inioluwa01: Thank you.God bless you for ur time and effort.

Tou are welcomed. Glad that you find it useful.

tunnex190: Nice one. Pls i got a CV and i need your help on it. Need some corrections on it.

Why not? Any way I can be of help, I will. How can I bef help?

Tuntheycr7: U try sha bt 4naija na who u sabi b ya CV. I gat a friend he said he wrote his CV afta workin 4 2weeks (F.govt work wt beta pay)

Of course that is true. There are some places, as you have rightly pointed out; Govt parastaltals most especially, writing the best and the most outstanding resume will not make you be called in for interview. In this case, I am NOT talking about those places. The purpose of resume is to make the employer invite you for interview, so if you are writing the resume after resumption you know smething is wrong. I will advise you quiting being a pessimistic. See the cup as half full and NOT as half empty.

Dres nothin to click on dat list oh!

MisterMan: Other Interesting Titbits
These are other pieces of information that enhance your candidature. This article is geared towards those that are young in the labour market. These are the people that are hired not because of their experience but because of what they learn in school. Having a 1st or 2:1 enhances that, and if you are in that category, you are better off putting the information there. The actual courses taken in school if you are applying for a position related to your course. If you are an accountant seeking an accounting job, you should include this. Remember you are going to be hired based on your knowledge and not experience. Of course, an old hand need not include these. A resume is actually a form of advert. Anything that enhances your candidature should be included.
SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In this final part of the assertions section of your resume, you go into more detail. You are still writing to sell yourself to the reader, not to inform them. Basically, you do exactly what you did in the previous section, except that you go into more detail.
In the summary, you focused on your most special highlights. Now you tell the rest of the best of your story. Let them know what results you produced, what happened as a result of your efforts, what you are especially gifted or experienced at doing. Flesh out the most important highlights in your summary.
You are still writing to do what every good advertisement does, communicating the following: if you buy this product, you will get these direct benefits. If it doesn't contribute to furthering this communication, don't bother to say it.

Please can u help me edit my Cv, Have been applying for job without getting invites. Thanks

3ribalmarks: Dres nothin to click on dat list oh!

So sorry about that. It was when I submitted this (and I thought my colleagues have done the neccessary work), that I realised that it was not done. In the next 24 hours it will be done.
@ Evergreen4: Why not? If I can get a copy of that, I can help you re-work it. Better still, when we update the link, you can see sample resumes that you can easily re-modelled yours after

Sorry that I have not done what I promised. This is because I could not have access to internet. Glo decided to yank off the access. It was a few minutes ago that I discovered that access is now available. Will soon do that. Please bear with me.

Pls hw can I snd my cv to u,so dat u can hlp me to edit it?

MisterMan:

So sorry about that. It was when I submitted this (and I thought my colleagues have done the neccessary work), that I realised that it was not done. In the next 24 hours it will be done.
@ Evergreen4: Why not? If I can get a copy of that, I can help you re-work it. Better still, when we update the link, you can see sample resumes that you can easily re-modelled yours after

please how do I send u the CV so u can help me edit it ? Thanks.

Pls i need help with my CV too. Hw can i send u my cv

Hello folks. Long time. Sorry for the break in transmission. The reason was because I was banned, and for not doing anything wrong. Take a look at the following, as part of my contribution when the ban lasts. I found out then that I could not make contribution to anything in the section generally: https://www.nairaland.com/1026354/moderators-cannot-right-now-please
To get in touch, please send private mail

@misterman, you are welcome from your ban. Most people have asked how you cam help out with editing their cv, could you please address that? Thank you

I think I have already addressed that. I would love to put my email here so that anybody can communicate with me, but the problem is the issue of spammers. At the end of the day, it is most likely that legit mails like yours will be buried in the maze of junks I will be getting. Hello, come and buy viagra etc will clutter up my mail box. While it is most likely that I missed it, what most people would think is that 'Ah Misterman is arrogant. Misterman doesn't reply mails.'
The simplest think to do is to send me a private mail as I said above.

MisterMan: ... To get in touch, please send private mail

While you won't be able to write any message initially, when I see it, I will reply and then communiction can commence. Don't know how to do that? Very simple. Click on my username; it takes you to View Misterman's Profile. Scroll down. You will see Send Message to Misterman
I am doing this to make life better for others. I will try and respond as quickly as possible, but please note that I have to put food on the table as well, and there will be many people wanting help from me.