While you embark upon your journey into the corporates, you've got to compete with your peers to grab that coveted role. Presenting yourself well is of utmost importance in the field of battle called summer placements. In that too, the most crucial and difficult part is to pour all of what you are onto a piece of paper. So, before you sigh a relief by finally renaming the CV as "the fully finalized ultimate CV version 259", you might want to give your CV one more check in terms of the following points -
1. Be clear about the image you want to portray to the recruiter :
Imagine entering a super shoppe to buy toothpaste. You just want to buy a toothpaste that suits your requirement and are brand agnostic, i.e., not very keen on buying any particular brand. In such case, you are likely to take a look at all available brands, but not allowed to taste any. You have to decide only based on what's written on the packets. Packaging is the key! Exactly similar is the case with your CV. When a company shortlists candidates looking at their CV's, they simply categorise them into different buckets based on their perception of you from what you write on that piece of paper. They can't interview everyone to know everyone's capabilities, due to logistical constraints in the given time. The different buckets could be - the technical fellow, the sports guy, the jack of all, the nerd, the outgoing one, the analytical one, etc. and many more. It's up to you to decide which bucket you want to fall in. Having said that, it also depends on the type of company one is applying to. Just take a glance at your CV and identify your category as depicted by that piece of paper. While you may inherently fall in one of those buckets, it's always wise to change your positioning based on what your target companies are looking for. As is the case with almost all b-schools, you are not allowed to submit more than one version of CV per stream, you got to be careful in crafting every single point on the CV to gauge whether this point directs you to your desired positioning.
2. Weave every point with impactful details -
A masterpiece is constituted by thousands of minute details being focussed upon. Even a small twist in the curves of the Mona Lisa's lips might have ended up rendering the painting nowhere close to the masterpiece that it turned out to be. While you may have thought of putting some less important points as space-fillers in the CV, it may end up harming your image, and subsequently your chances of having a shot at that awaited job offer. What can you do to make a not-so-cool point impactful? One way of doing so is to include numbers in those points. Numbers create a sense of authenticity, and this method would rarely disappoint you!
3. Choose your study projects wisely -
A study project in my opinion is a double edged sword - It creates a good base for discussion in the interview and you can really impress the interviewer with your perspectives and insights on the topic. But, at the same time, you need to be quite careful that you don't screw up in any questions based on the topic, as you become a self-proclaimed expert at least in the basics, if not the nitty gritty, of the subject matter by putting it in the CV.
In a nutshell, it all boils down to the positioning that you create for yourself. Be wise and diligent in devising what can be termed as your first step towards a bright corporate carrier!