After you finish penning down your resume, do not get trigger-happy and start sending the resume to your dream jobs. Instead, you should take some time to double check your resume and see what it is saying about you. Does it point out your skillsets and expertise? Does it showcase your passion and ambition? Or maybe it screams, ‘I got bills to pay. Please hire me!’

Your resume will be the first contact you have with a potential employer. It is an important marketing material that helps you get an interview invitation, which makes it crucial for you to make a positive impression on it. Corporate hiring managers receive hundreds or even thousands on each job opening, so it comes as no surprise that they spend seconds to check a resume and decide if it deserves an opportunity for a further round of test and interview.

Do you think that your resume is top notch that showcase your competence as top candidate? Here are five things your resume conveys about you:

1. Your relevant skills and expertise

You might have long list of skills and experience or broad areas of expertise written on your resume. However, this information will not be much help if it is not relevant with the requirements asked by the employer. Therefore, you should customise your resume and make sure that you mention particular information that is relevant with the job positions you apply.

2. Your career goals

Are you a visionary individual who is willing to move forward, or reluctant to take up new challenge? Your resume will showcase the way you see your future in the professional world. Thus, you should describe career plans and how you would do to achieve the goals.

3. Your passion

Passion for your job is one key that leads to success because with such values, employees will be motivated to learn and thrive in the business. Employers need to ensure that their future hires share the same passion and mission as the company’s, so you should articulate your passion clearly.

4. Your accomplishments

If you have previous work experience, you can list your past accomplishments that could point out your problem-solving and leadership skills. If you are fresh graduates, you can mention about other accomplishments at university or college.

5. Your efforts and personality

Employers want to know who you really are, so do not be afraid to let your personality shine. You should showcase your genuine interests towards the job roles by putting efforts in creating a pertinent resume. Take time to tailor your resume if you want to send to the different types of positions in different companies.

Or is it?

While you might have faced various kinds of obstacles at school and college, you will find that the challenges you will encounter in the workplace are on different types and levels. Are you ready to tackle them?

Adapting yourself to the new environment during transition period could be hard, but you will eventually get used to it. However, to avoid any cultural shocks that might let you down during the first days at work, here are 5 challenges you should be mentally prepare for:

Getting tired on the first week

‘What a tiring day!’ is the sentence you may express in the end of the first day you work. Getting to know your colleagues, know your work, learn the processes, find lunch buddies; you will be overwhelmed. You might also worry that you are going to feel the same tire-ness every day. Thankfully, this is just a transition period. You will start developing a rhythm and make new friends that will support you through the day. By then, you will run your days with your enthusiasm and feel less fatigue.

Hit by light stress

In the beginning, you might find it difficult to meet particular targets set by your supervisor. Worse, it feels more suppressive when your co-workers request that you to work faster. It also comes as a shocking moment when you realise that your job is not as straightforward as the theories you learnt in college. Everything feels complicated and you get dizzy. These are all signs of stress which you will definitely face at some point in your work life, especially at the start when everything is new.

Difficulty in managing time

What a busy day! You wished that time passed slower so you have more time to meet the tight deadlines. When one task is completed, many others are piling up and waiting for your attention. Time management will prove to be an important skill.

Getting tired of the work environment

Work environment could be the reason for you to be excited and tired at the same time. Your co-workers could be your mood booster or busters. You might find it tough to integrate into the already present cliques within the company. Or, there may be conflicts arising from differences in working style or habits that might make you feel like you do belong to there anymore. You might think about resigning for this reason, but do realise that this is part and parcel of working life. All you need to do is just stay wise and be professional at all times.

The grass is greener on the other side

You meet up with your classmate and he proudly tell you about his new job. Be it his salary, tasks, benefits, facility, culture, or others factors, there is something that make his job sounds much better than yours. Feeling a little bit envious, you might regret about your current job. At this point, you should remember how you felt the same pride as your peer when you just started work. Do recognise that every job has its own pros and cons. The grass might not always be always greener on the other side.

1. Pay Attention

Treat every day at work, like a day in school. Motivate yourself to learn something new each day and stop sleepwalking through the day. Learning is a lifelong journey and is very important at the workplace. You will never know how these skills picked up can benefit you in the future.

2. Be Ethical

Be honest in all you do and bring integrity to your job. Don’t call in sick just to get a day off, if you are working remotely, be sure you are. Remain accountable. Employees that are honest and reliable are always well sought out for in the workplace.

3. Stretch Your Role

Try to be proactive and think if there are projects outside your job scope which you can take on. If you have your own ideas, work with your manager to implement them. The current workplace landscape is dynamic and challenging. Your initiatives may be able to help bring the company improve processes or avoid pitfalls!

4. Make Time for Play

Of course you have to work hard, but be sure to have fun too! Approach each day with a positive vibe and don’t make work a chore. Make time for your family and friends too, this will benefit you a long way.

5. Stay Fit

I know this sounds familiar and you probably had this resolution last year too. However, this is so important and make sure this becomes a habit and you don’t even need to include it in your resolutions list. Remember that a healthy body makes a healthy mind.

There are many other resolutions that can help you move your career in a positive direction. The 5 resolutions above will give you an idea on how to start. Be sure to understand your own weaknesses and work from there. Good luck!