Preface: This article is applicable for any type of CV/resume be it for a job/internship application or a college application or anywhere else.
Bucketing is an essential concept of CV/resume building. Bucketing is essentially grouping. Your resume is to be presented not just as a list of points, but as a grouped list of points. You can also think of bucketing as headings in your CV.
How to pick the right buckets:
You need to select buckets in line with what your evaluator is looking for. Based on where you’re applying, either for a job/internship or for a college, and within that, what kind of role/course, you need to select the buckets that display the core requirements for that specific job/course.
A good way to identify the right buckets is to look at CVs of people who have been selected by companies/colleges you are looking to join. Alternatively, you can also pick from one of the combinations below.
Bucket combinations you can pick from:
CV for a job market for a non-technical role (1) Education, (2) Internships & Projects, (3) Positions of Responsibility, (4) Extra-curricular Activities & Achievements
CV for a job market for a technical role (1) Education, (2) Internships & Projects, (3) Technical Proficiency/ Skills, (4) Positions of Responsibility, (5) Extra-curricular Activities & Achievements
CV for a college application (1) Education & Academic Achievements, (2) Electives Taken, (3) Research & Project Work, (4) Seminars-Talks & Workshops, (5) Extra-curricular activities
You can also add in buckets such as Social Work, Hobbies and Interests, Electives/Courses studied, Online Courses, Entrepreneurship, Teaching experience, etc.
The examples above are only for reference, you don’t have to stick to them. You can break down some of these buckets, or merge them or swap them out for another bucket. While picking buckets also keep in mind your strong and weak areas.
View sample CV: click here
Learn how to make your CV from scratch: CV Writing 101 - The 4 step process
Learn how to package and present your CV: (CV Writing 103 - How to package and present your CV)
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