Today, a winning resume is crucial.  Here you will find the elements of a professional resume, and some up-to-date information on how a resume is reviewed.  The purpose of your resume is to entice the employer to call you in for an interview.  You want to tell your story as clearly and succinctly as possible:

• Choose the right format for your resume - it can be either chronological or functional.  Chronological is a good choice for job seekers with less than ten years experience.  Functional is more appropriate for the more experienced job seeker who should highlight what was accomplished, as opposed to where.
• Resumes today should not include an objective - rather it should be a Professional Summary, or an Executive Summary.
• In most cases, resumes are scanned for key words - the more key words they contain, the better the chances of it being reviewed by a human.
• Resumes are viewed for 10-15 seconds before  a decision is made on the next phase.
• Call attention to your strengths - highlight your critical competencies beneath the summary.
• Include your accomplishments.....not the job responsibilities.  It is more important to tell how you accomplished tasks, as opposed to what you accomplished.
• Be sure to provide facts, figures and quantitative statements.

How did you help increase sales/profits/services?  By how much?

How did you improve communications in your firm?

How did you save the company money?

• List the most recent employment experience with details.  If you have more than ten years experience, the most recent experience is what is relevant.  When listing experience more than ten years past, you should include it in a paragraph  entitled "Additional Experience"  before your education.

• Include your education and any special certifications/licenses you have attained in your field.  You will also want to include any specific accomplishments you've achieved. 

• Be sure to double check your resume for errors.  Do not rely solely on your spell check feature!  Ask a friend to proof read your resume before you begin to circulate it.  The word "shift" takes on a very different meaning when you leave out the 'f'.  However, both are considered correct in spell check!

• Be truthful.  Do not lie on your resume.  When you present your resume for consideration of an opportunity, it is with the understanding that your information is truthful and verifiable.....if you attach your resume to a job application that requires a signature, you are assuring the reviewer that the information is true....lies will be uncovered!

If you would like a complimentary review of your resume, or if you would like information on the teleseminar Six Things You Need To Know About Job Huntng, feel free to give us a call at 800.287.4713 today!

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