How to Write an Effective Resume

Many, many people do not know how to write a resume, despite a wealth of information available. It's not just a list of jobs you've had, or skills you have. It's a marketing document. You are marketing yourself. In an uncertain economic climate, you must make the most of every opportunity you have to give yourself an advantage in a competitive job market. Your resume is the first place you can distinguish yourself from other candidates. So, you need to think about what kinds of ways you can improve your resume so that you appear professional, polished, and on top of your game.

Some key pointers to keep in mind:

1. Keep your resume short and concise. Restrict it to one page if you have less experience, but it should never be more than two pages.

2. Use bullet points. Arrange your resume in a way that makes it easy to skim for information.

3. Check for spelling errors. This seems painfully obvious, but the number of applicants who turn in resumes with spelling errors is astonishing. Those resumes are often thrown out immediately. Who wants to hire someone who would let that kind of simple error slide?

4. If you are in sales, be sure to tell what the product of your employer(s) is/was. You may be very aware of these companies and what they do, but recruiters and hiring managers may not.

5. If you are in sales or sales management - you need numbers (revenue, growth, expenses, knockout accounts, etc.). Numbers are concrete evidence of your success that offer, possibly, the most persuasive argument for hiring you. I have had a couple of candidates who used a colored graph that worked well. Hopefully, you have kept track of this kind of relevant data in a file of your accomplishments.

6. Objectives are important. I bet candidates would be astounded if they knew how unclear it is to a recruiter or hiring manager what position they are after. It's a risk to put your objective in the cover letter only, because cover letters are often not read.

7. Leave out the "references upon request" line. It's understood that you will provide those when asked.

8. Don't forget to take advantage of keyword optimization in your resume, both for database searches and for direct applications. Know the buzzwords for what's going on in your industry, and take a hint from job descriptions. Include words and phrases included in job descriptions in prominent places on your resume. Job descriptions tell you what they're looking for, and it's your job to let them know you have it.

Learn more about how to write a great resume at www.phcconsulting.com/WordPress.