IF YOUR RESUME ISN'T LIKE THIS, THEN IT MIGHT END UP IN THE RECYCLE BIN.

Hi, house, i ran into this post on yahoo website yesterday so i thought some of us might need it.


Job Talkin'
'How Can My Resume Help Me Stand Out in a Tough Market?'
by: Brad Karsh


If you are one of the 12.5 million people without a job right now, you may want to read on.

When times are tough, unemployment is soaring, and job seekers are knocking down any open doors, it is even more crucial that your resume is the absolute best that it can be. You have to think of your resume as an advertisement for you. How can you package your experiences and credentials on one piece of paper so the recruiting director knows you are the perfect fit for the job?

There are few common mistakes that most people make when writing their resume. I recently published a book, "How to Say It on Your Resume," that guides professionals through the resume-writing process. Here are a few tips from the book to keep in mind when writing your resume:

1. Do your homework.

When applying for a job, the first thing you should do is research the company and find out the details for the open position. The job description is basically a cheat sheet for your resume. If the company is seeking a candidate with strong communication and leadership skills, then you should make sure that the bullets on your resume prove that you are a strong communicator and an effective leader. You can also highlight experiences from your extracurricular or volunteer activities if they match well with the job description.

For the most part, recruiting directors want to put a round peg into a round hole. Therefore, the more you can line up your experiences with the job description, the better your chances of making it to the interview stage.

2. Focus on your job accomplishments.

Simply listing job descriptions and duties instead of job accomplishments is one of the biggest mistakes people make on their resume. If you want to stand out from the crowd, your resume needs to shine with bright achievements and notable accomplishments. In everything that you do, be specific and try to quantify the scope and results of all of your endeavors. What did you do that was different, special, or unique? With every bullet point that you write, display what makes you the best person for the job.

3. Keep it short and powerful.

The days of stretching a bunch of fluff across 20 pages ended after your last collegiate literature course. Short is better than long when it comes to your resume. Your resume is one place where it's OK not to use complete sentences. For your experiences, use bullet points that begin with strong action verbs.

As a professional, your resume should only be one or two pages. Force yourself to include only the information that is most relevant and compelling to the recruiting director. The fact that you know CPR is interesting, but is it really relevant on your resume to be a financial analyst? For more great resume tips, check out the book, "How to Say It on Your Resume: A Top Recruiting Director's Guide to Writing the Perfect Resume for Every Job."

Brad Karsh is president of JobBound, a career consulting and resume writing firm. One of the nation's leading job search experts, he's author of "How To Say It on Your Resume." If you have a question for Brad email him at [email protected].