Despite appearances to the contrary, not all resumes are created equal. While a format that contrasts the traditional resume design will stand out in a pile of fifty pieces of paper, it is well organized content that will land you an interview. What should constantly be in the forefront of your mind when creating your resume is that most employers will not spend more than 30 seconds examining what you have submitted to them. Your resume is but one of 50 or even 100 that are vying for the attention of this employer. This single sheet had better be good, and just as importantly, succinct. Otherwise it will likely be thrown out or recycled into an environmentally friendly greeting card.

To avoid wasting time, there are some points to consider before you ever begin writing. First, you should be the one to write your resume. It is highly recommended that one individual, if not several people, other than yourself proofread the work, but a resume is a true representation of you, and no one knows you better. Exaggerations, or even bold-faced lies, are not uncommon in resumes, but such embellishment is not a good idea. False merits might win you a visit to the company’s offices, perhaps even the position if the employer does not check your background, but claiming to do something you are not capable of will cost you dearly in the end. By polishing the description of your accomplishments instead of lying, you can avoid the potential awkward unveiling of the truth and subsequent issuing of a pink slip later on. One more mistake to avoid is including superfluous personal data. Don’t reveal your height, weight, ethnicity, religion, political party affiliation, marital status or age on the resume. Not only could this make you subject to discrimination, but also (with only rare exceptions) it is illegal for an employer to solicit this information from you. Another item that should be absent from resumes is any reference to salary; if an employer wants a salary history, they will ask for it.

Leaving out the banal and inappropriate items does not make one resume better than another, however. What you need to do is make the document reader-friendly, which may mean sacrificing style for content (read: no silly fonts or abstract layouts). By no means should individuals applying for a creative job limit themselves, but if an interviewer can quickly learn about your education and relevant work experience, the resume is more likely to end up in the “keep” pile. The key to catching the eye of an employer is to make it easy for them to find the qualities they are looking for in you. Clean resumes with no fluff for content make a better presentation.

Following the prominent display of your name and contact information at the top of the page, there is sometimes a brief introduction to the resume known as an objective statement. The value of adding such a statement is debatable. When done improperly, it can do more harm than good and cause an employer to toss your resume faster than he or she can say “not qualified.” If used correctly, it can create a unifying theme for the rest of the resume to build off of. There are some who insist that since cover letters are customized for every job you apply to, this theoretically eliminates the need for objective statements. Should you decide to use an opening statement, steer clear of vague declarations of ambition such as “to find a job where I can use and develop my marketing skills to the fullest extent,” and opt for a more clearly defined objective that references the specific position you desire, and relates past experience or educational background to it. Here the axiom of doing it right or not at all definitely applies.

There are several standard sections of a resume that most employers will expect to see (education, work experience, computer skills, and miscellaneous/additional), but how you format them is entirely up to you. The most popular is chronological, wherein you would list your experience in a time sequence, starting with the most recent and working backward. More unconventional is the functional format, but job seekers beware, for this method is inherently more time consuming. Functional resumes are categorized by areas of expertise and skill, rather than job title.

Whether you decide to take the path less traveled or not, there are guidelines that apply to both formats. The terminology you use is often what makes or breaks a resume. This does not mean that you should fill your resume with big words; in fact, using esoteric language will only portray you as presumptuous, but you do need to consider how to phrase things. Large paragraphs are not easy for employers to scan (remember: 30 seconds), so most resumes do not even feature very many, if any, complete sentences. When writing a resume, leave out personal pronouns and accentuate the action verbs. Start descriptions with “designed,” “created,” or “managed” and forget about “I assisted in,” or “I was responsible for organizing.” Whenever possible, quantify your achievements as well. You should definitely include a college G.P.A. if it is higher than 3.0, and saying that sales consistently went up in your region at least 10% every quarter you were there is more definitive than “improved sales.”

In a traditional resume, there should be a section detailing your academic history, and another to show your “real world” training. Since you need to prioritize everything, which section comes first is dependent upon your situation. Recent college grads are not likely to have extensive experience, so the education information ought to be at the top of the page. Conversely, if you are nine years removed from college, one would hope you have more recent and notable achievements than your overall G.P.A. and which scholarship you received. But nearly everyone should have an education section, and the list should start with your most recent schooling. Include what degree you obtained, which university you attended, what your major(s)/minor(s) concentrations were, and any distinguishing honors you received while you were a student. If your G.P.A. is not indicative of your true performance, there are other ways to distinguish your academic credentials. For example, you can just offer your major G.P.A. from the last 4 semesters if you had trouble at the start of college, or you can list particular classes that an employer may find relevant. It is assumed that if you have a degree, you also have a diploma or G.E.D., but if there is a consistent level of academic excellence you want to convey, it would not be wholly inappropriate to include your high school information.

Writing the work experience segment of your resume is certainly more intricate than the educational category. Here you must prove you have learned something during previous employment and confirm that you would be more than suited for the position that is available. In addition to the strong action verbs, you should insert specific keywords and industry buzzwords; do this enough to demonstrate your proficiency in the field, but temper it enough so that your writing does not become incomprehensible to those not in the know. When displaying your wide breadth of knowledge and work experience (save the details for an interview), do not forget to mention whether you worked with or reported to someone high on the corporate ladder. Just by association, this raises your job stature. For those of you who actually are higher on the food chain, it is a rule of thumb that only work experience from the last 10-15 years is worthy of space on a resume; of course, there are exceptions when a former occupation is especially pertinent to the position you seek.

Becoming increasingly more important every day is a person’s technical aptitude. Hardly worth a mention ten years ago (unless entering a high tech field), a computer skills section is now imperative, even if it is limited to Microsoft Office applications. If you are more than proficient at some programs, qualify it with words like “advanced” or “expert” rather than merely listing what you are familiar with. Another option for those in highly specialized careers would be to just make this a professional skills section where you can showcase your capabilities with certain equipment or fluency in foreign languages.

Once you have written the resume, checked for misspellings, and think you have finished, go through and check it all over again. Never rely solely on your computer’s spell check application to catch all the mistakes you undoubtedly have made. Homonyms and grammatical errors can easily slip through unnoticed, which is why you need to do an old-fashioned spelling and grammar check, then have at least one other competent person look at it. Remember that English major geek in college who always had his or her nose buried in a book? That’s the person you want to look over your resume. Aside from a complete lack of qualifications, there is no other more sure-fire way to have your resume passed over than to have it riddled with typos. But having everything typed correctly does not guarantee readability. While it is important to convey information about yourself, do not underestimate the power of white space: do not cram sections or lines together, and have margins no smaller than 1” on the top and bottom and 1.25” on each side. This can be difficult when trying to keep the document to a single page, but you should only expand onto a second page if absolutely necessary.

Using these tips as your guide, you should have an impeccable resume in no time. Just remember that you are selling yourself with these words, so be positive and accentuate your numerous talents. Good luck and happy job hunting!