A Few Simple Resume Tips...

Many individuals are their own worst enemy when it comes to writing an excellent resume. It does not matter if they have a fantastic background, remarkable credentials or magnificent experience if their resume contains misused words, the wrong word tense, or is not easily understandable. Following is a series of resume writing TIPS from simple things I have seen on some peoples resumes that drive me insane.

TIP 1: Do not be too focused on jobs and responsibilities performed at work. Give yourself credit for accomplishment by including "some" achievements. Consist of such things as:

-- Examples of how you carried out the job better than others

-- Some of the issues or obstacles you dealt with, and manner in which you overcame them

-- Results, results, and results (I cant stress this enough... focus on the results of your tasks, not on the tasks themselves)

-- Ways that the organization took advantage of your performance

-- Reference to awards, special acknowledgment or promos you got

TIP 2: Do not have an "objective" statement that is too wordy or non-specific. Throughout my years of business, I've talked to many CEO's and peers who have informed me about candidates who lose their readers at the opening line. Statements like "Seeking a position that enables me to contribute to organizational objectives while providing a chance for growth and improvement" are cliche, too generalized, and a waste of space. If you are on a career track, replace the objective with a declaration mentioning what you do, and your know-how.

TIP 3: Professional resumes must be succinct and composed in a telegraphic design without utilizing "I" or "me". Example: "Developed new products that added $5 million in sales, and increased the company's gross margin by 15 percent." This design specifies what you did quickly and clearly.

TIP 4: Is it "percent" or "percentage"? Use the word "percent" with numbers, and utilize "percentage" without utilizing a number. Examples: "Over 20 percent of our gross profit originated from previous sales." "A large percentage of Native Americans live in Alaska."

TIP 5: Be cautious in choosing the best word. Example: Some people use the word "balance" when they imply "remainder." "Balance" implies "a degree of equality" e.g., "wanting to balance the checkbook." "Remainder," or "what is remaining," is used in all other situations, e.g., "put the remainder of my food in the dog's bowl."

TIP 6: The expression "a couple of" is generally plural in meaning. Example: "A couple of consumers have actually reported a shortage in their orders." Nevertheless, when utilizing the expressions "a couple of days" and "a couple of dollars," the verb utilized should be singular. When the phrase "a couple of" is used in combination with an amount of time, quantity of cash, or quantity that represents an overall amount, deal with the expression as singular. Example: "All I require is a number of days to finish this report."

Do not let such easily correctable items stand between you and your next career move. If word tense, grammar or the turn of a phrase is not your forte, think about employing a professional resume writer such as the folks at Resume Planet or Resume Writers . Such services compose resumes for a living and guarantee their work. Your resume is your 1st impression (your only impression if you don't get it right), and landing the right job makes an expense like this well worth it.

On a final note, if you really want to get those call backs coming in, and if you are trying to get through 3rd party, or corporate recruiters, you will need to get past the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) before your resume is even seen by a person. ATS reviews your resume using artificial intelligence, and scans for keywords and phrases which (in theory) would identify the most qualified candidates. If you want to make sure your resume gets through the Applicant Tracking Systems, I would highly recommend checking out a service like Job Scan. Job Scan helps you optimize your resume against individual job descriptions for each job you are applying for. If you want to get your resume in the hands of a real person, Job Scan will finally put technology on YOUR side, and get you that much closer to the interview.

Good Luck