Resources To Improve
Your Effectiveness

By A Factor Of Ten

OPTIMIZING YOUR RESUME

Your resume is a written presentation of you. It highlights your accomplishments and is specifically targeted toward your job search objective. This is quite different from a laundry list of jobs and duties. A well-written resume can dramatically increase your response rate and shorten your job search time.

While your resume should be comprehensive, remember that it is just an overview. It is possible that employers will skim your resume in just 15-20 seconds, so be sure that it is clear, professional, on-target and easy to read. The following is a checklist that you can use to ensure that your resume makes an impact:

Overall Resume Evaluation

Do you catch the reader's attention right away?

Is the reader's eye quickly drawn to the most important information on the resume?

Is the content focused on the information needs of the reader?

Does the resume go beyond a chronological listing of past experiences; does it promote you? Have you included critical information including job title, job function, company name, etc.?

Are the sentences clear and brief? Does the content have punch?

Is the language clear, specific and professional?

Is it easy to discern the length and depth of your experience?

Is the level of your responsibility clear? Are your greatest strengths documented with concrete results?

Does your resume contain up-to-date terminology that is relevant to the industry you are targeting?

Have you included the key words that are an accurate reflection of your background and in alignment with your targeted position and industry?

Does the formatting of your resume make it easy to read and scan, with highlighted boldfaced titles, subtitles and important words and indentations and bullets that guide the reader's eye?

Have you used a standard font in 10-12 point sizes for text and 11-14 point sizes for headings?

Are the margins wide enough to facilitate quick scanning?

Have you proofread your resume and had someone you trust proofread it for you for spelling, punctuation and syntax?

Is your contact information correct and up to date?