Introduction
A recent search on Amazon.com revealed 541 different books on writing effective resumes. Career development experts offer many different opinions on how the resume should be written and formatted. Should the resume be chronological or functional? Should it be written to reflect accomplishments with quantifiable results? Should it include dates if you have more than 20 years experience? I am sure that many of these books present excellent strategies for answering these types of questions. Having received, reviewed or written tens of thousands of resumes in my career, there are certain attributes that I have found that prove most effective.

Remember the goal of your resume
Your resume's primary goal is to pique the interest of the human resource or hiring manager so they will call you in for an interview. Almost all hiring decisions are based on an in-person interview and in most cases, the decision to invite a person in for an interview is based on the resume. I recommend designing your resume to focus on your skills and experience to merit an in-person interview. Ask yourself the following question throughout the development of your resume, "What skills and experience have I gained that will be valuable to a prospective company?" Remember that factors influencing a person's assessment of a resume differ from person to person.

Cover letter and a Resume, right?
In most cases, you will be responding to a specific job opportunity where specifications and job requirements are listed or available. Your resume is your advertising and public relations vehicle and must present you in the most positive light for the specific job you are applying. In the past, most job seekers would use a resume and supplement the resume with a cover letter, which would add the details not contained in the resume itself. This is an ineffective method that can prevent you from being asked in for an interview. Most corporations today are utilizing the Internet, search engines, and resume tracking systems to identify prospective candidates. Quite simply, resumes not containing specific keywords are not included on a search results list. You will never enter into the employers' crosshairs. Also, when hiring managers advertise, they often receive hundreds of resumes. It is highly unlikely that a hiring manager will have time to read every single cover letter. I am not telling you to not prepare a cover letter; I am advising you that for every job you respond to you should customize your resume.

Answer the question, "Are you qualified?"
Hiring managers are seeking support to meet business challenges, breakdowns, or concerns. They have specific tasks that they need to have completed and, with few exceptions, most people like to avoid risk. Managers are looking to hire someone that they believe can get the job done with minimal supervision and training. Ultimately, managers are looking for an employee that is willing and capable of getting the job done, no matter what.

In preparing your resume you need to answer this question, "What experience or skills do I have that qualifies me for this specific position and job specification?" The answers to this question must be evident in your resume. For example, if the position involves extensive project management experience, your resume needs to:

• Highlight your project management experience in each of the positions that you have held.
• Include courses and skills related to project management competence.
• Include project management accomplishments in a summary section at the beginning of a resume that will quickly generate a positive assessment.

The person reviewing the resume should be able to quickly see that your skills and experience are consistent with those required of the job.

All this customizing of your resume may sound labor intensive. The bottom line is you must present yourself as a viable candidate that merits an interview. There are no shortcuts here, customize your resume and speak directly to the position you are applying for.

Visual presentation
Resumes need to be visually pleasing with a readable format. This includes the proper use of:

• Fonts
• Type sizes
• Bullets
• White space
• No typos

The following books do a very good job advising on the visual design of resumes:

• Resume Catalog: 200 Damn Good Examples by Yana Parker (Ten Speed Press, 1997)
• Designing Creative Resumes by Greg Berryman and Philip Gerould (Crisp Publications, 1991)

Have a friend or family member critically review your resume and provide corrections or recommendations.

I have presented a basic shift in the presentation of your resume that I have found to be effective in generating interest from a potential employer. Rather than have your resume focus on your experience and background, place the focus and emphasis on a prospective employers needs and concerns. Utilize this perspective with your resume and you'll have more invitations to interview. Once the door is open, you will have a chance to see if the position meets with your skills and career aspirations. Next month we will discuss how to prepare for the interview.

2001 Ross Squire. Printed with Permission.

About the Author
Ross Squire is the President of KnowledgeStaff. Ross has been involved in the learning and content design and delivery industry for close to twenty years. At various points in his career, Ross has been responsible for overseeing Marketing, Sales, Client Services, Project Direction, and Recruitment operations. Ross is a frequent speaker and author on topics related to career development, instructional technology, and technical writing industries.

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