How To Write A Winning Resume: Quick Tips

Granted, luck and timing can play big parts in landing any new job; however, savvy job seekers know that good fortune and opportunity are often the by-products of planning and preparation.

That said, a successful Job Search should be viewed as a campaign, with specific steps and strategies designed to showcase your skills, talents, experience and potential value to an employer.

In practical terms, this translates into a lot of researching and networking for the job seeker. But what needs to be done first is the careful writing or updating of your resume. Careful, in this context, means approaching resume preparation as a process requiring diligence, objectivity, and a critical eye towards editing and revision.

When working through the resume-writing process, keep the following ten tips in mind:

1. State the job or career objective clearly.

2. List and chronicle relevant skills and experience.

3. Highlight major accomplishments with bullet points.

4. Start sentences with "action words" rather than "I".

5. Use a Chronological Format. Functional Resumes are best for career changers.

6. Verify all dates and account for any significant lapses in job history.

7. Avoid including personal data outside of contact information.

8. Omit "References On Request". Deal with references later in the hiring process.

9. No fancy fonts, photos, or colorful paper!

10. Edit and condense to two to three pages at the most.

As a final note, be mindful that a resume is a Self-Marketing Tool and not a personal biography. Paper and electronic resumes are inundating employers these days, so keep things short and focused. Do this by editing out extraneous boilerplate and any other information not germane to your job or career objective.