A resume is an advertisement for why you are the best choice for the position. Essentially, it is the first impression you make on potential employers, so youll want to make it a strong one. If you dont put fourth the energy that writing a resume requires, youre only cheating yourself. The truth is, finding the job you are looking for can be easy; getting the job you are looking for takes effort. As you write your resume, keep in mind that you are not the only person applying for a particular job. You will need to set yourself apart from the rest and make an impact that will land you the job. Here are some ways to avoid any missteps in resume-writing, as well as classic tips that will put you in the limelight...

Getting Started

• Determine Your Objective
  Definition of Objective: The goal intended to be attained. The first step to creating your resume is to determine your career goals. What kind of job do you want to obtain? What skills do you want to utilize? What are you looking to accomplish within that career? Once you answer all of these questions, you will be able to identify your main objective. You are now officially on your way to finding the right job for you.
  
  
• Highlighting Your Top Qualifications
  Keep in mind, the most important goal of a resume is to obtain an interview. For this reason, it is important to choose powerful words to represent the qualities you feel most confident in. Within the qualifications section of your resume it is best to list each attribute with a single word and in bullet point format. However, feel free to include a few words per bullet point. Try to remember that you need to stand out from all other contenders, so use power-words that will catch the employers eye. The best way to accomplish this is by writing down all of the positive qualities you feel you embody. From there, put yourself in the employers shoes and hone in on what you think they would be most attracted to. If the position you are looking to get is in retail, youll want to highlight you interpersonal skills, or if it is in the restaurant business, youll want to highlight your teamwork skill.
  
  
• Concentrate On Related Experience
  Before compiling a list that includes all of your experiences, try to focus in on what is relevant to the type of position you are applying for. This can include previous employment, volunteering, internships and organizations. For instance, someone applying for a job at a bank would want to list their experience as student council treasurer rather than their summer job as a swim instructor. Make sure you appeal to the employers needs. If you are applying for a variety of jobs that differ in requirements, remember to tailor your resume to fit each specific job.
  
  Often times students and young adults worry that they dont have enough experience to create a compelling resume. Dont be concerned. Once you start to really think about your background, youll be surprised at what you have to boast about. The content of your resume will be determined by your own unique experiences, skills and background but as a general guideline you should include:
  

• Content
  Once again, you are not the only resume your potential employer will be looking at and while it is important to be eye-catching, you also want your resume to get to the point and be as close to a single page as possible. When employers see a resume with too many words and multiple pages, they often find it overwhelming and move on to the next applicant. The right thing to do is select powerful words that will make your resume shine. The wrong thing to do is fill your resume up with full paragraphs.
  
  
• Design
  In spite of the importance of content, the design of your resume is just as important as the content. Research suggests that a resume has less than 20 seconds to make an impact upon the reader, so it's imperative that you put some extra effort into showing employers that you not only intelligent but creative as well. Variation in formatting (bullets, borderlines, headings, etc.), fonts, font styles and sizes will draw the attention to the most influential information.
  
  You can organize your resume in many different ways, but the following order is one of the most common. Use it to help you get started.
  • Objective
  • Qualifications
  • Technical/Computer skills
  • Experience (include tasks completed and skills obtained)
  • Education (include your GPA if its over 3.0)
  • Other related accomplishments (awards, memberships, etc