By Markey Read

As you conduct a job search, communications with employers should constantly underline how you are a resource to them. Your most powerful opportunity to convey your strengths is in the person-to-person contact or an interview.

The resume is a key auxiliary aid in getting the interview. By itself, it will not get you a job. It can, however, open doors effectively, serve as a guide or point of reference in conversation, and act as a reinforcing reminder of your strengths after a meeting has concluded. For this reason, it is important to maximize the impression you make with the resume.

Your resume should be a vivid verbal portrait of your greatest assets and strengths. In clear, concise, and concrete terms. Directly cite related and qualifying experience that draws a clear connection between your background and your current employment goals. Remember to include only the information that will highlight strengths—strategically select the most substantiating data, and carefully polish language.

Before you start, be clear about your career objective. This does not mean: “Seeking a challenging professional position that will utilize my incredible skills.” What it does mean is take time to understand the function you want to perform inside an organization and connect the dots between that desired function, your experience and knowledge, and the organization’s needs.

Think of your resume and cover letter as advertising space. You are the product and the hiring company is the customer. For each page of resume and cover letter you send you have 92 square inches per page available. On the average you will have 184 square inches to sell yourself and about 30 seconds to catch and keep the reader’s attention. If you are aiming for a salary of $30,000, each square inch of your materials is worth $163.00; if your goal is $50,000, each square inch is worth $271.00. This is premium advertising space – use it well.

Full-color glossy resumes, however, are not recommended. Design the resume in an eye appealing, easy to read format. As a test, tape your resume to a blank wall, walk about 10 feet away, and then decide if it looks like a piece of paper you would want to pick up from a pile of papers on your desk.

Include information that will enhance your best qualities and eliminate potentially controversial information. Some general rules to follow are:

• Be Pertinent: Anticipate your target employer's reactions and select appropriate language and cite solid experiences. Make strategic use of jargon of your trade (be careful not to over use it, especially when you are writing to a broader audience). Highlight directly qualifying experience and de-emphasize or delete irrelevant work and educational information (never include your high school education). Delete gratuitous personal details like your martial status, number of children, height, weight, race, and hair and eye color. Reserve the information about your location preferences, salary history and expectations, availability date, and names of references for handling in the interview or cover letter, as appropriate.
• Be Specific: Bring a journalistic style to your writing, giving a factual description of what you aim to do and have done rather than vague generalities. Have concrete examples of effective results to support your objective. Avoid subjective adverbs and adjectives in describing your accomplishments.
• Be Positive: Highlight accomplishments and results. Use strong action verbs. Monitor any tendency to be self-effacing in the style or specificity of information presented, or results reported. Delete mention of controversial activities or affiliations, unless you are confident that they will benefit your standing. Especially de-emphasize dates when they work against your candidacy. Avoid distinctions between paid and unpaid experience or between part-time and full-time experiences.
• Be Clear: Describe your experiences in terms known and meaningful to the general public, especially when you are leaving very specialized situations like the clergy, military, or an engineering/high tech environment. Avoid big words, cumbersome sentences, and long paragraphs. Keep your overall design simple and easy to follow, both verbally and visually.

In a recent survey of Human Resource Managers in Vermont conducted by Career Networks & ProSearch of Williston, Vermont, the most important information employers want to see on the resume is: 1) Employment History; 2) Education; 3) Summary of Qualifications; 4) Specific Achievements; and 5) Job Related Training.

Just two years ago, however, the order of preference was: 1) Employment History; 2) Summary of Qualifications; 3) Specific Achievements; 4) Education; 5) Job Related Training.

Although education has shifted to a more prominent position, it is still recommended that you place education and training at the end of the resume, unless you have a masters degree, a Ph.D., or are a very recent graduate.

Additionally, HR Managers say it is OK to break the “one page rule” when you have more than 10 years professional experience. And since someone in the US turns 50-years-old every 7 seconds, that means most professionals will have a two-page resume.

Employers recognize that for a mature professional, one page is not adequate. Years ago, before life became more complex and people stayed in the same career or with the same company for 20 years, a one-page resume was much easier to maintain.

Employers are also taking more time to read and process resumes. This year 64% of employers reported spending up to 5 minutes reading each resume. While 19% take more than 5 minutes; and 14% said they spend 1 minute or less!

Cover letters are more important than ever. Ninety-eight percent reported reading them. This has held true since the first Resume Survey conducted by Career Networks in 1996. Cover letters, incidentally, are the best place to state the objective.

As for on-line resume searches, 38% of the HR Managers said they use the Internet to locate candidates and 62% said they do not.

Top Resume Tips from the survey:

• Be clear & concise.
• Be brief.
• Resumes should be uncrowded and readable. White space is a good thing.
• ALWAYS proof read. Be FLAWLESS.
• Include achievements, problems solved, results produced.
• Include relevant experience only.
• No personal information.
• Never use “I”.
• Use bullets to emphasize points.