People often talk about good resumes and resume-writing skills, but you may be intrigued as to what is a good resume all about and what can one possibly consider to create an impressive resume. To show some direction to these lost job-hunters, here we have given some pointers that can help your resume go from the huge pile to the employer’s hands.

First and foremost, set a goal—the kind of job you want to apply for, what career you want to built, etc. Without this, your resume loses focus and may reduce to just an unwanted piece of paper. Knowing your career objective would allow you to create the right content for your resume.

Secondly, remember that your resume is to advertise yourself; you are selling yourself to a prospective employer. Hence, it should be a marketing communication, highlighting the positives of you as an employee. But do not make the mistake of thinking a resume is to get you a job. A good resume is only to get the first visibility, ensure an interview call. Therefore, don’t limit the resume to include only job history, mention your significant accomplishments as well and other skills that you may have.

Always use a direct tone. Directness is considered the key to good resumes. Don’t beat about the bush too much. Come to the point in a clear, concise manner to make it easier for the reader/employer to screen out the needed information fast. A good way to be direct is to use action words. Start sentences with action words like “analyzed”, “prepared”, “conducted”, etc. And, format the resume in bullets so that it’s easy-to-read.

Next, prioritize the information. While mentioning your strengths/skills, write it in descending order. Remember, only about 25—30 seconds are spent on a resume. Therefore, the best should come first.

Never write long convoluted sentences in your resume. The reader often loses interest with too many words. So keep it as short and simple as possible. The Internet has numerous websites offering help with their resume examples and guiding users to write the best resume. You may also get started with one of these.

Another good idea is to include the important keywords (relevant to your applied job). With a bit of research, it’s not hard to find the perfect keywords to be included in the résumé. Buzzwords, pertaining to specific industries also help.

Finally, have your resume reviewed by someone else before you submit it with an employer. A second look often identifies gaps, if any, in the resume. Thereby, you get a chance to better it further. Resume writing sample can help a lot; however, the final decision lies with you about how you want it to be. So be it!

Image taken on 2009-09-30 00:00:46. Image Source. (Used with permission)