In the exciting alternative job change program, “The World’s Fastest Job Search System,” we recommend that your resume should be used more like a business card. You leave it behind after you’ve had an opportunity to meet face-to-face with a decision-maker.

Most people, however, think that their resume will find them a job. NOT! And if you write your resume with that objective in mind, it’s DOA!

You see, employers don’t make hiring decisions based on your resume. In fact, in most organizations, your next boss won’t even see your resume until someone else (e.g. human resources) has screened your document . . . and probably you personally as well.

So, if you don’t use your resume the way we recommend in our highly successful alternative approach, then what can you do?

Well, regardless of how you decide to use your resume, there are five basic guidelines you must observe if you want your resume to have any chance of being read. Follow them and you will dramatically move the odds in your favor.

1. Resumes are initially scanned (not closely read) in less than 50 seconds. Something about you either attracts attention in that timeframe or your resume is trashed.

2. Your resume must have an attention-grabbing headline . . . a quick summation of what you have to offer.

3. Do NOT write some self-serving objective statement. An employer could care less what you want to get out of this for your self. He/she is interested exclusively in what you can do to make the bottom line look better.

4. DO write a short summary statement saying very directly what assets, capabilities and strengths you bring to the table that can make a difference to the organization you’re interested in.

5. Keep your resume brief and impactual. One page is best. But never more than two pages. No long-winded recitation of your past accomplishments. Employers want to know how your achievements can make a difference to their needs. So tell them . . . and use quantifiable results to do it.

Targeting your resume to specific employers rather than shot-gunning it through mailings or internet postings helps to make your effort more effective. But, the best news is that the most effective system of all–using proven alternative and non-traditional strategies–can help you lock up a high-paying job offer in as little as 14 days!

Image taken on 2009-04-16 10:17:33. Image Source. (Used with permission)