Ten Tips for an Eye-Catching Resume

Source: Gallery of Best Resumes, by David F. Noble, Ph.D.

In a passive job search, you rely on your resume to do most of the work for you. A resume that stands out above all the others may be your best shot at getting noticed by an employer. If your resume looks like most of the others in the stack, chances are you won't land an interview.

In an active job search, your resume complements your efforts to meet prospective employers, so you can rely less on your resume to get someone's attention. But it still has an important role.

Paying attention to even the tiniest details can help your resume dazzle employers. Here are ten guidelines to help you sharpen yours:

Best resume strategies

1. Although many resume books say you should spell out the name of the state in your address at to top of the resume, consider using the postal abbreviation instead. If you spell out the name of your state in full, the reader may have to translate the name of the state to its postal abbreviation and not everyone knows all the abbreviations.

2. Use a consistent form for writing phone numbers. There are several different styles floating around, so it is important to stick with one throughout your resume and in all of the documents you use in your job search.

3. Make your objective statement focused, interesting, and unique so it grabs the reader's attention. If your objective fails to do this, the reader may discard your resume without reading further. An objective statement can be your first opportunity to sell yourself.

4. In the experience section, state achievements or accomplishments, not just duties or responsibilities. Achievements can be interesting. The reader probably considers life too short to be bored by lists of duties and responsibilities in stacks of resumes.

5. If you feel you must indicate duties, call attention to special or unusual duties you performed. If you are an accountant, for example, don't say you prepared accounting reports and analyzed balance sheets. That's like being a dentist and saying, "I filled cavities and made crowns." What did you do that distinguished you from other accountants? To be noticed, you need to stand above the crowd in ways that display your individuality and work style.

6. Instead of just listing your achievements, present them as very brief stories, perhaps indicating what you did when something went wrong or needed fixing.

7. When skills and abilities are varied, group them according to categories for easier comprehension.

8. To make your promotions stand out, list your work experiences chronologically, with the range of dates for each position.

9. Summarize your qualifications and work experiences to avoid repeating yourself in the job descriptions.

10. Create a prominent skills or abilities section that draws together what you have learned in previous work experiences.