1. Analyze the Job Ad.
Many people tend to just breeze over job ads, say foolish things to themselves like "Oh, okay. They're looking for a director of national sales," and then proceed to create resumes that fit their own personal qualifications for a good director of national sales. Nothing could be more wasteful.
Take the time to really understand what the employer is looking for. Carefully read what qualifications and experience the job ad emphasizes, and tailor your resume based on that. Sometimes this can be tricky to maneuver, but it's far more effective to pick and choose from your past job experiences than it is to spew them all out onto your resume. Think about how you can fit your experiences into transferable skills for the job at hand. This will allow you to display a neat and concise collection of experiences on your resume and save yourself the trouble and stress of trying to fit all the details of your career on one page.
2. Make the Final Cut.
As a job seeker, you will eventually have to eliminate some details from your resume. Especially once you've already had a couple years of job experience, you will need to rethink some items on your resume to make them more current. One huge example of this is education information. If you've been out of college for 10 years, it's probably unnecessary to list your class ranking or GPA. Making the final cut is even more relevant when it comes to jobs, yet so many people manage to screw this up. Do not list your college job at Hollywood Video or Togo's—unless you plan on working at a company that sells sandwiches. Again, we prepare resumes for employers so we can show them lists of reasons we are qualified for specific jobs. Your resume doesn't need to be an overview of your life. Be selective and picky. I know it's like cutting off your baby, but you need to be realistic. Just be logical and ask yourself, "Will this really support my claim that I have the skills to be a fantastic salesperson?"
3. Don't Get Too Personal.
Some job seekers aim to make impressions and personal connections through their resumes. Others are just desperate to list any and all hobbies and skills that just might help them win the job, no matter how irrelevant they are. Regardless of the reason, job seekers need to leash their egos and tuck away their personal lives, unless they directly relate to the job at hand. For example, if you're hoping to become the vice president of sales for a major motion picture production and distribution company, don't list that you're an actor on the side and that you had a one-liner in Britney Spears' 2002 flop Crossroads. These types of irrelevant references just look arrogant and lame if they're not right on the money in terms of experience that matters to the employer. Now, if you assisted the director of sales for the studio that produced the 2002 Britney Spears flop Crossroads, that's a different story. See the distinction?
