Rewriting Your Resume? 7 Easy Ways To Give Yourself An Upgrade

In today's competitive job market, a first class resume is an essential tool for winning an interview. The way in which you present your skills, achievements and experience on paper will profoundly affect the way in which a hiring company considers your application. An expertly crafted resume not only captures the attention of its reader through careful attention to layout and formatting; it also targets the specific needs of the potential employer by matching and highlighting your abilities and background to the key requirements of the position. So what exactly is the 'perfect resume'? It's well-nigh impossible to get recruitment professionals to agree on this. For example, take the vexed question of the 'resume objective'. Some employers prefer to see a clearly stated objective as evidence of a candidate's career focus; others consider including an objective to be a restrictive practice -- or worse, little more than vague waffle. So in the pursuit of a truly personalized resume, it's hardly surprising that effective practice differs from applicant to applicant -- and what suits one job-hunter may not work so well for another. And while it's impossible to lay down hard and fast rules of best practice in resume writing, it's a whole lot easier to identify some of the habits that can turn recruiters right off -- perhaps even sabotage a candidate's chances from the start! In this article, I've collected some of these common resume blunders -- so if you're looking to upgrade your resume, here's a checklist of seven easy ways to start! 1. Don't rely on a 'one size fits all' resume If your resume is going to get you the interviews you deserve, it needs to focus on the particular demands of the job. So unless your field is very narrow, it's likely that you'll need to adapt your resume to each specific application. To help you target your resume, try answering these questions: