The key to a successful resume is conciseness! Recruiters receive hundreds, maybe even thousands of resumes for one position that, oftentimes, it simply becomes a process of elimination. Applicants whose resumes provide sufficient information about their skills and background, yet remain concise (short and sweet) are more likely to receive a response. I know... You are one of the fortunate individuals who have lots of experience through which you have acquired a great deal of skills that employers are looking for. So, how do you incorporate all of that information in a more compact fashion? A best practice is to visit various career sites to become familiar with how certain job descriptions are phrased. You can find a more condensed way to restructure your information that will still relay the same message. Please note, more words is not necessarily more effective. Another way to be concise is to exclude experience that is not related to certain positions that you are applying for.
A good way to direct yourself when building your resume is to view it as a preliminary interview. You want to sell yourself as much as possible to interest recruiters- you only get one shot! Listed below are a few helpful tips to consider when you are ready to construct your resume:
1. Instead of using an objective, use a summary of your qualifications. Employers aren't really interested in what YOU want, but what you can do for them. Be sure to highlight your most relevant experience and skills in this section.
2. Always use bullets when listing your major responsibilities from past employers. This will eliminate congestion, which can also overwhelm the recruiter and discourage him or her from reading your resume any further.
3. Tailor (match) your resume to each job for which you are applying. Do NOT use the same resume for every job application. Most employers have filtering systems that reject all resumes and/or applications that do not contain keywords that are usually listed within the job description. Once more, you can exclude from your resume experience that is not relative to certain positions you are seeking.