Perfect Resume Top Five List

The purpose of a resume is to land you the interview with your future employer.

Think of a resume as your personal advertisement that sells your skills and tells your future employer what you will do for them.

A perfect resume grabs the attention of your future employer, gets you placed in the YES pile and results in the call for the interview.

Perfect Resume Top Five List

1. Start Strong
An Objective tells a reader what you want. Instead, start your resume with a Profile section that briefly identifies your strongest qualifications and tells your future employer what you will do for them.

2. Quantify
Don't just say you're good at sales. Give ballpark figures on how many sales you've made, how many clients you've brought on, or how much you've reduced costs.

3. Stay on point
A resume isn't a full disclosure document. Omit anything more than 15 years old, any jobs that lasted less than a year, and anything personal or irrelevant.

4. Keep it clean
Complicated formatting, like bolding, italics, or font changes, is distracting and unprofessional. Use an attractive and readable resume design.

5. Get professional help
Do you want your resume to land the interview or gather dust on someone's desk? Don't rely on the advice of friends or coworkers. Consult with a professional who knows industry standards and best practices to make your resume a stellar marketing tool.

Compiled in collaboration with Angela Ashurst-McGee President of GreenLight Resume and RedRocket Resume. Visit Angela at http://www.redrocketresume.com to learn how to combine a professional resume and career transition services from Metacareers.