12 Steps to Success

Your resume is your ultimate marketing tool. So it is important to know exactly what you are marketing and selling. It is vital that you have a thorough understanding of your skills, knowledge, experience and achievements. This understanding and knowledge is the repository from which you can pick qualities, skills and achievements to demonstrate that you have what it takes to fulfil the requirements of the job.

In essence, this relates to what you have to offer.  Almost every job requires a combination of four types of qualities or skills.  Determine from the ad what these are. You must ensure that in the way you craft your resume, elements of these four types of qualities or skills come across strongly.

Knowing the job you want has two stages. Firstly, knowing the company, and secondly knowing what the job requires. It is important to know about the company because it provides an understanding of the context in which the job operates. For example, a position in a small privately owned business will require different skills and aptitudes to a similar position with the same job title in a large multi-national organisation.

Making the match is what it is all about. The match is between the skills required for the job and the skills you have to offer. Unless you can demonstrate a strong match in your resume, then you are unlikely to be picked for an interview.

We have now reached the stage where you can start putting it all together. By this point you should have the groundwork in place to write a resume with the right content. The following are some of the main issues that should be considered when putting together your resume.

When the employer or recruiting manager looks at your resume, it must generate interest and also be pleasing to look at. Not only does the content have to be relevant and targeted, the look and feel must also be right. You may have the best content, brilliantly written, but if your resume is not aesthetic and pleasing to look at, it might simply get rejected.

When you have put it all together and you have something to look at, there will always be room for improvement. Continue to review and improve until you are satisfied.

Learn how to create a better impact by using efficient sentence structure and content. Quantifying your experience with appropriate facts and figures helps to create a better impression.

The use of appropriate job titles or skill headings is a crucial part of the resume. These titles or headings are one of the major factors in your image projection to the employer. It is crucial therefore that you know and understand the impact that job titles can have on employers.

The career objective should be short and may consist of up to a few sentences. It should include two pieces of information. The position you are seeking and what experience or skills you possess that qualify you for this position.

To employers unfortunately, gaps in employment history can raise questions such as "This person has a problem", or "There might be something to hide here", "This person is not dedicated or serious" and so on. To remove any negative thoughts in the mind of the potential employer or hiring manager, you will need to address these gaps in your employment.

There are many reasons why your resume can be rejected. Some of the most common reasons are covered in this section. Make sure you avoid them!