by Jordan St. Claire

Created on: May 18, 2008   Last Updated: May 21, 2008

Resume writing for the right audience, recruiters, has become more complex due mostly to the Internet and companies scanning resumes for keywords. Companies also want personalized resumes not generic ones sent to dozens or hundreds of companies at once, but, you can, with some effort, personalize a generic resume. Sell yourself. A resume is just thatselling yourself to a prospective employer. With this guide, you should avoid all the mistakes people make in resumes. Remember, you are selling them on you and they are considering you as a future investment.

Your formatting should be Times New Roman or Garamond fonts. Times New Roman is best since everyone uses it. Don't mix fonts. It just makes it look disjointed not professional. Using the word "I" is actually frowned upon. Also, use better paper than copy paper. Colored paper is no-no. Parchment is fine. 25-pound white paper is also fine. Parchment makes a statement without making joke like say Pink. Each section really should be all capitalized. Check your spelling. A spelling error isn't selling you it is selling the others that applied.

At the beginning of your resume, your name and contact information should always be first. Your "objective" should be the job you are applying for not "I am seeking a position to utilize my education and experience, etc., etc., etc." Just put the job title you are applying for and be done with it. Waxing poetic in an objective is a waste of time.

Work history should be called "Professional Experience" and nothing else. Experienced professionals should include a skills summary of their accomplishments under "Skills Summary" that precedes professional experience. Just include highlights at all your jobs within the last ten years. Summaries should never contain "I did..." but action verbs with the accomplishment.

Recent college graduates should list education first. Your education is your experience. Always include projects you did in college that mean something. Being a chess champion or similar nonsense isn't one of them. A major project is excellent to list. If you have a lot of projects in college, list them in a summary. Recruiters like college graduates that did work in college not just partied. If you wrote about management techniques or the history of art, it doesn't hurt to include it and offer a copy by request. They will ask for it.

Except for recent college graduates, your employment history is valuable. Just put the name of the company, job title, and the years you worked

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