by David Wortman

Created on: May 29, 2009

The main thing to remember about your resume is that no one ever got a job by resume alone. Your resume serves one purpose that is to get you an interview. Today a computer program will screen most resumes before a human ever touches it.

Bearing that in mind the computer is told or programmed to look for certain words and combination of words. Then your first task is to find out what the words the computer is looking for and use them. Often the classified or web posting will tell you. Examine the ad and repeat the words mentioned. If the ad asks for experience in Word make sure you mention you can use Word, if it asks for 4 years experience in customer service then you can say you have 7 years in customer service experience not customer relations. Computers are not very smart and will only pickup on the words it is told to. If the ad does not give you a hint check the Occupational Outlook Handbook online of in the Library it will give you the KSRA (Key skills, responsibilities, and abilities.

Use a common font Times New Roman is best the computer can read that fairly well. The fancier fonts are difficult to scan and for the computer to read. Same for the paper avoid marbled paper it does not copy or scan very well. Black type and white paper maybe boring but it is easy to read copy and scan. The most wonderful resume is not worth its paper if it is not read.

The best way to avoid the computer is to use your contacts and network. It is the old way but people still hire people.

Most important is look for stupid mistakes the resume must be perfect. Everything is perfect, lines up, and looks good. If your were going to buy a car and the paint had a scratch you would not want to buy it because of the scratch.

Unless asked for you will not need to send references. Most employers are not going to call references until they talk to you, so unless asked do not send it.

Supply only one or at the most two phone numbers. The employer is not going to call any more then two numbers. If you are going to leave a phone number make sure the answer on you answering machine is professional. After you get the job then you can have little Jonny's greeting on the message system same with loud music of off color jokes.

Sensor your e-mail address. Sexychick, Hotmoma, is going to hurt you in the job market

Get your finances in order. While not a tip on resumes, it is important. More and more employers are checking credit ratings. Avoid the issue know your credit rating

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