Blog Post: Resumes That Get Recognized - An Ingredient for Job Search Success

By Dawn Zimmer

A resume is a personal advertisement.  Its main purpose is to secure a place at the interview table.  In the same way advertisers target their audience, a resume must target a specific job opening and employer.  All members of the workforce should keep an updated resume.  Whether you are new to the workforce or it's been a while since your resume was updated, it is important to tailor your resume to current industry expectations. 

Every line of a resume should include a benefit, a specific advantage employers will gain by hiring you.  The top one-third of a good resume will state the applicant's contact information (name, address, primary phone number and a current e-mail address); the job title of the position being applied for and, most important, a summary or bullet points indicating the skills or qualifications you possess that demonstrate a match for the position.  It is this top third that will inspire the reader (the employer) to want to learn more about the applicant or, on the negative side, to lose interest. 

Many large firms use electronic scanners to search for key words or phrases indicating the skills and abilities required for a particular opening.  It is therefore necessary to study the job description carefully and use the language contained therein.  If your resume doesn't contain the key words/phrases the company is looking for, a human may never see it. 

Prepare your resume for an electronic scan and get a copy of the job description you are applying for from the company's human resources department.  In addition to content, formatting may be an issue.  To survive an electronic scan, refrain from using italics, underlining, bolding, lines, tables, bullets (replace these with a dash or asterik), or fancy fonts.  Use white paper with uniform 10 point or larger font (Times New Roman should be no smaller than 11 points) and a 1 inch margin all around.