In a recent survey conducted by Robert Half International, eighty two percent of workers polled said they would be ready to conduct a job search if they lost their jobs tomorrow. Yet, only twenty percent had updated their resumes in the last three months. Forty four percent had not revised their resumes in more than a year.

”Workers who are prepared in the event of a sudden job loss are also ready when new employment opportunities arise,” says Reesa Staten, with Robert Half International. “A current résumé is an essential career tool – the longer it remains untouched, the harder it is to update, since specific achievements are not always easy to recall.”

A well-written resume does its job if it gets an employer's attention. That gives you a better chance of getting an interview. My Writing Resources provides writing and coaching to make your resume sparkle. Here are some ideas about what to place (and things to avoid) in your resume:

• Hit your target
  Don’t send an old resume just because it worked before. Target your resume to the position and the employer. Target your cover letter in the same way.
  
  
• Capture the buzz
  Catch an employer’s attention by using keywords at the beginning of your resume. Keywords include skills, titles, degrees, and occupational buzzwords. Keywords are especially important to use when you post your resume online.
• Professional Look
  The design of your resume is just as important as content. Your resume has less than 20 seconds to catch someone's eye, so it must be eye-catching and easy to read. We can suggest unique design ideas. Warning: Don’t use one of the pre-loaded MS Word templates. They will keep you from standing out from the 900 other resumes in the pile.

As you work on your resume, keep your reader in mind and remember his/her basic concern: will this candidate add value at our firm? If you answer effectively by highlighting relevant skills, personal characteristics and accomplishments, your resume will open the right doors and generate interviews.

Check your resume for bland content and add better action words to describe what you have done in past jobs. Boston College has a table of action verbs that gives resume readers a better sense of what you accomplished. More>>

If any of the following challenges describes your situation, there are strategies you can use to show your experience in the best possible light.

• Changing careers: Highlight your transferable skills to show how well you’ll fit the new career field.
  
  
• Limited experience: Draw from skills you gained from classes, volunteering, extracurricular activities, internships, and other experiences to highlight skills identified in the job posting.
  
  
• Criminal record: Only convictions count as part of your record. Do not include your criminal record on your resume (but do be sure to report your history on a job application or in an interview when asked). Highlight any experience or training you received that's related to your career goal.
  
  
• Gaps in Employment: Highlight all your qualifications in the top portion of your resume and de-emphasize employment dates.

Take a Cut at Writing that Killer Resume
For some people, it might be easier to take an initial pass at building a resume using pencil and paper. Here is printable Resume Worksheet>>

Frequently Asked Resume Questions>>

Perhaps you already have a resume, but it needs updating and polishing. We are ready to help. Resume preparation fees generally begin at $120. Getting the new job....priceless.

Option 1: Open an e-mail request to polish my resume>>

Option 2: Request Express Turnaround on preparing my resume>>

Writing an Effective Cover Letter
If you are going to send your resume out to a prospective employer, remember that you need a cover letter that helps guide the reader to key facts in your resume. More>>