Let's start at the beginning - Resume Essentials

I can't think of a better place to start off a job search advice blog than with the resume essentials. A resume is a one page summary (first bullet point) of your education, skills, accomplishments and experiences (in no particular order). The bottom line, you have about 5 second to catch he attention of a recruiter. The purpose of a resume is to get your foot in the door, so let's not screw it up, the reject pile is not a fun place to be. I will break down some things for you below. Keep in mind, these are personal preferences, not things to live by.

• Length: Use common sense, if you have less than 5-10 years of experience, stick with a one page resume. Resumes shouldn't be about quantity, they should be about the quality of your work experience and how it pertains to the job you are interested in.
• Objective: Should you include an objective at the top of your resume? Well, if it brings something to the table that isn't obvious from your resume, sure. But if it is, "To get a job at XYZ" or anything similar, duh, if you are applying, you want a job at XYZ.
• Education: If you have had a full time job - your education goes to the bottom. Job experience trumps your education most of the time (Ivy Leaguers, make an executive decision). Also, if your GPA isn't above a 3.5, don't bother including it. For those of you looking for your first job, we don't care what you did in high school, and honestly your "customer service" skills as a hostess don't help anything... let's get internships in college to avoid this scenario.
• Experience: Organize your resume to highlight things that relate to the job you are interested in. If it doesn't pop out on the page, it might get overlooked. Yes, you read that right, you should tailor your resume to the job you are applying.
• Adjectives: Think about the adjectives you use to describe the work experiences. Some suggestions: achieved, acquired, adapted, administered, analyzed, anticipated, assembled, assisted, audited, budgeted, calculated, centralized, changed, composed, condensed, conducted, constructed, contracted, converted, coordinated, created, cultivated, demonstrated, designed, developed, devised, discovered, drafted, edited, established, expanded, explained, forcasted, generated, improved, implemented, interpreted, launched, maintained, managed, marketed, motivated, negotiated, organized, originated, oversaw, performed, planned, prevented, produced, programmed, promoted, published, recruited, reorganized, selected, surveyed, solved, simplified, taught, trained.
• Quantify: Don't only list your job responsibilities, show results. If you can quantify your experience, do it. Highlight accomplishments and for goodness sakes, if you have worked with impressive clients, highlight them (assuming they aren't confidential).
• Promotions: Make them clear!!! They are the greatest form of recognition an employee can receive, show off!
• Lingo: A resume is a good time for you to use industry specific terminology to the company.job/industry you are applying. It shows the company you understand their work and you relate to them more than others with general resumes. Using exclusive vocabulary is an excellent way to signal you are an experienced professional with intimate business knowledge.
• Finished?: Once you have completed your resume, have it reviewed and critiqued by as many people as possible. If your resume has a mistake... you are toast!

Hope this helps. A resume does its job successfully if it does NOT excluded you from consideration. I am looking at my reject pile right now... Don't end up there.