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Resume formats
There is no "perfect" or "right" resume format. The format you choose will depend upon the job you hope to find and your past experiences. Remember, the purpose of a resume is to get you a job interview. The interview gets you the job.

General resume guidelines

The following guidelines are just suggestions for what to include in a good resume. Remember, your resume's function is to obtain a job interview for you. Use your common sense and imagination to highlight your background and experience in a well-focused resume.

Length
A one-page resume works well for 3 years or less in the work force. If you have an extensive work history, two pages are reasonable. Remember, individuals with extensive work history should limit information to what is pertinent to their current job objective. If you do go to two pages, make sure the most important information is stated on the first page.

Appearance

• An organized, readable layout determines whether a resume is read.
• Direct the reader's eye with the format. Make sure it is well-organized and concise.
• Avoid dense text appearance, which is difficult to read.
• Consider using high-quality white or off-white paper.
• Make sure there are no typographical, spelling or grammatical errors.
• Information that has been crossed out is unacceptable.
• Make sure your resume will copy well. Do a photocopy test.

Content
Design your resume with a particular objective in mind. Present information important to the objective first.

Edit

• List information in descending order of importance.
• Be selective about what you include in your resume, but never falsify or exaggerate information.
• Sell yourself-attract attention to your special abilities.
• Concentrate on the positive and use action verbs to describe your background.

Resume Inventory
The following categories are usually found in a resume. These are suggestions. You should adopt those that best fit your needs.

Personal Data.
Make sure your name is the most obvious piece of information on your resume. Also include your address and phone number, with ZIP and area codes. List a message phone number if you do not have an answering machine, and give an e-mail address if you have one. It is unnecessary to include personal information such as age, marital status or health.

Objective.
An objective gives your resume a focus. It also gives credibility and direction to your resume and suggests commitment on your part. It should be specific enough to tell the employer the kind of work you seek, yet general enough to include the full range of jobs you will consider. This will take some thought! If the statement is so specific that it would eliminate you from consideration for other jobs in which you have interest, you might consider having a resume for each type of job (not necessarily each job). Some disciplines require objectives; others discourage their use.

Education.
List your educational background in reverse chronological order, starting with your highest degree and working your way backwards. Do not go back to your high school degree. Listing your grade point average (GPA) is optional. Dissertation and thesis topics are also included in this section as are honors bestowed at graduation time.

Experience.
Include job titles, employers, duties and responsibilities and dates. Remember to list the city and state of each place of work. Concentrate on the positive and use action words. Strive to show growth and contributions you made while in the position.

Additional Information.
Skills, activities, honors, awards, memberships, public service, or even language ability can be placed under this, or a more specific category.

References.
It is acceptable to use the phrase, "Available upon request. " Be prepared with a typed list when requested. Generally, a reference sheet will consist of the name, title, business mailing address, and phone number of three to five business references. Do not use relatives or friends as references. Be sure to obtain permission from each person you plan to list.

Additional categories

Qualifications or Technical Skills Statement.
Qualifications, or technical skills, may be established from prior employment or educational experiences. For your qualifications statement, list your past in terms of the skills you have acquired that are relevant to your resume's objective. This section is particularly helpful to those who are making a career change or for people whose technology is not obviously related to the job objective.

Language Ability.
You can list this section separately, as a part of the qualifications statement, or in the additional information section if there is a likelihood that this ability will be used by employers. Specify the language(s) you read, write, and/or speak and your facility in each.

Military.
In the functional resume your military experience can be included in the "Experience" category. A chronological resume would list military either under a separate heading or in chronological order under "Experience."

Publications.
List articles you have published and those which have been accepted for publication.

The Top Ten Pitfalls in Resume Writing

• Too long. Most people should restrict their resumes to one to two pages. If you have trouble condensing, get help from a technical or business writer or an executive search professional.
• Typographical, grammatical or spelling errors. These errors suggest carelessness, poor education and/or lack of intelligence. Have at least two people proofread your resume. Don't rely on a computer's spell-checkers or grammar-checkers.
• Hard to read. A poorly formatted or copied resume looks unprofessional. Use a computer. Use a plain typeface, no smaller than a 12-point font. Asterisks, bullets, underlining, boldface type and italics should be used only to make the document easier to read, not fancier. Again, ask a professional's opinion.
• Too verbose (using too many words to say too little). Do not use complete sentences or paragraphs. Say as much as possible with as few words as possible.' A', 'an' and 'the' can almost always be left out. Be careful in your use of jargon and avoid slang.
• Too sparse. Give more than the bare essentials, especially when describing related work experience, skills, and accomplishments, that will give employers desired information. Including membership in the Society of Women Engineers, for example, would be helpful to employers who wish to hire more women, yet cannot ask for that information.
• Irrelevant information. Customize each resume to each position you seek. Of course, include all education and work experience, but emphasize only relevant experience, skills and accomplishments. Do not include marital status, age, sex, children, height, weight, health, church membership, etc.
• Obviously generic. Too many resumes scream, "I need a job-any job!" The employer needs to feel that you are interested in that position with that company.
• Too snazzy. Avoid exotic types, colors, photographs and graphics. More and more companies are scanning resumes into a database, so use plain type, and avoid symbols, underlining or italics.
• Boring. Make your resume as dynamic as possible. Begin every statement with an action verb. Use active verbs, describing what you accomplished on the job. Don't write what someone else told you to do; write what you did. Take advantage of your rich vocabulary and avoid repeating words, especially the first word in a section.
• Too modest. The resume showcases your qualifications in competition with the other applicants. Put your best foot forward without misrepresentation, falsification or arrogance.

The Three R's
The three R's of resume writing are Research, Research, Research. You must know what the prospective company does, what the position involves and whether you will be a fit, before submitting your resume. And that means doing research about the company, about the position and about the type of employee the company typically hires.

Research the company.
Read whatever the company has placed in publications. For additional information, use the Internet or, even more directly, call the company. Ask for any literature it may have, find out how the company is structured and ask your recruiter what qualities the company generally looks for in its employees.

Research the position.
The more you know about the position, the better able you will be to sell yourself and to target the resume to that position. In addition to finding out the duties, ask your recruiter whether they value education over experience (or vice versa) and what kind of turnover the department experiences. Ask what is best about the position and the company; more important, ask what, if any, downsides exist.

Finally, research yourself.
Your goal is not just to get a job. Your goal is to get a job that you will enjoy. After you find out all you can about the company and the position, ask yourself honestly whether this is what you really want to do and where you really want to be.

Once you have done this research, you will sell yourself more effectively. Most employers devote only an average of 15 to 30 seconds to each resume, so it is your responsibility to catch their eye by makeing it attractive, readable and informational. One last word of advice: Before you go to the interview, review the version of your resume that you submitted to the employer. The resume can only get you the interview; the interview gets you the job.