The most important aspect of your resume is the content itself.  In a world where most resumes are sent electronically, don’t put too much emphasis on using pretty paper and expensive envelopes.  Here are six basic tips to composing a resume that will make recruiters pay attention.  

1. Be Specific.  I want to know what you accomplished in each position you’ve held.  If you’re a sales manager who increased your team’s performance, tell me what percentage you increased it by.  If you’re in retail, tell me how many times you’ve won employee of the month, or how many times you’ve been promoted.  Tell me how many people you’ve trained, tell me what areas you’re an expert in. 

2. Always list dates of employment.  A few gaps in employment here and there aren’t a big deal if they can be easily explained.  However, if you don’t include the dates on your resume, it raises a red flag and I might not even bother calling you. 

3. Include education information.  I’ve seen tons of resumes that list a college, but don’t specifically state if they obtained a Bachelor’s Degree or when they attended.  If you have a degree list the College, the degree, and the date you obtained it.  If you attended college but didn’t graduate, list the college, and put “criminal justice classes taken” or “completed coursework toward a Bachelor of Arts Degree.”  If you didn’t attend college, list your high school.  While a degree isn’t a must for some positions, it’s a piece of information that the hiring managers are going to want.  The more complete picture you give on your resume, the more likely I am to call you. 

4. Check for spelling errors.  This is a pet peeve of mine, and of most other recruiters I know.  If I see an obvious spelling error, I’m probably not going to call you.  It is absolutely not professional to have spelling errors on your resume, I can’t emphasize this enough. Your resume is an important document, and if you don’t take the time to run it through spell check, that tells me that you’re not a very thorough person and probably won’t be a very thorough employee. 

5. Don’t use paragraph format. Use bullet points to list specific accomplishments for each job.  Be specific, but concise.  Each bullet point should be no longer than 1-3 lines.  If I have to sift through a paragraph for each job you’ve held, not only will I get a headache, but I might miss something.  Recruiters look at hundreds of resumes every day.  We want the important information to jump out at us so we can quickly decide whether or not to call you, and move on to the next resume. 

6. Don’t list duties, list accomplishments.  Remember, if you’re applying for a job in Customer Service, your resume is going to be compared to 50 or 100 other people that have similar experience.  You need to stand out.  Don’t tell me that you answered phones and responded to customer inquiries.  Tell me how many calls you took on an average day and what percentage of calls you resolved without needing to involve a supervisor/manager.  This is difficult to do, but it is the best way to insure that your resume is in the “Call” pile instead of the “No” pile.