Winning Resume Checklist - The Bare Essentials for Successful Resume Writing

Most employers only look at a resume for about 5-10 seconds. If you make sure your resume includes the following you will have a better chance of having them really read your resume and ask for an interview:

 Name and contact information are clean and compact in two lines at the top of the page.

 There is no ‘OBJECTIVE’ since ALL employers expect TARGETED resumes.

 There is a ‘HIGHLIGHTS’ section at the top of the resume. This is usually a series of 6-8 bullets that summarize your soft and hard skills DIRECTLY related to the job at hand.

 If you have a good work history that should come next. Make sure you have the location of the jobs along with months and years you worked there.

 The work history section can be labeled ‘RELATED EXPERIENCE’ and volunteer and other experiences can be included if they directly relate to the job you are applying for.

     -When considering content for each job please consider that:

          A. Achievements are the strongest way to prove you can do the job.

          B. If you do not have a specific achievement, numbers are the next best thing.

          C. If you can not quantify your past skills and experience then use descriptions.


 The EDUCATION section comes next and only needs to include specific info about the highest level obtained.

 If you do not have extensive work experience, or if you just finished our education, the ‘EDUCATION’ section can actually come before the ‘RELATED EXPERIENCE’ section.

 Do NOT include any information about references. Employers expect you to have professional references and they do not need to see ‘references available upon request’ at the bottom.