A resume is a one- to two-page document summarizing your career objectives, professional experiences and achievements, and educational background. First and foremost you would put your name and any contact information in the heading. Below the heading is the body. There you should have different categories such as career goals, your personal profile, your past career experience, any achievements, your academic history, and a list of references. Your career objective should be brief, up to two sentences; it should give your potential employers an idea of how you wish to move forward in your professional life. A compressed profile or a summary should explain who you are and how your skills and experience are a great match for the job you are interested in.

The summary, as well as other parts of your resume, should not contain personal information that discloses ethnicity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, living situations, or any other personal information that is not directly related to your career. Personal profile/summary should only contain a few written sentences that portray what you can bring to the employer in terms of the specified job. Use this section to attract the employers attention, however stay professional in your attempts to being creative. Your experience listing should include information on one to five jobs you have held, starting with your current or last job, and listing previous positions in chronological order.

The listing should include the date range of your employment, the name of your past empoylers, and the location of where the place of employment is located (full address of employment is not necessary). List what your title was as well as your responsibilities, with emphasis on duties that are applicable to the type of work you are seeking. Your education should include college, graduate and post-graduate work, as well as any courses or professional certifications that are relevant to your career development. Achievements, volunteer positions, publications and interests should only be listed if they apply to your professional work experience. References should be listed if requested; It is a good idea not to list a statement about references being available upon request because this is already understood.

In todays technological world of job searches, your resume represents you to potential employers. It serves as your tool to attract attention, get the interview and/or get a job. A great resume will make you stand out from other candidates by showcasing your aptitudes. Think of your resume as your sales letter, you need to sell yourself in the best possible way. Do some research and invest some time in developing a powerful resume. Check and make sure you have no errors ,double check your grammar and spelling, make sure that all company and school names and cities are spelled properly. A resume containing errors, no matter how minimal, it will give your potential employer an impression that lack attention to detail, that you don't take time to double check your work, and that you are a poor communicator. Also, make sure that your resume is formatted well.

Stick to often used fonts, like Arial and Times New Roman. Use a standard font color and size; do not use large fonts or multicolors in your resume. Try not to be too creative with bold, italicized, or large-cap text. Keep the format consistent and make sure that the resume looks nice when viewed online as well as when printed out.

Don't go over two pages long with your resume, any additional pages give an impression that you either are not able to summarize your past experience and education, or you are just trying to beef up your resume by displaying a lot of unnecessary information. If you have never written a resume before, you can find reference books, internet resources or seek assistance from a professional resume writing service. Having a well prepared resume can be the tool you need to landing your dream job.