Are you a resumé-writing expert? Maybe so! It seems like they are all over the place nowadays. There are tons of books published about “how to write a professional resumé.” Each offers its unique twist about what makes a great resumé. It seems everyone has an opinion. And most of them are different to varying degrees. Even commercially developed resumé Builders do not agree on lots of things. So, how do you power-up your resumé?

Maybe it is something easy to fix!

Sometimes simple things can turn your run-of-the-mill resumé (you know --- the one you spent 2 hours on) into an eye-catcher that the right person would really want to read. And that is a considerable achievement in the world of resumés! Often it can be as easy as not making mistakes in punctuation, spelling, abbreviations and syntax. Sometimes it can be as easy as just leaving a little information out altogether. But more often than not, it takes extra thought and planning to raise your resumé to the next level.

What is an outstanding resumé?

Before getting started, it’s important to realize that the only outstanding or great resumé is one that gets you an interview. Anything less is wasted paper, no matter how, who or what produced this fine specimen that we have become so proud to use as our resumé. But just because you do not get an interview does not mean it is a wasted effort. Most people end up learning more about themselves just by gathering and assessing the information needed for an average resumé. And when you do get that interview, you feel more comfortable talking about yourself because you know yourself better.

Go back to basics!

For starters, go back to the basics and get the right information in the right order to power up that resumé. Consider five different areas before placing pen to paper. Those areas are:

• Targeting
• Sequencing
• Accomplishments
• Writing strategies
• resumé production

Targeting means knowing why you are writing your resumé. Know the specific job you want! You cannot write a great resumé without knowing whether you want to be a teacher or a truck driver!

Sequencing refers to the order you place information on the paper. In addition to using standard section titles in specific order (for example Heading, Objective, Experience, Education and Other) you should “sell” yourself within these sections first, then add the extras.

Accomplishments should be things that relate to your career, not things that you arbitrarily decide are important to you. Being left-handed might be important to you, but it does not belong on your resumé!

Writing strategy is the way you list your history in the resumé. There are very few acceptable choices to choose from and each is very, very different. Normally it should be either reverse-chronological, functional or a combination of the two. There are advantages and disadvantages to each method. Typically your selection should be determined by the consistency and longevity of your work history.

resumé production includes choices you make in combining all the pieces of your information into a final paper called “resumé.” To succeed you must make informed decisions about using or not using a resumé builder, laying out the print on paper, font type and size, number of pages (hopefully only one), quality and color of paper, and all the other items that visually impact our thought processes. The production phase is where you pay particular attention to the planning – writing – editing – rewriting – proofreading – editing – rewriting cycles. Hopefully, during this process you have corrected all the spelling, punctuation and syntax problems.

Can it pass the test?

When your powered up, professional resumé is finished give it a simple litmus test to see if it falls into the “great resumé” category. First, has it made assertions about your knowledge, skills and abilities that make you think this is someone special? Second, has it provided proof that supports the claims? Third, has a reader been left wanting more information than what they have read? If all three answers are yes, you can look forward to that phone call about a job. It might take a little time, but the call will come!