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Just as important a resume is to helping a job seeker secure opportunities, so is the cover letter. A cover letter helps you hone in on important messages – to create a “conversation” – and gives the employer a sense of your personality that is not always captured through a resume alone.

Yes, there are employers who may completely ignore cover letters, but you put your chances for a response at greater risk when you don’t include one.

For the many employers who do care for the cover letter, seeing no cover letter or one that lacks any concrete anecdotes can imply you are not as interested as other candidates who have taken the time to personalize a letter to clearly highlight personal talents and offerings. A cover letter is another marketing tool in your arsenal, so take advantage of the opportunity to help you better sell yourself.

Here are some cover letter guidelines:

1. Do not make your cover letter an attachment.
   This particular tip applies to applicants who are sending information via e-mail to an employer. While the cover letter and resume stand as two separate documents, your email message should be your cover letter.

   Your email message will be the first point of communication with an employer, so it should provide information to entice an employer to read on. If you aren’t captivating an employer’s attention immediately, it is unlikely they will move on to opening your attachments.

2. Address a specific contact in your cover letter.
   A reader’s attention is captured when you address him or her personally. Just think about when you receive communication from someone you are unfamiliar with. It’s more likely that you will dismiss the communication when it is addressed in general with: “To Whom It May Concern” or Dear Sir/Madam.”

   Carefully review the job posting or conduct research online in LinkedIn or the company’s website for the appropriate contact you should have your letter addressed to.

3. Create a captivating opening.
   An effective resume offers a captivating opening that summarizes your experiences, skills and strengths. A cover letter also needs to have a captivating opening.

   Avoid boring openings such as: “I am writing to respond to your ad…” or “I am interested in…” These statements are obvious to the employer and it also comes off as self-centered when you start with “I.” Utilize the beginning of your cover letter as a way to highlight information that sells. It should immediately present information that indicates what you have to offer and why it is a terrific fit.

   For instance, you may want to start by indicating how your event planning and management experience in the pharmaceutical industry can directly relate to the company’s need for a candidate with a well-established network of contacts in the pharmaceutical industry for business development purposes. Your experience may have allowed you to establish relationships with top experts in the field who are also contacts the potential employer is seeking a way to connect with.

4. Don’t rehash information or tell your life story.
   A cover letter is not meant to be redundant in information and does not benefit in being a long-winded life story. Customize your cover letter to directly address information the employer desires and seeks without repeating anything directly from your resume. Keep information succinct. You’re not writing to a pen pal, so maintain focus and keep it to no more than a page and no more than 3 to 4 paragraphs. There should be a captivating opening, a body to flush out more information that helps you make a point and a closing.
5. Make sure you address everything that is asked for.
   Many employers indicate specific instructions in the job posting for applicants. It may be a request to address specific questions or salary requirement information. It is important to address what is asked by the employer or you will come off as a candidate that does not follow instructions well. It is an easy reason for any employer to dismiss your application.

A cover letter is meant to be another marketing tool you can utilize to sell. It is an opportunity for you to present information that may not be suitable in a resume. Maintain focus and personalize information to directly inform an employer what you have to offer and why you make a good fit.

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Every week I see hundreds of resumes sent to me for a free evaluation. Most of them start with an Objective indicating what that individual is seeking. Then they list the various roles and responsibilities they have held in the past. Where this style of resume was successful 5 years ago, it isn’t going to work in today’s market.

You used to be competing with about 200 other resumes for the interview. Now you are competing with about 600. Companies can’t bring in 100 people for interviews and they can be choosy, so your resume better make you stand out.

Think about it – an OBJECTIVE says “this is what I want”. Better to start a resume with “this is what I offer”. So instead of an Objective, have a Profile of the skills and experience you offer. Try to put meaningful information in the Profile, not just fluff. Imagine yourself on a game show and the host is about to introduce you – “Our next guest….”. What would they say? This should be your Profile.

Next, under your Professional Experience, don’t just list your roles and responsibilities. Everyone knows that an Administrative Assistant answers phones and files correspondence. Tell how successful you were on the job. Indicate the scope and scale of your responsibilities. For example, state that you “Provided administrative support for 5 managers and 15 staff in an extremely fast-paced, deadline-intensive environment”. Tell them that you were “Consistently praised for professionalism, pleasant demeanor and the ability to meet the most aggressive deadlines.” See the difference?

Simply put, unless your skills are so unique and your accomplishments so great that you truly stand out, you should consider investing in your career by hiring a professional resume writer. The state of the art of resume writing has changed so much in the last few years, as has the economy, that knowing what keywords to include and what skills and accomplishments to highlight is a tough task. And it’s difficult to write about yourself – I’ve written thousands of resumes and I think I would hire a professional to serve as a sounding board and draw out of me the things that should be on my resume.

If you are unsure, take advantage of my Free Evaluation and I will personally review your resume and let you know what it needs.

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Writing a resume is more than just articulating your skills and accomplishments. Perhaps the most important part of the resume writing process is to start by defining your brand or positioning statement often called the “elevator pitch”. (An “elevator pitch” is what you would say to Bill Gates if he got on an elevator with you and you had 20 seconds to tell him why he should hire you before the elevator doors open at the lobby). And in the process of defining your positioning statement, you need to give some thought to your overall search strategy.

For example, let’s say you’ve gained most of your experience in small firms where you had to do a lot of everything. Perhaps you had your own company and successfully grew it to a reasonable size. You have demonstrable skills in sales, business development and P&L management. So how do you position yourself? The answer depends on what kinds of companies you are targeting.

If you are sending your resume to Fortune 500 firms, you’ll need to pick your strongest and dearest area and tailor a resume towards that. Conversely, if you target small and medium sized firms, then your “jack of all trades” skills are in demand. One resume will not work for both kinds of firms.

Remember that there are 3 steps to getting a job: having a great resume, getting it read by the right people, and acing the interview. The first 2 must be considered together to develop a winning resume.

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While the Internet is a great resource to find templates of resumes and to view other individual examples, it does not necessary help you create an effective resume for yourself. Reviewing these examples help you determine what structure and order is best to use with your own resume, but it will not help you effectively develop the most critical core elements necessary to showcase your professional experiences and passions – the content and brand that differentiates you from other candidates.

There is a reason why professionally written resumes produce greater results than one written on your own. Professional resume writers know the ins and outs to what works well in today’s challenging environment. They have written and seen hundreds of resumes and know the best practices to make you stand out. They also know the various tools and technologies that employers are using to screen candidates. In short, they know how to create a resume that will help differentiate you from others.

Here we discuss some of the top reasons why it is beneficial to work with a professional resume writer.

1. You need to create a personal brand.
   For your resume to stand out, you need to know how to create a value proposition or personal brand. This opening of the resume is particularly challenging because you only have a few lines to answer the big question: “Why should I hire you?”

   Good professional resume writers have the experience and strategies to help narrow down what needs to be highlighted on your resume to create your brand. These experts know what employers and hiring managers are looking for and how to make you stand out.

2. It is hard to write about yourself.
   A resume is not meant to tell your entire life history. It simply calls out key highlights of your experiences that are relevant to an employer. It also tells them how you have achieved success in specific areas of importance to the employer. This can be a difficult task to complete on your own. Even when you think you have established a master resume, a third party may interpret the references differently. Don’t be misled by the fact that you have had first-hand involvement in it.

   On the other hand, a professional resume writer gives you an accurate assessment of how the employer would view your background. A professional resume writer knows what questions to ask to secure the necessary answers from you in order to produce an effective resume. If you can find a professional resume writer with experience in your particular field, it is similar to having direct access to feedback from the hiring manager of the employer you apply to. He knows if your resume can stand up against other top applicants vying for the same position and he can help you strengthen your competitive position.

3. You need to get through the ATS resume machine.
   The majority of employers are now using ATS or Applicant Tracking Systems which scan your resume for keywords and rank you accordingly. If you do not get a high ranking here, chances are a human will not see your resume. A professional resume writer is skilled in making sure your resume has the right mix and density of the appropriate keywords to achieve a high ranking.
4. You need to impress the hiring manager.
   Once you have gotten past the ATS, you need to impress the hiring manager so your resume must be visually attractive and content-rich. Where the ATS software looks for roles and responsibilities, the hiring manager looks for skills and accomplishments that support your brand.

We have written over 20,000 resumes for people and the best most people can generally expect when they write their resume is to score 5 or 6 on a 10-scale. In this market, that is just not good enough. Your resume is the most important document in your career so it makes senses to spend the money and use a good professional resume writer. That being said, there are a lot of scams and bad services on the web so see our Free 10-Point Checklist on How to Choose a Professional Resume Writing Service at http://tinyurl.com/2dbay27.

An electronic resume is what most of us rely on today to initiate communication with a potential employer. It may be in the form of a Word document, PDF file, on your website, on job board websites or pasted into the email you send.

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Once your information is available in electronic form, it is easy to share that information with others and for others who receive your information to share it with people they desire. So while you need to send your resume in order to be considered for most jobs, you should also ensure your information, especially your contact information, remains safe and secure.

There are many types of scams out there today that can put your information at risk. For instance, many people may refer to websites such as Craigslist to find job opportunities. While there are many legitimate opportunities available on the site, there are also scammers who may post a job opportunity that appears to be legitimate in order to collect information on people for other uses.

If you are sending your resume electronically to a source you are not familiar with, take caution in the type of information you include.

Here are some ways to safeguard your information.

1. Do not include your mailing address.
   There is no need for a potential employer to know your actual physical address when you are only at the initial stage of applying for a job. Rather than list your physical mailing address, only indicate the city and state. As long as you include a phone number and email address, the employer will know how to contact you. The information can be supplied at a later point when you know it is a legitimate job opportunity.
2. Use a Google Voice number.
   Sign up for a free Google Voice number and you won’t have to share your home number or mobile number. There’s no cost involved to sign up for a number and you also have the convenience of having voice mails sent to you via email as a transcript and access to the audio recording electronically.
3. Audit your email address.
   Don’t be surprised by how much information one can find out about you by simply knowing your email address. If you have a primary email address you have used to sign up for social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook or Flickr, and your settings for these accounts are not set to private, people can easily access all the information you have included to these sites. For more security, use another email address on your resume that does not have a history on the Internet for others to search information on you.
4. Customize the settings on your resume on job boards.
   Most job board websites that offer resume posting allow you to customize your settings. You do not necessarily need to make your entire resume publicly available for everyone (or all employers) to view. For instance, on Monster, you may select to have your resume public, but hide your contact information. Employers may continue to view your qualifications and experience without having access to your contact information. If they have a desire to contact you, it is sent to a confidential Monster email address for you to determine if you want to respond to it.
5. Refrain from sharing information that is not needed during the application process.
   Information such as your social security number and date of birth may be needed for employment. You may also need to supply your bank account information for direct pay, but there is no reason to share this information beforehand, during the application process. If such requests are made, it’s a clear sign it may be a scam. Never share such information until employment is offered and you have determined it is a legitimate opportunity.

When preparing and sending your resume for a job opportunity to a contact or source you are unfamiliar with, there is always a risk. Once a resume is sent electronically, it can live on the Internet indefinitely. You can be at risk for identity theft if the source you are sending your resume to is illegitimate. You also do not have any control over who that person decides to forward it to or where they post it to.

Always err on the side of caution because once an electronic resume is released it is not always possible to pull back.

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Writing a resume from scratch is no easy task. Even if you are working off of a resume template, you still need to formulate how to place your experiences and accomplishments into words effectively. You also need to narrow down which type of information from your experiences are relevant and worthy of mentioning on a resume.

It may only take an employer a couple of seconds to review your resume and determine if you are a qualified candidate worthy of follow-up, which makes it even more important to fine tune your resume information so that it gives an immediate punch to get you noticed.

To help ease the process of gathering the appropriate information for your resume and formulating the content to help you stand out, here are some steps and questions to take:

1. Create an outline of your career history from past to present.

Pull together the details of your employment history for the last five to 10 years. You’ll need the name of the employer, position you held, dates of employment and a general overview of your role at the company.

2. Determine what types of experiences and strengths the job you are seeking requires.

When you know what types of experiences and skills are desired for the job you are applying for, you can customize your resume information so that it is more relevant and targeted to what potential employers may be looking for. Not all of your past experiences need to go on a resume, only what is relevant and information that will help demonstrate you qualify. Knowing this information will also help you craft the starting point for your resume where you include a “Summary of Qualifications” or similar title to that effect to inform an employer what you have to offer.

3. Develop a brand statement or value proposition.

An effective resume informs an employer what you have to offer and demonstrates your potential based on previous accomplishments and achievements. Quantify results to help demonstrate what areas you are strong at and the level of skills you have. Do not rely on simply indicating responsibilities you’ve held. That will not tell an employer how good you are at the job.

4. Evaluate what keywords you need to include.

A majority of employers today use scanning technology to help filter the most relevant resumes that come in. In order for your resume to make it to the hands of the contact who will decide who to invite for follow-up, you need to first get past its scanning technology that is tracking a set of keywords. The more relevant keywords you have that are part of its top-tier search criteria, the higher your chances your resume will be reviewed by a person. Keep the keywords in mind as you write your resume to incorporate it where possible, but in the appropriate context. The job advertisement is where you will find the most relevant keywords to include to your resume. Other sources you may rely on to find keywords include job descriptions that may appear on job boards.

Don’t be surprised by how much time it takes to write a resume. If it were an easy task, there wouldn’t be the need for professional resume writers. Take the time to create a quality backgrounder for yourself because it is your main tool to getting your foot in the door with most employers.

If you want to get a call back, you will need to make your resume relevant, targeted and punchy to capture the attention of an employer within seconds. Also be sure to give it another review and have another person review it before sending it off. One minor mistake in spelling or grammar can cost you. Today’s employers are quick to dismiss a resume. They are overloaded with applications and resumes so in reviewing resumes for qualifications, they are also looking for reasons to dismiss it.

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Whether you are starting to write a resume on a fresh sheet of paper or building off of one that you already have, make sure the information you present is targeted and concise to attract employers’ interest.

It’s not just about how a resume looks, but the information you present that can make a resume come off as cluttered and simply too difficult to motivate someone to carefully review. You have to ask when writing a resume if the information is relevant and presented in the most concise way.

It is especially easy to clutter a resume if you are a career changer. When you are searching for a new job and decide to add your latest experiences to an existing resume, you can end up with a hodgepodge of information that doesn’t relay an effective message to potential employers. The information on your resume may have worked well for your previous career, but you really need to repurpose the information to appeal to the employers in the new career field you are looking in to.

Here are some ways to ensure your resume content is polished and clear of clutter:

1. Define the industry and career you are seeking a job in.
   People often think that if information about experience is broadened that it can come off as more relevant and increase your chances, but all that does for a resume is dilute the core and critically important information. You are better off consolidating relevant information on a resume, and if necessary, creating another version of a resume that speaks directly to the other industries and/or career desired.
2. Consolidate the information in your opening summary.
   Regardless of whether you choose to have a “Profile Summary” or “Highlights” section at the top of your resume, make sure it gives sufficient information to present your professional background, knowledge and experience without throwing out too much on the table. Also, do not waste time presenting what you desire. Instead, focus on what you have to offer. The opening summary is meant to present enough information to entice an employer to want to continue. It is not meant for you to finalize the sale in that one section, so don’t feel as though you need to present all fine details. Get this section punchy enough to give a solid representation in a few seconds of the skills and experience you have to offer.
3. Evaluate your work history.
   It is especially critical for the career changer to evaluate what information to present as work history on a resume.  Typically, work history is presented in chronological order, from the most recent to the past, but it may not be appropriate to include every single experience you have hand since high school. For career changers, keep in mind that the employer only cares about relevant experience and strengths for the job applied for. Present information that shows transferable experience and skills. It may not matter that you won 99 percent of legal cases in your career as a trial lawyer if you are now applying for a job as an emergency room nurse. Also, if you have more than 10 years of experience, focus on highlighting the most recent relevant experience. Employers care about what you have done most recently. What you did 20 years ago will bear less weight in an employer’s decision.
4. Keep only quantifiable statements.
   Present selling points that demonstrate quantifiable results. If there are statements in your resume that don’t sell or demonstrate results, they are simply wasting space. Remove it. It’s not going to bring value to an employer that reviews your resume.
5. Present essential educational and technical information/skills.
   Educational information and technical skills are important selling points on a resume for the recent graduate who does not have much else to show in terms of work experience. However, it becomes much less important to an employer for candidates with several years of professional experience.  Focus these sections of the resume only on the critical information, such as college/university attended and degree obtained. Technical information should only be included if you have functional knowledge that is unique for the job. Don’t bother wasting space noting you are proficient with Excel, PowerPoint or other basic software programs that today’s employers expect all candidates to know.
6. Eliminate old school resume rules.
   Forget about starting your resume with an “Objective” statement. Employers do not want to know about what you are interested in. They want to know what you have to offer. The old school resume may also include a fax number and a note at the end on “References available upon request.” If you still have such information on your resume, it will only make it appear cluttered and outdated.

Keep in mind that resumes typical run one to two-pages long, at most. Utilize white space to help make your resume easier on the eyes and carefully evaluate the content. Limit it to only information that will present to an employer your experiences, strengths and accomplishments that can directly apply to the job and position you desire.

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Even when you have the education and professional background to qualify for the job, don’t count on it as a sure win that you will be asked to come in for an interview. In fact, your qualifications may hinder your chances.

It’s very common in today’s market for employers to dismiss a job applicant’s application and resume because they are “overqualified.” Yes, you read correctly. It’s not a matter of being under qualified, but overqualified. The fact is today’s market has an abundant supply of highly qualified candidates but not enough jobs to go around for everyone.

More candidates are resorting to applying for positions where the level of expertise required on the job is below their previous position’s requirements. Many candidates today are also choosing to change careers, starting at an entry level, where there may be more job opportunities.

The challenge for today’s job applicants is not simply competing with so many other applicants but finding a fine balance of information to place on their resume without coming off overqualified. Employers are mostly concerned that, if you take a lesser position, you will leave once your find a position that is more commensurate with your skills.

Here are a few tips to help guide you in preparing your resume for the next job opportunity and avoid coming off overqualified and ruining your chances at the opportunity.

1. Only include relevant work experience.
   Focus on what the employer is looking for and show them you can do it. If some of your management experience is not a part of their job description, then don’t mention it. This tip is especially critical for applicants moving from one career to another.

   For instance, if you had your own mortgage or construction firm and are now just looking for a sales job, just speak to your experience driving sales.  You can also change your title from Owner (no one searches for Owners) to Sales Manager. Consider having a Career Highlights section before your professional experience that showcases your very impressive sales results before they read about your career chronology.

2. Highlight only degrees you obtained that are necessary to qualify for the job.
   Many of today’s positions require candidates to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree. If you continued to pursue education to obtain other degrees, earning you the title of Ph.D., M.D. or others, don’t be so quick to include that information on your resume. You have to ask if it is at all relevant to the job you are applying for. It’s great if you moved on to obtain your Ph.D. in neuroscience, but if the employer’s business and the job is focused on finance and accounting for toy manufacturing/distribution, your additional education will be of little relevance and may sway an employer to reconsider whether you are relevant for the position.
3. Work your cover letter to give a sufficient explanation as to why you want the job and how your experience, skills and talent make you the right fit.
   The last thing an employer wants is a new hire who took the job because he couldn’t get anything better and is just settling. Give the employer confidence that you are challenged by the opportunity and will be there a year from now. If there is the chance your resume comes off as overqualified, in addition to working the tips above, make sure to provide sufficient explanation in your cover letter. Many people are focusing more on quality of life and are willing to give up the stress and long hours of management positions, so don’t be afraid to state that. The employer needs to know that you are not simply taking the job because you can’t find anything better. They also need to be assured that you aren’t going to be quick to run off to another job as soon as the market improves or another opportunity opens up that is more in line with your level of experience from your previous position.

Your resume is a marketing tool to help get your foot in the door for an interview. Placing too much information or irrelevant information will only give the employer more reason to dismiss you. Carefully review the job posting and do your research to really understand what skills and talents are desired for the position so that you present your resume and qualifications in the best light. Not everything you’ve accomplished, regardless of how significant it is, is appropriate to include in your resume. Think to yourself about whether what you’ve presented is too much information and not enough relevance. Employers review resumes to find a reason to reject a candidate.

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Employers looking to fill a retail manager position will seek a candidate with experience, skills, and success in areas related to operations, employee management/training, costs control, customer relations, merchandising and marketing.  To craft a resume with impact for retail management, you have to demonstrate results. It is not enough to simply outline responsibilities you’ve held. You need to highlight specific accomplishments and/or contributions that directly impacted the success and profitability of a business.

Some specific skills or strengths to highlight on your resume that will help to demonstrate success in retail management include:

• Customer relations
  One of the more important aspects to the job of a retail manager is understanding and knowing what your customers need and want. The more you understand these requirements, the higher your chances of success in achieving customer satisfaction.

  One way to demonstrate success in this area on your resume is by indicating specific actions that led to a high-rate of repeat and referral customers.  Indicate on your resume relevant successes such as securing a 90% customer loyalty rate. Also mention if you launched initiatives such as a Loyalty Program, customer promotions, newsletters or social media campaigns (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and what kind of outcomes they produced. These types of results help demonstrate that you know what it takes to gain a loyal following.

• Marketing and Merchandising
  Retail managers who know how to market and merchandise the store’s products can see significant growth in sales.

  Success can be demonstrated in this area in many ways. Show how you measured sales trends and inventory levels and translated this into effective merchandising strategies. Perhaps you changed the layout of the store, pushing the women’s merchandise closer to the entrance of the storefront to help draw more customers from a targeted client segment or reduce inventory for seasonal items. Or, you developed a marketing campaign that strengthened the store’s brand and focus on shoes that generated a 25% increase of sales in that department within 3 months.

• Inventory Control
  Holding inventory that does not move, being out of stock for wanted items, or losing inventory due to theft are some of the worst things that can happen in a retail environment. So show your ability to control your inventory levels.

  Did you save money by reducing inventory levels? Did you reduce out-of-stock conditions? Did you launch a theft-control program?  Quantify the results of these programs to show how you are managing the product mix in the store.

• Employee management and training
  Retail managers are not always at the front line of business, which is why one’s ability to apply effective employee management and training for other employees is critical for a retail store to operate successfully.

  Demonstrate success in this area on your resume by indicating, for instance, how a particular training program you developed increased customer service and sales levels and improved staff retention. Perhaps you provided training to employees that helped them find different ways to encourage a shopper to buy more. If a customer is shopping for a pair of jeans, the cashier and sales employees are trained to also recommend belts that go well with the jeans, resulting in additional sales.

• Awards and Recognition
  Awards and recognition for retail management are particularly common with chain stores. Highlight such recognition on your resume to support your other points.

  The best indicator is how you are ranked against your peers. Perhaps your store has a track record of being the top-grossing sales store quarter after quarter or you’ve been named “Store Manager of the Year.” These types of highlights on your resume will help demonstrate to employers your effectiveness and success in retail management.

When detailing successes and accomplishments on your resume, always incorporate information to give perspective on the relevance of your experience to the job applied for. Detail the size of the store, number of employees and departments involved to retail management. What type of customer base did you handle?

Pull all the right information together and you will have a very compelling resume.

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Whether you are putting together your resume from scratch, editing an existing version or seeking the help of a professional resume writer and giving it a final review, there are simple and quick fixes to apply to give your resume an improved quality. Remember that employers will only give a resume a brief glance so make sure you follow these rules.

1. Resume Length
   The notion of a 1-page resume is a myth, and while 1 page is appropriate for entry-level positions, most resumes are getting longer as employers are getting more candidates than before and want to see real details to be able to qualify you.
   
   I used to work with one of the best advertising copywriters in the world who would get $114,000 for a day’s work (his copy sold that much more products) and what he told me is absolutely true for resumes: your message must be compelling and simple to read. That means avoid having a 1-page resume that is dense and hard to read or a 2-page resume that does not showcase your skills.

   If you have over 10 years of experience, you should probably have a 2-page resume and it is very common for executives to have 3-page resumes.

2. Make your resume legible
   To meet the “simple to read” test, a resume needs to be balanced with quality content and offer a welcoming appearance. No one enjoys reading blocks of heavy text. Make it easy on the reader’s eyes.

   Use paragraphs for roles and responsibilities and bullets for accomplishments so they are easy to find. Use white space to help place content into consumable formats and to make your resume more inviting to read. Creating relevant headlines for the different sections of your resume and using features, such as bold and italics, to emphasize words will also help.

3. Review and revise keywords
   If you haven’t thought about incorporating keywords into your resume, it’s time to do so. More and more employers today are resorting to scanning technology to help filter the most relevant resumes for initial review. Few organizations have the time and resources to manually review each of the hundreds (perhaps, thousands) of resumes received each day. If your resume does not contain the appropriate keywords, it’s not likely that you will make the mark for consideration.

   At the same time, make sure the keywords you include are used in context and are the most relevant. For instance, there are variations to words. While you may be using a keyword that the employer is also calling out with the scanning technology, you have to ask yourself whether there is a variation that you need to consider to bolster your presence. Be careful with abbreviations screeners may not be familiar with so spell them out.

4. Check for consistency.
   A consistent format can make your resume more polished. For instance, if you lead your work experience information with the name of your former employer, followed by the title held and dates you were employed, you need to continue with that format throughout your resume. Inconsistencies can make your resume appear clumsy.

   Also watch out for the terminology and spelling of words. If you are a PR professional, you may often use the term “press release” or “news release.” Select one and stick with it throughout your resume. Also, words such as “health care” and “healthcare” are both correct, but it should be consistent on your resume.

5. Get a second pair of eyes.
   You can never go wrong with reviewing your resume another round for errors. Typos are a huge turn off for many employers. Typos leave one with a sense of lack of professionalism. Review your resume from top to bottom one additional round before submitting it. Additionally, be careful of common errors around the use of certain words such as “whether” and “weather” or “affect” and “effect” as to whether you have chosen the correct word. It’s best to get a second pair of eyes as the reviewer will have a fresh perspective and catch problem areas that you may completely glaze over given you’ve been working on it for a lengthy time.

These simple and quick fixes can make a difference between your resume making the cut, or falling into the “trash” or “delete” pile. These are simple adjustments and changes you can make to your resume to help increase its success and come across as a polished professional before you step through the doors for that face-to-face meeting.