By: Amanda Dickson, Guest Blogger

You truly are all you’ve got, and marketing yourself should be a priority.  You wouldn’t brand a client’s company with an unprofessional stamp- so don’t do it to yourself. Whether you are on the hunt for a new position or content at your current job and simply looking to document your experience, having a great resume is of the utmost importance.

At my workplace, I receive all of the incoming resumes and spend time analyzing them. In college, I attended resume marathons, and stalked out Career Services counselors to assist me in writing the best possible resume. I may not be a certified expert, but what I know could help you land the job you’re after. At the very least, it will allow you to look polished and professional in the eyes of employers.

A few quick points:

• If you are recently out of college, your resume should only be one page long. There are no exceptions to this. Employers do not want to scroll down and read more about your work at summer camp. Keep it brief and to the point. Use smaller fonts and widen the margins to conserve space.
• Highlight your best experiences. I recently saw a resume where the applicant devoted six lines to a part-time position at the Gap. Only emphasize what is pertinent and positive. She should have limited it to one line about Gap, citing its impact on her leadership skills, and added more about her work at the Small Business Development Center at her college.
• Every bullet on your resume should start with an action word, i.e. ‘Managed internship program and wrote training handbook.’ This positions you as someone who takes initiative and is always moving forward.
• Spend 5 minutes before submitting your resume and be sure that you are:
  • Sending it in compatibility mode, as a Word 97-2003 Document (.doc format not .docx) if you have the newer version of MS Word. Some Macs and older computer systems can’t open .docx files. Make it as easy as possible for others to view your resume.
  • Eliminating the underlined red or green spell-checked words. Right click them and hit Ignore or Add to Dictionary. It will look more polished and flow better without these unsightly underlines.
  • Titling it something with your name in it like ‘A. Dickson Resume.’ DO NOT title it something ambiguous like ‘My res version5’ or ‘spring09 resume’- both of which I have received.
  • Personalizing emails and correctly spelling names of companies and individuals. Double check spelling. Do not forward the same message to every place – it will have FW: in front of the subject and look bad.
  • Not sending it out using an old email address with ‘Soccaplaya’ or ‘xGamerx’ in it – those are real examples and they are so wrong.
  • Ending the email (that you’re attaching your resume to) on a positive note with “I look forward to hearing from you” or “I’d be glad to further discuss my interest in this position.”

***
Amanda Dickson is the Marketing Communications Manager at Altitude Marketing located in Emmaus, PA. Email her or connect on Twitter @akd209.