A resume is not an extensive list of everything you’ve done and achieved. HR consultants and hiring managers are not interested in all details from the beginning of your academic and professional career. Rule of thumb is to go back 10 years. If a resume with excessive data arrives, they just throw it in the rubbish bin and by including too may years of experience you may be excluding yourself from consideration due to age.

A Resume is not a document that will guarantee you an interview or an employment offer. Writing your resume is the beginning of your job search, and it certainly does not guarantee the end result. No matter how beautifully a resume is written, if your background doesn’t closely match the requirements of the job you will not be called in for an interview.

A Resume is not a document that will please your spouse, parents, colleagues etc. The only audience that matters are the HR consultants and hiring managers. Relatives, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances may be well-meaning, but they are not experts in resume writing.

A Resume is not a document that reflects your personality: Unless you’re in the performing arts or involved in the creative industry, a resume should be professional end of story. Use of fancy fonts and quirky formats will get you noticed but may get you quickly dismissed as not being serious enough for the position.

A Resume is not a document that tells the HR consultant or hiring manager what you want. Hiring managers do not care what you want. They are only concerned with what you can bring to the company in terms of increasing profits, reducing costs and whether you can be a team player.

A Resume is not document that is perfect in every way. Accomplishments and appropriate skills seem to matter most in a resume. Worrying about cosmetic changes, eg. should there be one or two spaces after periods, or tweaking the content till the end of time won’t get you an interview. HR Consultants and hiring managers are not looking for perfection in a resume, they are looking for the appropriate skills that you can bring to their businesses where you will an asset.

In our youth-oriented culture many older workers, some as young as 40, worry that their employment options with each passing year. Showcase your unique skills and qualifications, but how do you do it correctly.

Suppose you had an opportunity to advertise yourself on a billboard overlooking an intersection or a motorway, and that the passing motorists had only 4 to 8 seconds to glance at it. It doesn’t matter what your occupation, qualifications or skill set is. How would you make the advertisement work for you?

One of the most important things to remember is that the content, layout and format of your resume are extremely important. A resume that is written in small font and has far too much information will be quickly thrown in the rubbish bin by the hiring HR Manager or Supervisor, they want clean, easy to read, well-spaced document resumes. The use of bullet points, even margins and consistent spacing between paragraphs.

You have just had your resume fixed and revamped, and it’s looking hot. You have researched who you want to work for. Now its time to get an interview.
Don’t worry about if there is a job opening. Follow these steps: