This Will Make Or Break Your Resume

There's a major difference between writing a resume and strategizing on a resume. Writing a resume means you put on paper, in a pleasant visual format, your employment history and accomplishments. You present that before any number of employers, and eagerly wait for the phone to ring.

Strategizing on your resume, though, means you are going to an entirely new level. Strategy is what it takes to make or break your resume. Strategy can be broken down into four key parts.

Strategy number one, think about your future. Your resume needs to communicate that because of your history, you are well equipped to perform excellently in the future. That's what employers are most interested in. It's the difference between what you've already done and what you know you can do for them

Strategy number two: write the resume about you, not your job. Do your best to make yourself jump off that piece of resume paper. The most effective way of doing that is to write about you. It's your performance in the job that matters, not the job itself.

Strategy number three: make the resume more than just the sum of its parts. Give your accomplishments context. Tell the story. This does NOT automatically mean your resume becomes a magazine article. Use every word judiciously in order to keep the resume to a manageable length.

Strategy number four: build a professional image. How do you want to be perceived overall based on your resume? Once an employer decides you have all the functional skills to meet his needs, he will then move ahead to determining whether you're the type of person who will make a good fit with his organization.

This strategy involves communicating your levels of trustworthiness, intelligence, and competence. As long as it's true, all these points build your credibility. And if employers believe in that credibility, they'll call.