I reviewed about 120 resumes today for a couple of new jobs we recently posted. Interestingly enough, I am surprised by how many candidates sink their own battleship before leaving the pier and it all starts with their resumes.

This is your first chance to make an impression, so think about what you want your resume to say about you. The content is extremely important, but don’t forget about the overall presentation. In today’s tough job market, this is even more essential and may make the difference in whether your resume is quickly scanned or if it’s thoughtfully evaluated.

Work on making your resume compelling. It should be concise, well written, and demonstrate how your skills are applicable to the position for which you applied. Here’s a quick list of a few tips for making your masterpiece shine:

• Your name should stand out at the top in large font or bold print or a combo of the two.
• List your contact info – full address, numbers, and email address – near your name and near the top. Burying it in the footer just makes it hard to find.
• Follow a clean format that clearly distinguishes the different sections of your resume (Objective, Work Experience, Education, etc.) as well as the different groupings within each section (each company, title or multiple degrees, for example). You can accentuate sections with all capitals or bold lettering in a larger size font. Maybe you want to highlight your job titles in italics to make them stand out. I would recommend using smaller font for the details associated with each job and advise choosing black ink rather than overwhelming your reader with multiple colors.
• Limit your passive verb choices including am, is, are, and be. Instead use action verbs like manage, direct, build, or develop.
• Tailor your resume to the job you are applying. (See our previous post Tailor Your Resume for Best Results.)
• Provide specific examples of your accomplishments under each position. This is the real gold in your resume that demonstrates how you made a positive impact and added value in previous jobs.
• Stick to 2-3 pages. More than that and most recruiters or hiring managers lose interest.

Once you have completed your resume, have a friend review it for a second opinion. They might catch something you missed. And remember, you can always continue tweaking it as you apply to more positions. It’s a living document that should be a positive reflection of you. Don’t blow it with typos, messy formatting, or meaningless bullet points that lack substance. Fluff is overrated and silly mistakes will sink your resume to the bottom of the pile.