After writing a recent post about resumes, I wanted to share advice from an expert on the topic. Lauren was gracious enough to provide a guest post with 10 tips designed to help you improve your resume — a crucial element of finding a job in the current economy. Over to you, Lauren…

Resume Tips for a Bad Economy

Résumé writing in a bad economy means taking extra steps to make sure you get noticed. Sending out more résumés does not necessarily improve your chances. But submitting résumés that are well written could mean the difference between getting the job or not. Here are The Résumé Girl’s top ten tips for résumé writing in a bad economy:

Tip #1: Include a List of Your Qualifications Right Up Front

Tell the reader who you are and what you want right away. Don’t make them search your résumé for this information because, unfortunately, they won’t. They’ll move on to the next. In the first section of your résumé, reiterate the key points in your cover letter. Be specific as to the kind of position you’re looking for. After all, they will only spend a few seconds with your résumé. Do them a favor and give them a cheat sheet.

Tip #2: Customize Your Section Headings for the Position

It might sound tedious, but customizing the section headings of your résumé is a great way to highlight the relevance of your résumé for the reader. For example, instead of writing “Work Experience,” tailor it to the job you’re applying for by highlighting the type of experience it is, like “Public Relations Experience.” If you do, even the busiest reader will take notice! You can also use this method to highlight your different levels of relevant experience. For example, you can list your “In-House Experience” separately from your “Agency Experience.”

Tip #3: List Your Most Relevant Qualifications First

Many jobseekers believe that their work experience needs to be listed in chronological order. However, listing your most relevant qualifications first will keep the reader from getting bogged down with filler information that doesn’t apply to the position and catch their eye. If you don’t have any relevant experience, put your education immediately following your summary of qualifications.

Tip #4: Include Only Your Most Relevant Experiences

Depending on the position you’re looking for, you probably have past work experience that doesn’t apply to the targeted position. It’s tempting to include all of your work experience, whether it’s relevant or not. But including only your most relevant work experience shows the reader that you’re clearly qualified for the position. You only need to include irrelevant work experience if it’s the only experience you have.

Tip #5: Consider Emphasizing the Position Title Instead of the Organization

Big name organizations look great on a résumé and are sure to impress any reader. But if you’ve had a great, relevant position at an organization that’s a little more obscure, consider highlighting the position rather than the company name. After all, you can develop fantastic skills without working at a Fortune 500 company. However, if you have worked for a high profile firm or organization, definitely list the company name before the position title.

Tip #6: Describe the Experiences that are Most Relevant to the Targeted Position

You might think that you need to devote the majority of your résumé to the experience where you spent most of your time. However, this is yet another résumé myth. When writing a résumé in a bad economy, I recommend using the 80/20 rule: if 20% of your experience is relevant to the desired position, use 80% of your résumé to discuss it. Even if it was for only a short time, describe your relevant experience in detail. Use the majority of your résumé space to paint a picture of that experience for your reader.

Tip #7: Use Action Verbs to Describe Your Experience in Detail

Using action verbs to describe your experience will show the reader just how skilled you really are. For example, instead of writing, “responsible for” certain duties, explain exactly what those duties were. “Organized, planned, and coordinated corporate events and conventions,” for example, gives the reader a clear idea of how you spent your time in this position and enables them to ask you specific, targeted questions in an interview.

Tip #8: Sell the Résumé in a Custom Cover Letter

The cover letter is your chance to shine and tell the reader about yourself. It’s also the place to explain why and how you are perfect for that specific position. Use the cover letter as an opportunity to tailor your application to the individual organization and position. Tell them why you want to work for them and what you can bring to the table in a way that’s direct and concise.

Tip #9: Send the Résumé and Cover Letter in Separate PDF Files

Sending the résumé and cover letter in separate PDF files accomplishes two important things. When the two items are in separate documents, the reader won’t have to scroll through your résumé or cover letter to find the information they are looking for. It will save them time and hold their interest. Also, the vast majority of résumés have formatting issues and highlighted misspellings. A PDF file will ensure that your résumé functions properly without software or translation issues.

Tip #10: Consider Investing in the Services of a Professional Résumé Writer

In this competitive market, your résumé needs to be in top shape. Because you can’t go back in time and change your experience, education or skills, you need to highlight the best of your abilities in your résumé. A professional résumé writer knows how to do just that. They can emphasize your best assets quickly and clearly in your résumé and their objective perception of your skills and background are also beneficial in describing your strengths with more clarity.

Most of all, a professional résumé writer can help you get the job fast which means money in the bank. The money invested in a professional résumé writer can get you closer to a regular paycheck.

The job market is tougher than ever. But all is not lost. With a few skillful tweaks to your résumé and cover letter with the help of a professional résumé writer, you can find professional success and beat the odds in this challenging economy.

Click here to visit the Résumé Girl blog.

A: You’ve taken the right first step, which is having an expert — in your case, career services — review your resume and make sure it’s the best it can be. However, having a good resume is not enough these days. Employers are being bombarded with resumes, so the real way to stand out is to promote yourself beyond sending in a resume. You have to go the extra mile to get noticed.

Depending on your situation and the types of jobs you’re applying for, here are some suggestions:

Try to find a personal connection to the companies you want to work for. Talk to everyone you know — friends, family, former colleagues, former classmates, neighbors, etc. — to ask whether they know anyone at your target companies and would be willing to make an introduction. This is the absolute, no-doubt-about-it, very best way to catch the eye of a recruiter or hiring manager: to have your resume hand delivered to that person by a fellow employee. Don’t be afraid to ask people to help you get a job — this is the way business is done and you’ll make your contact look good for recommending you when you turn out to be a fantastic employee.

Hand-deliver if you can. If you’re applying for a position in a retail store, restaurant, local bank, child-care center or other employer with a physical location, try hand-delivering your resume and engaging a staff person in conversation about why you’d be a good employee. Making an in-person impression means a lot, especially when you’re applying for a customer-facing job.

Reach out. If you’re applying to a higher-level position, try reaching out to a recruiter, HR person or other decision maker via LinkedIn.com. Most employers I speak with are happy to connect with potential candidates on LinkedIn. Make sure your profile is grammatically correct, contains key words that will stand out to the employer, has a few impressive recommendations of your work and shows that you are a member of some industry-related groups. Once you’ve connected with some recruiters, stay on their radar screens by posting intelligent comments to group discussions, sharing interesting industry articles and/or answering relevant questions in the “Answers” area.

Make sure the job’s right for you. If you’re still not seeing results after trying the above strategies, consider whether you are applying for positions that are really a good fit for your skills and experience. You may be reaching too high or too low. Or, in this economy, you may be focusing your job search on an industry that is doing poorly, such as financial services. Check back with your career services office or talk with trusted professionals to see if you need to redirect your job search to a different industry, location or experience level.

To read more Career Q&As or to submit a question of your own, click here.

I have a hunch that resumes will become obsolete in the next 10 years or so. Instead of cookie-cutter, one-page documents, we will have online profiles that are more robust, including links to work product, recommendations (like the ones you find on LinkedIn) and direct links to the companies listed. I understand the need to compare apples to apples, but hopefully we can find a way to make online resume profiles uniform enough to compare job candidates easily, while allowing for more detailed and personalized information.

I recently learned about a company taking a step in this direction. Experience.com has launched Experience PortfolioTM, which, according to the company, “allows you to showcase your experiences, work samples, career interests, interpersonal attributes, achievements and references to potential employers.” The new portfolio system also applies matching technology to generate relevant job recommendations and advice from the Experience community of universities, employers, students, alumni and partners.

Experience Portfolio is now available in beta version. It’s free to any college student or recent graduate who registers on Experience.com. Here is a link to check it out: http://portfolio.experience.com.

What do you think about the future of resumes? Looking forward to your comments…

A: The rule of thumb for including high school activities (or college activities once you’ve graduated) is that you can go back four years (including your current year). So, if you are a sophomore you can include the last two years of high school stuff and the first two years of college; if you are a junior in college, you can include the last year of high school, etc.

However, my gut response is that I’d limit high school mentions to only one or two of your most impressive or unique accomplishments (e.g., president or founder of a club, captain of a sports team, contributor to a national news outlet). In the workforce, high school seems very young. Of course, if you have anything SUPER impressive from high school–a major award, national recognition, a Grammy, an Olympic medal, etc.–keep it on your resume as long as you’d like!

1. Be careful with contact info. Every phone number or email address you put on your resume could be used by a potential employer. Make sure you have complete control and 24/7 access to any communication method you list. And make sure that email address is professional!

2. Include an objective statement if it’s not totally clear what kind of job you want. An objective statement gives the person reading your resume an overview of how to read the skills and experience listed below it. Since most people don’t spend a lot of time reading a resume, you’re basically offering them a way to focus their attention on the information you want them to know about you. Don’t assume recruiters will read your resume and find a place for you. It’s your job to show them what you want to do.

3. Tweak your resume for different jobs and industries. It’s very likely that you will be applying for jobs in a variety of different companies and even different industries. Employers can tell when they are seeing a generic resume that is being blasted out to anyone and everyone. It’s fine to have such a resume as a template, but then you need to customize that resume with a different objective statement and different keywords that fit with the individual companies to which you’re sending it. Which leads us to…

4. Include keywords. Not only will online job sites search for keywords on your resume, but so will potential employers. Employers’ eyes are naturally drawn to the words they’re looking for—the brand names, skills, and experience they need. So make sure you give them what they want. You can have the exact experience an employer is seeking, but if it’s not presented on your resume in the words they’re looking for, you’re out of luck.

The best way to find the right words to use is to look at online job listings for the kinds of positions you’re interested in. Then, use some of the prominent words and phrases in those job listings on your resume—in your objective statement and in your experience section, if it’s relevant and true. For instance, instead of “Basic Accounting,” the more descriptive “Balance Sheet Accounting” is better. “Experience with Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign” is much stronger than “Design Experience.”

5. List your GPA only if it’s 3.0 or higher. If your overall GPA is lower than 3.0, but your GPA in your major is over 3.0, then list “Major GPA” on your resume. Feel free to list both, of course, if they both qualify. I know that not listing a GPA at all implies that you had a low one, but that’s okay. Just be prepared to discuss why your grades were less than stellar if the subject comes up in a job interview. And, if you’re still a student, try to boost your grades up above that 3.0 mark—it can make a big difference in your job search.

6. Quantify everything. Make sure your resume is as specific as possible. “Managed a team of camp counselors” is less impressive than “Managed a staff of 12 camp counselors and 5 counselors-in-training.” If your work helped to raise money or profits, that’s super-important as well. Employers love to see resumes with phrases like, “Improved sporting equipment sales in my department by 50% in six months” or “Raised $10,000 through solicitation of alumni donations.”

7. Prioritize. When you list bullet points under each job, internship, or volunteer experience you’ve had, be sure to list the most important task, accomplishment, or responsibility first. It’s highly unlikely that a potential employer is going to read every bullet point under every item on your resume, bust most people will read the first or second bullet point on each list. You don’t have to list accomplishments chronologically; list the most impressive first.

8. List internships, volunteer work, and summer jobs. Just because you didn’t get paid for something doesn’t mean it doesn’t count as real experience. Be honest about what each situation entailed (duties, responsibilities, and time commitment), but definitely include them.

9. Note anything notable. Be sure to list anything about you that is particularly unique, uncommon or memorable. For example, “Founding president of first ever entrepreneurial club at XYZ University” or “youngest person ever promoted to assistant manager at this local high-end jewelry store.”

10. Don’t highlight something on your resume that you despised doing. As you can see, there are many ways to draw a reader’s eye to what you want that person to see on your resume. So avoid these strategies when you don’t want to promote something. In fact, if you’ve had a task or responsibility that you hated and never want to do again as long as you live (like selling vacuums door-to-door or cleaning animal cages), then don’t include it on your resume. You can even leave off an entire job if it’s not relevant to your current job search.

11. Don’t lie, exaggerate, or stretch the truth. This happens way too often, and it’s never a good idea. There are so many reasons not to lie on a resume. First of all, if your lie or truth-stretching gets discovered, you’ll lose a job opportunity with that company forever. Second, if you exaggerate your skills, such as being fluent in Spanish when you really just studied it in high school, your lie will become extremely obvious the day you start your job and you lack the skills you said you had. And finally, any little white lies you put on your resume now can cost you big later in your career. Even if the lie is discovered 20 years in the future, it can tarnish your entire professional reputation. I definitely encourage you to cast your skills and experience in the most positive light, but never, ever take it too far.

12. Keep it to one page. Some people will fight me on this, but I’ve seen senior executives with one-page resumes, so I don’t see any reason why a college student or recent grad’s resume needs more than that. Remember that your resume is a marketing tool and not a transcript or exhaustive laundry list of everything you’ve ever done. By keeping your resume short and sweet, you’re demonstrating that you can edit yourself and sell yourself clearly and concisely—both important skills in the processional world, especially if you want a job related to writing, sales, or marketing.

13. Leave off references. Potential employers will request a list of references if they want one. Don’t waste precious space on your resume with something unnecessary at this point.
I could go on and on, but following the above tips should improve your resume to the point where it represents you in the strongest way possible and differentiates you from other entry-level job seekers.

Finally, remember that a resume is a constant work in progress, so add updates whenever you gain new experience or skills, and keep your eyes and ears open for additional tips and tactics to make your resume a document you’re proud to send as the paper version of you.