A resume is your calling card. Its purpose is to introduce you to the employer and get you the interview. Thus, a resume is much like an advertisement: it must capture the reader's attention and press him or her to take action.
What is on a resume?
Focus - Your resume needs to "point" to a specific career path. Most hiring managers are very linear in their thinking. They want to hire someone who has gone through the "steps" leading up to the position they are offering. A focused resume will highlight these steps.
Experience - Employers obtain expertise in needed skill areas by offering high salaries to those who have experience in similar fields. Your resume needs to broadcast the specific skill sets you've developed at previous jobs. Resumes that generate interviews state specific transferable skills.
Education - Highly competitive fields in highly competitive job markets require job seekers to have the best education and training available. Because demanded skill sets change so rapidly, employers seek candidates who are life-long learners. Life-long learning need not be in formal degree programs, but a viable resume will show a pattern of continuous education.
Details - Most good paying jobs are highly detail-oriented. Employers want employees who think in terms of specifics, not generalities; employers also lean towards candidates who can provide evidence of their accomplishments. A detailed resume includes the names of specific software programs, industry processes, and agencies the candidate has worked with.
These four points can be remembered with the simple acronym FEED.
