A job offer often attracts between 100 and 1000 resumes these days. In such a scenario it’s vital to have a winning resume. However, most resume statistics are pretty bleak--not because people are unskilled--but because many job seekers have very weak resumes that do not sell them effectively.

What Is A Resume?
Usually it is the first contact you have with potential employers. It is also where you list your skills and create a marketable presentation so that companies understand the benefits of employing you. Your resume is also the first (and possibly the last!) opportunity you have to persuade your prospective employer to give you an interview.

What It Isn't
It is a mistake to think of your resume as a history of your past, as a personal statement or as some sort of self expression. Sure, most of the content of any resume is focused on your job history. But write from the intention to create interest, to persuade the employer to call you. If you write with that goal, your final product will be very different than if you write to inform or catalog your job history.

Starting Points
With employer's receiving so many resumes for each advertised position it is imperative that you understand how to analyze an employer's job requirements and match your background to their needs.

Once you've done that effectively, you must also make sure that the image your resume creates matches the salary and responsibility level of the jobs you want. It should convince the employer that you have what it takes to be successful in this new position or career.

Basic Resume Formats
The common kinds of resume formats are:
1. Chronological Resume Format
Here the resume is organized on the basis of time. The better name for this resume format would be a reverse chronological resume format as you list the most recent work experience first. It is recommended that the chronological resume always have an "Objective" or "Summary," to focus the reader.

2. Functional Resume Format
In this format the resume is organized on the basis of the job function, and presents a good perspective on what you can do (rather than when you did it)

3. Combination Resume Format
Purely functional resume formats are not popular anymore. Many people prefer to use a combination of functional and chronological resume formats instead.

4. Targeted Resume Format
If you have had a fairly single-tracked career so far and intend to remain on the same track, you can consider a targeted resume format. This means you could use language and keywords that are local to the industry or sphere of your activity. Additionally, you can present a strong candidature for the targeted opening. A targeted resume could be in the chronological resume format or in the functional resume format (or a combination).

Resume Content
A great resume has two sections. In the first, you make assertions about your abilities, qualities and achievements. You write powerful, but honest, advertising copy that makes the reader immediately perk up and realize that you are someone special.

The second section, the evidence section, is where you back up your assertions with evidence that you actually did what you said you did. This is where you list and describe the jobs you have held, your education, etc. This is all the stuff you are obliged to include.

Use the language appropriate for your specific industry and present this information in a tight one or two page document.

A well formatted resume involves the following sections:

1. Contact Info
Regardless of your chosen resume template, you should have appropriate contact information. At the very least, this would include name, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address. Additional information can be provided if it fits in with the overall resume template and objective.

2. Summary of Qualifications/Objective
This may be the only section fully read by the employer, so it should be very strong and convincing. The "Summary" is the one place to include professional characteristics which may be helpful in winning the interview. Gear every word in the Summary to your targeted goal. It is sometimes appropriate to include your "Objective" in your "Summary" section rather than have a separate "Objective" section.

3. Skills And Accomplishments
By highlighting your accomplishments or achievements on each job, you can demonstrate how you made the company money, cut expenses, reduced employee turnover, expanded market share, or used your knowledge of Korean to open new offices in Korea.

4. Professional Experience
As a general rule of thumb, most prospective employers want to know what you have done in the past 10 years and only need a brief summary or synopsis of previous jobs. Here is the part where you list the names of your present and previous employers, your titles, and dates of employment, and also your job responsibilities.

5. Education
Only if you are a recent college grad (within the past two to three years) should this section be at the top of the resume.

6. Awards
If the only awards received were in school, put these under the Education section. Mention what the award was for if you can (or just "for outstanding accomplishment" or "outstanding performance"). This section is almost a must, if you have received awards.

7. Professional Affiliations
Include only those that are current, relevant and impressive. Include leadership roles if appropriate. This is a good section for communicating your status as a member of a minority targeted for special consideration by employers, or for showing your membership in an association that would enhance your appeal as a prospective employee.

8. Publications
Include only if published. Summarize if there are many.

9. Personal Interests/Hobbies
This is definitely an optional section. One situation in which your resume template should have a hobbies section would be if your hobbies are very time intensive. A prospective recruiter or college should know that you intend to spend a lot of time on hobbies.

10. Other categories
Other categories that may be appropriate to include on a resume include Industry Training, and/or Computer Skills.

11. References
You may put "References available upon request" at the end of your resume, if you wish. This is a standard close (centered at bottom in italics), but is not necessary

Last But Not the Least
• There is a growing trend at online resume web sites. These use a survey to get a detailed inventory of skills from the prospective candidate. Job hunters need to design their online resume to emphasize skills and use several industry buzzwords that might help trigger a hit.

• Proof read your resume repeatedly for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.

• Honesty is the best policy. Lying on a resume will only lead to trouble. By selling your strengths and countering your weaknesses, you should not have to anyway.

• Keep sentences as short and direct as possible. Eliminate any extraneous information and any repetitions.

• There should be uniformity and consistency in the use of italics, capital letters, bullets, boldface, and underlining.

Create your resume using these suggestions, and you will be on your way to a hit show in no time!