Creating a "Job-Winning" Resume

Sometimes On the Job gets the simplest of requests for help, yet ones for which there are more complex answers for applicants seeking the perfect job, or any job for that matter.

Such is the case today.

"Please help me write a job-winning resume," the job seeker asked.

Eve Framinan, president of TPO Inc., a Tysons Corner human resources firm, offers this basic advice for the often casual age we live in: "Take the same level of care in developing a resume when you're doing it in writing or electronically."

And, she says, since your resume, but perhaps not your cover letter, may be sent to a data base, it is important that "you use key words specific to the type of job you're applying for. Think of how someone would find your resume in a large data base. Cite specific accomplishments using the key words that you would expect in the job description," such as, for example, "projects," "profits," "assets" or "investor relations" if you might be applying for a high finance position.

"You need something so that your resume jumps to the top of the pile," she says.

Most resumes are either a chronological listing of your jobs, with the most recent listed first, or more thematic, with skills and accomplishments highlighted and perhaps followed by a shorter chronological list of jobs.

She suggests that job seekers shifting careers might want to focus on a skill or accomplishment that was related to a job before the most recent one. In any event, job seekers might consider whether they ought to alter their resume at least somewhat depending on what position they are seeking.

Finally, she offers these suggestions:

"There is absolutely no reason to have any typos or grammatical mistakes. That's a killer for me.

"It ought to be no more than two pages. If I get a four-page resume, I think the person is long-winded and may not fit in.

"If there's a second page, make sure you put your name on it, in case the pages get separated."

For more resume help, check out How to Write a Resume.

Kenneth Bredemeier has six years of experience writing about the workplace. On the Job, a column addressing real worker questions about office relationships, corporate policies and workplace law, is written exclusively for washingtonpost.com.

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