By Sandy Flippo, SPHR Before you send your resume, review these tips and tricks to ensure that your resume will show your best. 1) Focus on the top. The top third of your resume is what the hiring manager sees first, so include your important traits that will get you in the “must call” pile. 2) Get rid of the pronouns. If you used “you,” “I”, or “me,” rewrite the sentences and take these words out. 
3) Energize your verbs. The bullets listing what you did at each job should start with a powerful action verb to show off what you can do and attract the reader’s attention. 4) Get rid of the fluff. Trim sentences down to just the facts. 5) Show off your personal qualities. Ask friends and co-workers what they feel are your greatest attributes that an employer would like about you and include these best in a professional summary. 6) Use qualifications to target what you want. Match your experience and qualifications to what is listed in the ad. These are what is important to the hiring company and is what they are looking for in the candidates. You can add the extra during the interview. 7) Aim for the position. Bullets should only be used to accentuate your achievements, innovations- the important things that will help the hiring manager see what you have done. Basic job duties, such as filing, answering phones, hiring and training should not be in your bullets. These are items from a job description, and the hiring manager cares about what you have to offer, not what your former job description said. 8) Remove what is not important. Target the position and relate it to the needs of the company. Unrelated experience should be minimized. 9) Show the numbers. Review your bullets and quantify information when you can, such as percent-over goal, increase in sales, decrease in turnover or managing a budget of $XX,XXX. Including specific numbers will increase interest in your resume. 10) Check spelling, grammar and punctuation. Spell check, proofread and let someone else check it over. Incorrect grammar, misspellings and inconsistent capitalization will cause the hiring manager to lose interest in your resume very fast. There is no standard rule for the length of the resume. A two page resume is standard, as long as you have pertinent information to fill two pages. One page is fine, if it truly shows your best qualifications. The length depends on what you have to offer. Remember that your resume is how to get your foot in the door and makes your first impression. Make sure it shows your best.
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