A resume should be seen as a living document, not as a static document that never changes. This living document should reflect your past experience as well as skills, education, and certifications. The resume is your first impression with the potential employer, and as such, it should most likely reflect the research and effort you have put into the company and position you are applying for.

Your experience and past job titles shouldn’t change, and this is what I tell my clients that should be the “core resume”. This should be your basics –
“Web Programmer, Computer Company, April 98 – June 03.
- Created online solutions for clients…. Blah, blah, blah.”
“MCSE Certification, 2005”
“B.S. Computer Science, University of Alabama, 1992”

Now, for the dynamic, living part of your resume, you need to have the following things:
- Your core resume.
- The ad for the job you wish to apply for.
- Notes on the company you are applying with.
- A well constructed objective.
- A simple design for your resume.

Your core resume
As stated before, your core resume is the basic structure that holds your resume together. It states your accomplishments, and gives general information over positions held. Don’t be tempted to list your responsibilities and duties; list your accomplishments. This part is usually organized in chronological order. Oldest to newest positions works fine, but to make a greater impact, you should probably start with the newest experience, since this is what the employer will see first. There are exceptions to this unspoken rule: if your desired new position is closely related to something you did a few years ago.

The ad for the job you wish to apply for
This is important, because the tone in which the ad is written can certainly affect the way your resume is worded, and may be the difference between landing the job or not. This part is kind of tricky, because you want to reflect what you understand personality-wise from your resume, but at the same time, you want to keep your own personality. How to accomplish it?

If the ad reads: “Seeking highly-energetic professional for….” And you have high levels of energy, then you might want to include that somewhere in your resume. However, if you are not a highly-energetic individual, but the job has your name written all over it, then you should look for words that convey high motivation and strength, without sending a wrong portrait of yourself.

Notes on the company you are applying with.
If you are applying for a job in a company that dresses casually and describes itself as having a “fun environment”, it is to your advantage to include that somewhere. If you are seen as too square for the position, it may be disadvantageous. On the other hand, if you’re seen as having way too much fun in a very serious company, then you should comply to that general feel.

A well constructed objective
An objective should be very straightforward and to the point. If you’re applying for a mid-level interface .NET developing position, your statement should read: To obtain a mid-level job as an interface .NET developer in a company that allows for challenges and growth. Avoid fluff such as “a challenging position in a strong, stable company.” Yeah, the janitor might be the most challenging position in the company!

A simple design for your resume
Avoid using a million fonts and adding clipart to your resume (yes, I have seen it: some people actually use clipart in an attempt to present an eye-catching resume, and eye-catching it is… except that it conveys the wrong message.) Investing in resume cotton paper may be very well worth it, and running over to a laser printer may also help with that.

*In the world of online resumes, investing in the right resume paper is useless, as is to invest in a million fonts.

More details to be continued next Tuesday. Stay tuned!