When you are job hunting, your resume is a precious tool. Just about anybody has a resume, but there are feww prople who know how to write one in the proper way. If you are not getting the interviews that you want, you resume may need a little polishing. Follow these tips to spiff up your resume and get yourself noticed!

1. Focus your resume to reflect the job that you are seeking. Generic resumes even though they are easy and convienient are not very efficient. Review the job description for the position in which you are applying. Think: skills, knowledge and abilities and allow your resume to reflect your talents for each requirement. Use industry buzzwords to show what you know about the industry that directly pertains to the position.

2. Focus and keep your objective short and to the point. Your employment objective should be directed towards your intended position and tie it into your experience, education and skills. Use power words like qualified, experienced and dynamic. One or two lines is all you should include and definitely not more than three. Just make sure that those fews lines make a real impact to get their attention to get to the interview, making them want to know you more.

3. Use your personal resume as a marketing tool. You want your resume to sell yourself to the interviewers. Structure your resume in a way that it is easy to read, gets the interviewer's attention and gets you an interview. Use bulleted lists and brief descriptions to highlight your experience and skills. You are not creating a book, so don't go into great detail.

4. Your resume is meant to get you an interview, not a job. You don't have to explain in great detail every duty for every job you have ever held. Highlight the jobs that you have had that tie into the position you are seeking. You can mention the others to fill in gaps in time, but don't feel compelled to go into great detail about those positions. You can list your main jobs in one section and list the less significant ones under a heading "Other Employment" or something similar.

5. Use action words. Your resume will really perk up when you use action words like negotiated, implemented, conceptualized and streamlined in your descriptions. Let your interviewer know that you are a "doer" and that you are assertive. Use words that show what you have done and can do, don't just tell.

6. Jot down all of your strengths in the upper third of your resume. You have about 30 seconds to really impress the interviewer when they pick up your resume before they either move on to the next guys resume or pick up the phone to set up an interview with you. With that in mind have a powerful objective and step right into your expertise and skills. Also, use things that stand out in your resume such as symbols like %, # and $. For example, you led a team that increased its sales by more than 20%.

7. Write your resume so it's easy to read. Avoid using long paragraphs and use bullet points to highlight instead. Create your resume to be clear, concise and to the point. You want it to flow easily. Make sure that you don't state anything to detract attention from what you can do for the employer and your qualifications.

Let your resume show who you are and what you can do. Use it to sell yourself and get your foot in the door with an interview. Keep it simple and to the point and try to keep it to one page. Use these tips to polish your resume and get the job that you want.