As a recruiter, I've seen thousands of resumes ranging from very

qualified and capable candidates all over the nation. These candidates

span from every industry and from administrative professionals to C

level corporate executives. Each time I review a resume, I would review

it under the eyes of the hiring manager. Through their eyes, I tried to

get a sense of who the candidate is and how they are wired. The goal is

to see if the candidate (communicated through a resume) capabilities

will drive a degree of success in a particular capacity. Research has

shown that a typical hiring manager or recruiter will only look at a

resume for approximately 15 seconds so bearing that in mind, I perform

this resume critique under three basic guidelines. If you want to be

noticed and receive the proper consideration, following these

suggestions will help improve your chances of landing an interview.

Building Your Brand

This is your professional identity and perhaps the most important

element that most resumes fail to develop. You can establishing your

brand and increase your marketing collateral by ensuring that your

resume is concise, clearly identifying your professional traits and

demonstrate how you will fit into the position and the company corporate

culture, captivating, grammatically perfect and of course free of

spelling error. It needs to flow, easy to read and pact with rich

content organized in a format which screams "HIRE ME!? Succeed here and

your resume will be pushed forward in the process. Fail here and your

resume will be filed away.

Differentiate Yourself

Whatever you do, do not copy someone else's objective statements. Write

them yourself or with the help of an expert. The more unique your

profile is, the higher the chances of a full review on your resume. An

effective profile should be brief and encapsulate your background while

highlighting your capabilities and accomplishments. Always tailor your

profile to fit the position so do not use the same profile for every

submitted resume.

Value

How will you add value to the position? This is the first question

hiring managers or recruiters look for in a candidate. After all, that's

why they are hiring in the first place. You can demonstrate your value

buy quantifying results. Describe how you helped a company increased

revenue, lowered cost and increase productivity. Don't be afraid to use

numbers even if they are not exact.

Conclusion

Maximizing your brand will help identify and articulate your

professional skills to the decision makers the immediate value and

benefit that you bring to the company. This is your chance for good

first impression and believe me, first impressions are everything during

your job search campaign. Differentiate yourself will give you a

competitive advantage so revise your profile to create a powerful

effective 15 second pitch. Finally, quantify your success and show

decision makers how you can contribute to the company's bottom-line. If

you take the initiative to embrace these three essential elements in

defining your resume, you will recognize greater results in your search

efforts.

Have an expert put together an organized, engaging and compelling cover

letter that's poised for high impact. An expert can tailor our message,

convincing the reader to proceed to review your resume. Sadly, first

impressions count so unless you have an effective cover letter, no

matter how stunning your resume is, it will not be considered. Work

one-on-one with an expert to determine the approach that will get you

the interview. An expert can help you identify your uniqueness, uncover your qualities and build your brand.