Research also tells us that your resume will be quickly scanned, rather than read. Ten to 20 seconds is all the time you have to persuade a prospective employer to read further. What this means is that the decision to interview a candidate is usually based on an overall first impression of the resume, a quick screening that so impresses the reader and convinces them of the candidate's qualifications that an interview results.

Ideally, your resume should be pointed toward conveying why you are the perfect candidate for one specific job or job title.

• A short phrase describing your profession
• Followed by a statement of broad or specialized expertise
• Followed by two or three additional statements related to any of the following:
• breadth or depth of skills
• unique mix of skills
• range of environments in which you have experience
• a special or well-documented accomplishment
• a history of awards, promotions, or superior performance commendations
• One or more professional or appropriate personal characteristics
• A sentence describing professional objective or interest.