Every edition of The Career News: Weekly News, Tips, and Tools for Your Job Search provides readers with multiple quick-read articles, across a variety of topics. In her article, “Best Practices for Putting Together a Successful Resume( March 1, 2010 edition), Alesia Benedict discusses some key elements to include in your resume.  She highlights the idea that most job seekers “don’t think about [their] resume until [they] need it,” and that they find themselves scrambling when they realize it is outdated.

Benedict suggests keeping your resume up to date, focusing on current experiences and relevant descriptions…and she is absolutely correct! Updating your resume on a regular basis is key to your career success.   And knowing all of the essential information to include is critical.

When compiling the body of your resume make sure to include the following:

Heading – with your name, location, a working phone number, an email address that you check on a regular basis, and your LinkedIn profile and/or personal website address.

Summary – visit SetFocus Connect’s Career Development Dish and read about putting together your summary in Article Alley – Writing Your Resume Summary.

Certifications – include a list of certifications that you have. You never know when these will set you apart from other candidates who have the same qualifications.

Skills – list all skills that are relevant to the position(s) for which you are applying

Work Experience – start with your most recent position and work your way back 10 to 15 years. Include the name of the organization, its location, the dates you worked, and your position title. You also want to include no less than 3 bullet pointed descriptions of your position responsibilities. Begin each of these with an action verb; present tense if you are still in the position and past tense if you are not. Quantify whenever possible and stay away from personal pronouns.

Education – again, start with the most recent and work backwards. Include your degree, field of study, and GPA, if it is above 3.0. Do not include your graduation year, unless it is within the last 5 years, or any high school information.

You will also want to include any volunteer work you’ve done, published articles you’ve written, military experience, honors and awards you’ve received, and professional organizations you belong to. Once you have compiled your resume, check it for spelling and grammar mistakes and save it with a distinguishable title, including your full name so that it is easily identifiable when sending it to perspective employers.

Your resume is your calling card and needs to be the best representation of you so make sure to highlight your accomplishments!

Tune in next week when we will examine Career Development’s next Step for Success, putting together your LinkedIn profile.