It can be difficult to know exactly where to start when writing your resume. Additionally, these days you must tailor your resume to fit the job you're applying for in order to increase the likelihood of securing interviews. This article will help to guide you through the process step by step.

Basic Key Points

Conventional wisdom dictates that your resume should not be more than two pages in length. If you can keep it to one page without compromising the content, that would be even better. It is also important to keep your format clean, and make sure your writing is succinct and relevant. Your goal is to keep the reader's attention on what you can contribute to their organization.

Gather Your Information

First, gather all your information together such as the different educational institutions you've attended, names and addresses of prior and current employers, and dates of employment. Your formatting for the addresses of these institutions should be city and state only. Go back no more than ten years. If it's been awhile, you may need to Google old employers and educational institutions for contact information. You may also need to refer to old appraisals for job descriptions of past positions you've held.

Decide Which Type of Resume Will Work Best for You

When formatting your resume, you will need to decide on one of these three resume types: chronological, functional, or combination. Use your own unique personal circumstances to decide on which will work best for you. For instance, you will want to use a chronological resume if you've held fewer than four relevant jobs in the last ten years. Use a functional resume if you've held more than four different types of jobs in the last ten years. You want to highlight the relevant skills, and you don't want to give the appearance of "job hopping". This type of resume is also good to use if you're a recent high school or college graduate and have yet to gain a lot of work experience. Consider using a combination resume to give more flexibility if you want to use it to apply to several different jobs.

Writing the First Draft

Next, you'll need to structure your content for the resume. You may want to perform a Google search and take a look at different resume templates to give you an idea of which one would work for you. The following are the basic six sections to include on your resume.

Contact info. First and last name, city and state, email address, professional and relevant websites such as LinkedIn. It's not recommended that you include your complete address - you want to minimize your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft.

Soft skills and keywords. Soft skills refer to a set of personal qualities, habits, and attitudes that make you a good employee. Potential employers will frequently use these skills in the job advertisement. Additionally, these traits also tend to double as keywords whenever recruiters search for online resumes. Make sure use whichever soft skills are relevant in this section of your resume. Don't overdo it - use your common sense. Examples of soft skills: positive attitude, problem solving skills, team player, good communication skills, etc.

Relevant work experience - Don't just make a list your job descriptions. Remember that the idea here is to tailor your resume to the particular job you are applying for. Take your job description, look for keywords that match the desired skills advertised in the job posting and develop your points accordingly.

Achievements - It's important to mention any pertinent achievements. Give quantifiable and contextual results, such as "increased department sales from 90 percent to 96 percent, reversing a five - year downward trend department wide."

Education - List the name of the institution, location, major, and year degree/certification completed. If you took a few classes here and you're still working on completing your degree, list it this way: Bachelor of Science in Sociology, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, expected May 2012. Only list your GPA if it is a 3.0 or higher.

Professional organizations and memberships - Make sure they are relevant to the job(s) you are applying for. Example: Member of Psi Ro Sorority, 2001 - 2004. If you held an important position within the organization, make sure you highlight the responsibilities the position entailed and the dates you held it.

Tweak and Condense

It's always a good idea to let someone else read your resume. Another set of eyes can spot something you may have missed. Also, try reading it out loud to yourself. This will give you an idea of how your resume "flows", and if you may need to omit or revise something. If your content fills two pages or more, you may need to consider shortening some of your sentences and bullet points.

Writing the final draft

Now, you're ready to write the final draft of your resume. Remember, this resume will serve as your master copy. It will be your template to use and revise to fit other jobs you apply for. For instance, you may be applying for a specialist position in your field as well as a management position. Obviously, you'll need to highlight specific skills for each position, but the basic information will remain the same. This will help you to more effectively tailor your resume to fit each position that you apply for.

Marsha owns and operates Key Image Resumes in Phoenix, AZ, a professional resume and curriculum vitae writing service. She brings five years of expertise to the table, and believes in the importance of using the ever-evolving talent acquisition trends to better position you for success. She specializes in individuals who have been downsized and who wish to leverage their skills in order to make a transition into a new career. Key Image crafts targeted resumes to help market your skills and accomplishments successfully. Marsha's creativity and desire to help connect people with fulfilling careers helps her stand out from the rest.

For a professional resume or CV consultation and rewrite, visit: http://www.keyimageresumes.com/let_s_get_started.html today.