When searching for a job, your resume is your calling card, allowing potential employers to gauge your experience, skills and overall abilities. However, as technology has continued to have a major impact on just about every industry, resumes have shifted in focus from education and years of experience to technical skills and job responsibilities.

Keep Design Simple
Modern resumes are designed in a manner that is clean, simple and professional. Employers now want to see an easy-to-read resume that gets right to the point. Resume formats in the past were often intended to be attention-grabbers, using bold fonts and colors to entice prospective employers to read more. Now, resume design takes a back seat to keywords, the essence of a modern resume. The font should be a simple serif, no more than 12-point type (though 10 point to 11 point is preferable) and information should be listed in easy-to-read bullet-point sentences.

Focus on Technical Experience
Technology is such a core part of the business world in general that technical skills are a requirement of just about any position. When looking for a job, even if you have the most basic skills, it is important to list them in detail on your resume. For example, if you have knowledge of any word processing programs, do not simply write, "Able to navigate word processing programs." Instead, list specific programs with which you are familiar. A better example is, "Extensive knowledge in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and One Word." Be specific with every kind of technology you know to help your resume stand out from the rest.

Eliminate Extraneous Information
Traditionally, resumes contained reference information, hobbies, extensive educational background, volunteer experience and anything else that allowed a potential employer a glimpse into who you are as a person. However, since prospective employers have precious little time to go through the myriad of resumes received for any one position, eliminate this insignificant information from your resume unless you truly have no other information to list. References should not be provided until they are requested. Hobbies and personal anecdotes have no place on a professional resume. Volunteer experience should only be included if you have a limited professional background. And education should only span your post-secondary years.