Your resume is the first impression you are giving a prospective employer. The resume is a "must have" in obtaining a job interview. Your resume should be polished, error free and up to date. A stale and dated resume will only make it to the bottom of the pile. Here are some tips on how to make your resume jump to the top of the stack.

Contact Information & Resume Layout
Start your resume with listing your contact information at the top---your name, address, main phone number, cell phone number and e-mail address. If you have an unusual e-mail address, create a new one using one of many free e-mail services. Your e-mail address should be your first name.last name@domainname.com. Also list your web site address if you have one and the site shows your work such as a portfolio. Your resume should be typed in a font that is clear, bold and a size between 11 and 12 points. Don't use any cute or fancy fonts. Keep the same font type and size throughout your resume.

Objective & Skills Section
The objective is a one sentence statement that tells the employer or hiring manager who you are and what your career goal is. This section is optional and has mostly been replaced with a listing of one's skills. If you can't think of an objective, list your skills under the heading "Skills." Don't list out-of-date software or computer systems. Only list software still in use today like Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite. Also list any programming languages you have mastered, certifications you have earned and professional societies you have joined.

Experience Section
List your job experience in chronological order---your most current job first. List the dates of your employment, company name, city/state, your title and a brief description of your duties and accomplishments. Write strong sentences in the active voice. Don't list everything you did on the job, but instead highlight your major duties and bullet quantifiable achievements.

Education Section
Next, list the schools you have attended and the degrees you received. Start with the last school you attended. List the name of the degree first, then the school's name and location. On the next line, list your major, minor (if applicable) and the date your graduated or dates of attendance if you didn't graduate. If you are a recent graduate, you may want to list your GPA---only if it is a 3.0 or better.

Reference Section & Finishing Touches
You can simply state "Available Upon Request." Adding references at the end of your resume will cost the document to run into two or more pages. You want to try and keep the resume to one page. The way to achieve this is by finishing the resume and then going back and cutting out sentences in the "Employment" section. Your words should be meaningful and avoid stock phrases like "managed a team of xxx" or "I have a strong work ethic." Save those comments for the job interview. Read the resume, run spell check and then reread the resume. Let someone else read the resume.