Your skills, talents and experiences are as unique as fingerprints. The purpose of a resume is to present yourself effectively to a prospective employer. The following suggestions will guide you in creating an excellent resume and finding a new position.

Step One: Spend time thinking about where you want to go. Then write a brief objective that clearly states your goals.

Not knowing your objective is like setting out on vacation with no itinerary. That may be okay for a vacation, but it can lead to frustration in your career.

If you've been downsized, your plans have been altered, and your initial reaction may be fear. Instead, view this change as an opportunity to find something better. "Job security" is an old-fashioned concept. Employability comes from keeping skills up-to-date. We all need to be lifelong learners to keep pace with changing technologies.

The tyranny of the urgent can keep us so preoccupied that we forget to plan the important steps in life. Sit down at least twice a year and write out goals for different areas of life. You may have unexpected detours, but if you know your desired destination, you will eventually arrive.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Do you want to move to a new level? If you are a software engineer now, are you looking for a management role? Are you attempting to transition to a new field?

Do you want to work with a particular technology? Are you seeking a particular kind of experience, for example, working with back-end technologies rather than the front-end?

You may not want to state your long-term goals in writing, but you need to know them. Knowing them will help you decide whether the position offered is a positive step.

Elizabeth Klein