A resume is a summary of a person's qualifications, educational background, skills and competencies. Prospective employers often put a great emphasis on resumes when looking for the best candidate for an available position. As such, it is important that you dedicate some time to craft a well-written resume to ever have a chance of landing a good role.

Resume writing, however, is not some skill that is easily mastered. Crafting a professional resume becomes even more challenging when you are new to the job market or when you are changing careers because you often won't have the specific skills pertinent to the job.

So, how do you proceed on writing a winning resume?

For someone who is a new graduate, it is always hard to decide what to put on your resume as you may not have the professional experience relevant to the role. But don't let this hinder you. Instead, focus your resume on the skills you acquired and your education. Prepare an impressive resume objective then follow it by listing your educational attainment. If you garnered awards and honors while in school, mention it in your resume. Your resume must also include courses or trainings you undertook that could apply to the role. Rather than listing professional experiences, you can name it "Pre-Professional Experience" and proceed to write competencies which support your resume objective. If you performed some summer jobs, don't simply list the jobs you did. Rather, you can make use of specific competencies learned like "Customer Relations" then proceed to enumerate tasks you performed supporting this. Don't forget any volunteering and community work you performed or certain positions you've held in school.

If you are someone who is looking for a career change, and it seems that the next career you are trying to pursue is quite different, focus your resume on qualifications that could apply to various roles. A good example is if you have experience in managing people. Point this out in your resume as this reflects your leadership skills as well as the ability to relate to different people. Start your resume with a clearly defined resume objective then follow it up with a professional profile or summary which addresses the decision to change careers by stressing competencies that relate to your resume objective and chosen career. You may also include any volunteering and community work you were involved in as long as it is pertinent to the new role you are seeking.

While resume writing can be difficult especially if you feel that you don't possess the required skills, don't let this discourage you. By following the tips above, you may well find out that you have certain skills suited to the role. Think positive and focus on what you can offer and you will have a resume that will get you the job.

Fact: Most resumes end up in the trash before spending any useful time in the employer's hand. Don't let yours end up with the same fate. Learn about effective resume writing and how to make a career-defining resume objective. http://learn-how-to-write-a-resume.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-to-write-resume-objective.html