Your resume is your foot in the door. It will be reviewed by someone who has never met you and will spend about 10-20 seconds reading the information you have provided before they toss your resume into the trash. It is extremely important to grab the attention of the reviewer and compel them to keep reading. What you include in your resume (and how you format it) is vital if you ever expect to get an interview.

Let me start by saying you should be reformatting your resume for each job you apply for. I encourage everyone to have a "standard" resume listing your job experience, education, special skills, and general accomplishments and a starting point. This can -- and should -- be posted to Internet website and job boards. When you are not applying to a specific position, it is understandable that your resume is general to your career field.

With that being said, any time you are sending you resume to an employer for a specific position, you must reformat it to highlight you skills related to the position you are applying for. Many job advertisements will tell you exactly what skills they are seeking. Consider starting you resume by leaving off the "Objective" and replacing it with "Related Experience" or "Summery of Skills" or something that will allow you to list off exactly the skills you have that they are looking for. Remember, they are only spending 10-20 seconds on your resume. By following this formatting tip, you will let the review know you meet their requirements and this will lead them to continue reading.

When listing your "Experience", you must avoid the long narrative paragraph. Instead, always use bullet statement. Bullet statements are quick and easy to read. Each of your bullets should include 2 parts . . . what you did and the outcome or results of your actions. By adding the outcome the reviewer can see how you make an impact. Consider adding "numbers" to show results.

Examples:

Developed and implemented a new internal process for tracking shipments which improved delivery times to external customers by 20%.
Consulted with the Safety Department daily which improved communication between departments by reporting statistics on loss time injuries, safety issues and staffing changes.
Audited past 3 years of accounts receivable resulting recovery of $200,000.00.

By taking a cause and effect approach to your bullet statements, you will make more of an impact. By adding a ""number" you will show value of your actions.

Grabbing the attention in the first 10-20 seconds is the key to having any reviewer continue to read your resume. By editing your resume to the specific details of the position you are applying for and by adding value to your bullet statements, you will draw the review in and allow them to learn more about you.

Good luck at your interview! Get ready by reading "Job Interview Tips - The Top 3 Questions You Will Be Asked and How to Answer Them."

Duffy is founder of http://www.ConsiderMyResume.com, a new format for web resume posting. http://www.ConsiderMyResume.com is the best tool to post your resume, add a photo and links to your work or to other sites. You can even add a video resume or video cover letter.

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