Every job applicant whether you’re a new entrant in the job market or already an experienced employee looking for greener pastures needs to submit a resume to their target companies. Your resume is your first ticket to help you get one foot inside the door so you need to know how to make a resume that will get you noticed by headhunters. Remember that these HR professionals especially those that work in global companies receive hundreds if not thousands of job resumes and they don’t have the luxury of time to look through each and every applicant’s resume. They skim through it and if they don’t find it interesting enough, you can be sure that your resume will be going straight to the trash can. You don’t want that do you?

So what makes a great job resume? Is there a sample resume you can refer to when you’re developing your own? What are the things you should include in your resume? Read on for tips.

Know your resume objective. A lot of job applicants treat resume writing with the purpose of landing a job which results in a really long and boring piece that gives off the impression that they are in desperate need of a job – any job. The truth is, your resume objective should be to land an interview which will in turn hopefully land you the job!

Back up your qualities and strengths. Most job applicants make the mistake of listing all positive qualities they can think of such as disciplined, creative and hardworking. Although nothing is wrong with listing positive qualities, you need to connect them with real life and your experiences as well. Otherwise, it will only appear as though you are only playing things up.

Use the right keywords. The digital age has made it easier for most companies either big or small to search for job applicants that may suit the position they are looking to fill. Thanks to the Internet, all they need to do now is use digital databases by typing in specific keywords they are looking for in a job applicant. So if your resume doesn’t contain the keywords related to the job you are applying for, you’ll be taken out of the game even before you can play. What are these keywords exactly? Well these will normally be nouns. If you want to have a clue as to what keywords may be used by your target employer in search of your target position, you can check job description and related job ads.

Use effective titles Employers normally make a judgment about your resume in 5 seconds whether you like it or not. So consider this time frame valuable in grabbing the attention of your target employers. Make sure to use effective titles in your resume. Be as descriptive as possible to give your target employer a good idea about what kind of employee you are based on your past work experiences.

Here is an example of a good and bad resume title:
Bad title: Accounting
Good title: Management of A/R and A/P and Recordkeeping

Proofread it twice Lastly we cannot stress the importance of proofreading your resume prior to submission. Yes, even one small typo on your resume can botch up your chances of ever getting an interview in the company. Go over your resume document twice or thrice or as many times as necessary. You can even ask another friend’s help in proofreading your resume.