Seppo Helava ‘s advice on writing resumes is so good and on point that I’ve stopped offering my own advice and just tell people to go read his resume guide.
The key insight is that your resume is an advertisement, a tease to get the reader interested enough to reach out and learn more about you.
It is not a career history or curriculum vitae where you list everything you have ever done.
Craft your resume to be attractive to the company you are applying to. Include only the things that will make you look good to them, especially anything that will differentiate you from everybody else applying to the job. If the reader can’t tell in ten seconds why you are uniquely suited to help them succeed, your resume has failed in its purpose.
Your resume must tell a story. Every great advertisement is essentially a story of how a person had a hole in their life, but then found a product which filled that hole and led to a happily ever after life. You are the product in this advertisement, so tell the story of the hole that you can fill for the company.
Read more in Seppo’s post to learn how to make your resume sizzle and get people to call you to set up an interview. Note that the resume can’t help you pass the interview to get the job – that’s a different skillset.