Job seekers can spend so much time on their resumes with no success if he or she has no idea what to say and how to say it. It is an art, but more importantly, it has purpose. There are things that we have all learned over the last two years:

• The résumé should not sound like a job description.
• Resumes must be clear, crisp, to the point.

Job seekers often fall short because of a lack of preparation. Not knowing specific numbers about goals and benchmarks appears negligent and ignorant. Declaring that you pay attention to detail without having detail is anomaly. That’s why each line of a résumé counts and there’s no room for wasted words or space. Consider the following:

1. Objectives that say, “To work with a progressive company”.
2. Sentences that begin with “Responsible for…”
3. Experienced sales people who don’t include sales figures, goals, etc.
4. Using adjectives like “excellent” and “superior”, or phrases like “exceptional leadership”.
5. Five word bullet points

Honorable mention:

• Greet the public courteously
• Proficient with Microsoft Office
• Highly professional

Notice how vague these skills and descriptions need imagination and conjecture. As a zealous and arduous job seeker, take the guess-work out of your resume. Give descriptions specific accomplishments so that you can compete with the thousands of other candidates for the one job you want.