The first trick in writing a resume is knowing what you want in the job market. The resume should be geared for a very specific kind of a job, and not vague and ambiguous, meant for a general situation. That way you can put down the exact reasons why you are applicable for that kind of work. The objective should be clear and concise. The objective is of paramount importance, which point to the career opportunity that will utilise the person's experience and reward hard work with rapid advancement. It should tell the industry what work you want, the job title you like to hold. Think of a resume as a brochure the way the company would manufacture a brochure, which is a page or document to market themselves. The way a company accompanies its services, you market your services. It is better to state here that self-assessment, job market and research of yourself is required so that you are able target the market.

There are two different types of resumes one is chronological type and the other functional type. The chronological one works like this-you put in the most recent job experience, next job experience, and it goes stepping on backwards. Including the company name, location, job title, the dates, duration, job description, the aspects and specific accomplishments. Most people use a chronological resume.

The functional type has essential factors like accomplishments, skills and names of companies. The resume depends on the market target. It can be chronological. Sometimes, the functional resume complicates, it is hard to find, where did he work and difficult to locate. Thus functional resumes have it own limitations and so majority use chronological resumes.

Example for a functional type would be a person having one job in 25 years,There is no chronology to develop here, you need a functional resume, where you can categorize such as, which is more skills and accomplishment oriented.

Ways to Improve Your Resume

1. Project the resume in Marketing Piece. People in the advertising industry use this formula when creating any kind of advertising or marketing piece, grab Attention, generate Interest, create Desire, give a call to Action. Your resume is a marketing piece, so do what the experts do.

2. Begin with a hard-selling summary or profile. Grab the reader's attention with some of your best information summarized at the top. Give a sneak preview of your career highlights and a general overview of your experience.

3. Emphasize accomplishments (achievements, contributions, results, benefits...). these impact statements are the key selling points on your resume. They tell potential employers what you can do for them, based on what you've done for past employers. For technical people, these "accomplishments" may be certain systems, software, hardware, etc. in which they've become proficient. For managers, these statements should show how the department or the company has improved under their leadership. Most people don't include these. Those that do, don't highlight them. After reading your summary, the reader should be able to scan the resume and immediately catch your accomplishments.

4. Artistic Touch. Get creative. Give your presentation resume a competitive edge with graphics, a splash of color or speciality paper.

5. Question yourself. Read each sentence carefully and ask yourself these questions: Can it be rewritten to be more concise? Are there redundancies? Can you replace long words with shorter ones? Does the reader have to consult a dictionary to determine the meaning of a word when a more common one would suffice.

6. Double-check for spelling errors and grammatical mistakes.

Mistakes on Most Self-made Resumes

Does your resume contain any of these deadly errors? If it does, take care of it now! These mistakes are very common and you don't want your resume to be considered common.

1. Error in contact information. There has been more than one person who has wondered why they weren't getting any calls, only to realize they forgot to include their phone number or had the wrong one on their resume. Also, be sure to include as many ways as possible to contact you. Don't forget your e-mail address! Beware, however, of using your work telephone number. You don't want to give the impression that you're job searching on your current employer's time. A mobile phone or pager that you keep with you at all times would be a better option.

2. Using an objective. No matter how well written, the objective only tells a potential employer what you want from the company. This is not the time to discuss your desires, needs and expectations. The resume is a sales piece and like any buyer, potential employers want to know what's in it for them. Use a summary instead that sells how your background and experience will benefit potential employers.

3. Including extra information about employers. There is no need to provide a street address, supervisor name and telephone number for your employers. This wastes valuable real estate on your resume that can be better used to market why you are the best candidate for the position. Employer's name, city, state and dates of employment (usually only years) will suffice.

4. Omitting accomplishments. Accomplishments are your key selling points. You will get interviews if all you include are accomplishments under each position. You will get considerably less interviews (very likely none) if you don't include any accomplishments at all.

5. Miscalculating achievements. Make sure your accomplishments are accurate. Miscalculating numbers not only makes you look like a fool, but also can give the impression you are lying (if figured on the high side) or not aggressive enough (if on the low side). Percentages are the numbers that are most often figured inaccurately. Double-check your figures!

6. Listing too many positions or going back too far. Your most relevant experience is, most likely, in the last 15 years. There is no reason to go back further unless you are returning to a previous career or have been with the same company, in the same position for all of those years. In either of these cases, there are more creative ways to bring out your previous experience than telling your whole life history.

7. Last - but most importantly - typing and spelling errors, poor grammar and passive writing.