5-questions

If you weren't fired after 30 days on the job, you must have been doing something right. What was it? Be specific in your resume.

You can give employers powerful reasons to hire you simply by adding up the numbers and giving them context.

Like this:

"Met or exceeded quotas all 9 quarters during tenure, ranking in top 5% of sales reps nationwide."

or this:

"Meet or exceed all performance goals. Rank #1 among team of 30 for productivity (resolve issues 45% faster than average)."

3. Did you omit an objective?

Don't start off on the wrong foot. A clear, concise opening can work wonders on your resume.

"Many employers don't read objective statements, but many do," advises Steven Rothberg, founder and president of Minneapolis-based CollegeRecruiter.com.

"Leaving out an objective can do more harm than good. If an employer doesn't read objectives, they'll ignore yours. But if an employer wants to read an objective and you don't include one, they'll ignore you," says Rothberg.

4. How many people did you supervise in each job?

Don't write:

"Responsible for management of daily retail store operations."

Be more specific, since details add credibility. Include the number of employees you managed and the results, like this:

"Managed, developed and retained team of 13 personnel. Reduced employee turnover from 50% to less than 10% annually, saving $125,000 in related costs."

5. What good things happened when you did your job well?

This is another way of forcing you to focus your resume on results, as opposed to duties and responsibilities.

Here's a "Before" and "After" example from a technical support resume I recently wrote:

BEFORE

"Implemented desktop fax servers."

AFTER

"Freed up three FT employees ($95,000 in expenses) by initiating and leading efforts to implement desktop fax servers."

See the difference? Just doing what you were paid to do can be profoundly valuable, but you have to make that value clear.

You can literally fill your resume with eye-catching goodies that excite employers and make them call you for interviews. You need only sit down and ask yourself the 5 questions above, to draw out the value you can deliver on the job.