Where you have been, where you are and where you are headed. However, the story must be told quickly and clearly. You only have a few moments to convince the employer that your resume deserves further attention before it's trashed. Your resume needs to shout --professionally, "I am the one you want on your team." So much so, that even if you are not appropriate for the advertised position, he or she would be inclined to start one for you.

After reading it, employers should want to get to know you better. Your resume is your friend, if properly prepared. If not, it could be just the thing that loses your opportunity. Use it to your advantage. Never falsify information, but emphasize the good, and de-emphasize the bad. Make sure your lasting impression is a profound and positive one.

The chronological resume is the most common. It's a chronological listing of your jobs and experience with most recent mentioned first. It's best for:

• People who have practical work experience without long periods of employment and minimal job changes.
• People who have demonstrated growth in a single profession.

• Contact Information
• Objective
• Work experience
• Education

The functional resume focuses on your skills and accomplishments. It highlights what they are, not when you developed them. It's best for:

• People with lots of job experience and many jobs.
• People just entering the work force with no track record.
• People who are returning to work after a long absence.
• People who are changing careers who want to highlight their skills and credentials.
• People who are closer to retiring from than they are entering into the workplace.
• People whose career growth has not been good.
• Military personnel who are seeking civilian jobs.

• Contact Information
• Objective
• Skills
• Work Experience
• Education

People who are advancing in the prospective careers who have established track records they want to keep.

• Contact Information
• Objective
• Work Experience
• Skills
• Education
• Honor and Awards

What your resume should always include:

• Name - First and last name only because that's how you are introduced and introduce yourself.
• Address - Give complete address. Do not abbreviate.
• Telephone number with area code.
• Objective - Keep it short. Just one or two sentences. Adjust to fit position for which you are applying.
• Education - If you are a recent graduate place before work experience, if not, place after.
• Skills - List all that are appropriate to the type of work you are seeking. Include computer skills and languages (understood, read, or spoken) for every job.
• Dates -Include some type of reference of when you had the job. Be consistent with your notation.
• Job Titles - Adjust to fit position for which you are applying. If resume is going to be circulated a lot, the broader the better. If appropriate use position title for which you are applying.
• Company Name - The company with whom you were employed. City and state are sufficient for the address.
• Responsibilities - Essential part of resume. Highlight the responsibilities of your previous jobs that are related to the position for which you are applying.
• Professional Licenses - Include if important to line of work
• Publications and Patents - Use if important to your field of profession.
• Professional Affiliations - Exclude mention of political, social, religious or any other controversial group. The emphasis is on your professional memberships not personal.

• A Resume Title - It should be obvious what it is.
• Availability - Apparently you are available; you are looking for work. It decreases the life span of your resume and your efficiency if you do not get a job by the specified date.
• Salary - If your request is too high, you are eliminated immediately. If it's too low, they may still trash your resume, or worse. They may pay you what you asked, which is thousands less than you are worth.
• Mention of Age, Race, Religion, Sex, or National Origin - It's just not good business sense. Discrimination does happen to everyone, still.
• Photographs - Unnecessary, unless applying for a modeling or acting career. Then, a portfolio is recommended.
• Charts and Graphs - Nobody's resume should have that much void space. If so, fix it. You can do better.
• Weaknesses - It is counter-productive. The purpose of the resume is to accentuate the positives.
• Reason for Leaving - It is inappropriate for the resume. If the employer wants to know, he or she will ask you.
• References - Do not list references because it is unprofessional. State instead "References are available upon request." at the very end of your resume.

Always proofread your work. In today's society of computers and word processors that do all the spell checking and grammar checking for you, there is no excuse for misspelled words or grammatical errors. With these mistakes, your resume almost always ends up in the trash. Also, have a friend review your resume to catch some of the mistakes the computer may have missed.

Simplicity is the key. Do not use a bunch of fancy lettering that is hard to understand. Stick to one type of font. However, make distinguishes. Use bold, italics and underline where desired. Do not make your lettering so small that the employer cannot read it.

Make sure your paper is white and of good weight, not flimsy. You do not have to go out and buy expensive bond paper. It does not take anything away from your resume. It's just that your resume is going to photocopied and faxed so many times that it defeats the purpose.

Do not lie. You will be expected to know how to do everything your resume says you can do.

One page is good for people who have just started their careers. Two pages for more extensive experience. Try not to go over two pages unless you have been in your profession over 15 years.

If at all possible, avoid the use of I when writing your resume.