NOTE: To include your resume in the MRINetwork resume database, go to Submit your resume.

If you'd like to give your resume more bang for the buck, read on...

How do you create an effective resume? First, let's start with the basics:

Components of a professional resume

1. Contact information

Make it easy to contact you either by phone, mail or e-mail. Don't make the recruiter track you down. Note: make sure your voicemail message is professional. You don’t want a recruiter to get the wrong impression from a silly message on the recording.

Do not include personal information, such as marital status, here or anywhere else on your resume.

2. Objective/Title

Some experts believe that including an objective may limit your chances of obtaining an interview; if your objective doesn't match the recruiter's needs at the time, you may miss out on a golden opportunity.

On the flip side, a career objective is useful in communicating that you are proactively managing your career. You know what you want, why not say it?

We suggest taking a broad approach: Instead of writing a sentence like "Seeking a career opportunity as a Marketing Executive…," try a simple title after your contact info, simply "Marketing Executive."

3. Summary statement

First, include your title and years of experience. Second, list special skills. Third, talk about your character traits or work style. Remember that this is a summary; it should only be 2-3 sentences long.

Example:

"Financial Accountant with over 10 years' experience with two Fortune 500 companies. Technical skills include P & L, budgeting, forecasting and variance reporting. Bilingual in Spanish and English. Self-starter who approaches every project in a detailed, analytical manner."

4. Professional experience

List each position held in reverse chronological order, going back at least ten years. If you held multiple positions within the same company, be sure to list all of them - you want the recruiter to see how you've progressed. Concentrate on the description of the position - that's the meat & potatoes.

The body of the position description has two parts:

a description of your responsibilities and
your accomplishments

Feature-Accomplishment-Benefit

Use the FAB format to organize your skills and sell your accomplishments to a recruiter.

Feature:	The actual responsibilities.
Accomplishment:	The performing ofresponsibilities.
Benefit:	How your performance affected your employer.

Example	Manufacturing Engineer
Feature:	Create and Implement a Certified Inspector program
Accomplishment:	Reduced the number of parts inspected upon final assembly
Benefit:	Decreased inspection costs by 45%

Situation-Solution-Outcome

Consider this format to demonstrate your problem-solving capabilities:

Situation:	What situation was your company facing?
Solution:	What did you do to solve the problem?
Outcome:	What was the outcome?

Example	VP of Business Development
Situation:	Company wanted to grow non-government business
Solution:	Created and implemented commercial market penetration strategy
Outcome:	Increased revenues in excess of $100 million
SSO Statement:	Company wanted to grow non-government sector business. Developed business that resulted in the capture of commercial sales with increased revenue in excess of $100 million.

Top 12 accomplishments that most interest employers

Increased revenues
Saved money
Increased efficiencies
Cut overhead
Increased sales
Improved workplace safety
Purchasing accomplishments
New products/new lines
Improved record keeping process
Increased productivity
Successful advertising campaign
Effective budgeting

Other resume components include: Education, Professional training, Affiliations/Appointments Licenses, Technical skills and Languages.

Approach these items from the viewpoint of the recruiteror employer: How will these skills benefit the company?