"There is a recipe for success when putting your professional credentials to paper. Here are the six secrets to successful resumes.

1) Think of your resume as an advertisement - not as an autobiography. The job search process is, by nature, a marketing program. You are trying to get companies interested in buying your services. So, you advertise the most salient features you have to offer. Tell the readers of your resume about your major skills and accomplishments, not your complete life history.

2) Write for the reader not for yourself. A clean, easy-to-read resume with lots of white space, presented in a one-page format is more likely to be read by a busy manager or recruiter than one which has the appearance of a novel.

3) Make it easy for them to screen you in not out. Most advertisements and job postings call for the same basic information a minimum level of education, a range or minimum number of years of experience, and a few key skill requirements. Make it easy to see these things at a glance.

4) Tell them only what they want to hear take out the fluff. Your recent experiences and accomplishments deserve the greatest attention because they are usually most representative of your current level of abilities. If you state an objective in the beginning of the resume, then everything else in your resume should be relevant to that objective. If it isn't, leave it out. Brevity over verbosity!

5) Give them proof - not promises. Significant, factual, verifiable past accomplishments are far more believable than grand promises of what you plan to do in the future. Results sell. Sell your past successes.

6) Rifle shoot your resume - one size does NOT fit all. A resume is not a one-of-a-kind document. If you really want a job, you must specifically tailor your resume to be the candidate that stands out. Write the resume to make yourself appear to be the perfect fit for the job for which you are applying."

 -- Gary Cluff, "Six Secrets to Successful Resumes"; IT Recruiter Magazine.