Because potential employers may spend 15 seconds or less looking at
your resume, you should assume that’s how long – maximum – you have to wow them. That's why you have
to act fast to grab the reader's attention. You should assume the only part of your resume they'll see is
the first third of the first page. That’s it. If they read the whole thing over with unbridled interest, great!
One of the keys to a successful resume is to make
sure that your most relevant experience or other best attribute appears in that hot spot at the top of the first page. That
way, a potential employer is more likely to see it, and you won’t end up on the “No” pile because your most
relevant experience was on Page 2, which they never got around to looking at.
Unfortunately, if you follow the traditional chronological format, that really cool job you had six years ago (which
directly relates to the job you’re now applying for) shows up near the bottom, after three other irrelevant jobs.
To move your best experience to the top of the
page, you’ll need to create a category for it. Then you can simply list that category first.
For example, if you’re applying for a job running a hot dog stand, and you
used to run a hot dog stand at some point in the past, the first section on your resume can be called “Hot Dog Stand
Experience.” And voila! Your best stuff appears right at the top.
Don't make a potential employer dig for gold; hand it to 'em!
