I model my resume on the resumes of consultants I work with. But in general a resume should be clear and should give a manager glancing over it a good idea of your technical capabilities. I've seen managers raving about 1 page resumes, but I don't agree that a 1 pager does justice to someone's experience.

Furthermore, there is always a mixed review on cover letters, I don't really pay attention to them since they don't say anything to me. Your resume should spell out what, where, and how. Chances are that if you do not have something in your resume a cover letter will not save you from the trash pile. I have also received quite a few resumes with the cover letter addressed to the wrong company. What do you think happens to that resume?

Font's should be conservative, Arial 10-12pt, single spaced, regular round bullets, no underlines, bold only the job title, company name and date, and the heading can be a little bigger. Make sure your education is clearly marked on your resume. I noticed many Indian consultants do not put the school name; one consultant did not put that she went to IIT, a school comparable to MIT in the US and a huge advantage at certain firms. Place your most current education first, even it is not yet completed, unless you did not complete the degree at all.

Use action words such as develop, lead, recruited, gathered, analyzed, managed. Do not write prose "I was responsible for blab la bla... " boring and slow. You want your resume to be crisp and sharp.

Include your numbers! Especially if you do sales where numbers are important.

Feel free to email me for any questions! Comments are welcome. You can take a look at my resume for an example.

By: Gene Leshinsky, The Boston Technical Recruiter

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.