In a tough job market, your resume needs to help you stand out from the crowd.  Here are some tips that I gathered from a discussion in the Linked: HR, the “# 1 Human Resources Group” on the social networking site LinkedIn.  These recruiters, HR managers, and other hiring professionals want you to:

List your past work accomplishments, not just your job duties. Even better, use metrics to describe your accomplishments.  How much money did your innovation save the company in production costs?  What was your total annual sales figure?  How many people did you manage?  How many products were you responsible for, and what percentage of the product line was that?

Have a stable work history. If there were long periods you were unemployed, highlight your  volunteer efforts or your learning activities during those times.

Show a logical progression of positions. It is fine that you switched careers five years ago.  But show them that you were given more responsibility with each position before that.  Recruiters want to see that you are ambitious and willing to expand your skills and responsibilities.

Include key words specific to your industry. Recruiters often scan a resume in under 10 seconds.  They are looking for key words that show your skills and your knowledge of a particular industry.  Be careful not to use words that are specific only to your previous employer or position, though.

Be concise. Since recruiters can look at as many as 500 resumes to fill one position, they want to see your  accomplishments, skills, and experiences in as few words as possible.  Bullet points and very concise language can showcase your communication skills while highlighting your areas of expertise.

Tailor your objective or summary statement for each specific position. General objective statements tend to be bland, cliche, and unimpressive.  Summary statements should briefly highlight key skills, including skills specific to the position for which you are submitting the resume.  Some recruiters skip right over this part, so if you really want to wow them, use specific and interesting language.

Show how you meet the requirements for the position. If the company is looking for a metal fabricator with experience using a MIG welder, make sure you mention that you have experience with this equipment.  If you don’t include the experience they are looking for, your resume will hit the circular file!  A skill doesn’t have to have been learned or used at work, it can come from community involvement, school, or your personal hobbies.

Highlight your transferable skills. So you worked in a library previously, and you are looking to work in a medical records now?  Describe your library skills in a way that translates to the medical office.  You might say something like “Proficient using online filing and records retrieval systems” instead of “used ERIC to find records of journal entries.”

Have a conventional email address in your contact information. Think about the image you portray with your email address.  Employers will need to contact you, and more employers are using email to arrange interviews than ever before.  Do you really want them to email you at Love2Party@email.com?  Your first initial and last name is best so an employer can quickly identify you when you follow up on the resume or interview.

Spell check, spell check, spell check! Almost every recruiter in this discussion thread mentioned that a misspelled word will send your resume straight to the shredder.  Misspelled words show that you are not conscientous about your work.  Do not to rely on spell checking software…it can (as seen here) vary often miss a error in you’re spelling or grammer.