More people than just the hiring manager are going to be looking at your resume, that is, if you can keep the company’s interest. Even though you may have the experience the company is looking for, if you don’t explain it in a way others can understand, your resume may end up in the trash can.

The fact is that before the majority of hiring managers see your resume, it passes through the hands of secretaries and human resource personnel (HR). That’s why it is important to design your resume, or curriculum vitae (CV), to catch the eye of the reader. Companies usually receive dozens, if not hundreds, of resumes for each job advertisement. Most of them probably will not even be read. Every word counts. These resume writing tips can help get your resume to the hiring manager.

Identify Keywords
Those who are not familiar with the details of the position, which are usually the secretaries, HR personnel or even a computer program, scan through all the applications to find the most relevant ones. Most of the time, they do this by looking for keywords. Before you begin, identify the qualifications on the job advertisement that are keywords someone might look for. Also, consider important buzzwords from the industry. Include all of the keywords that describe those qualities you possess.

Show What You Have Done
Instead of writing a bullet point that says you simplified the company’s sales department pamphlet tell your potential employer how this benefitted company. For instance, I created a simplified version of the sales pamphlet, which immediately increased product sales by 43 percent. Use numbers to show employers how you made an impact in your previous jobs.

Use Action Words
At the beginning of each explanation of your duties or skills, use action words. These strong verbs, such as filed, installed, evaluated and motivated, catch the reader’s eye and reflect your confidence in yourself.

Be Consistent
Use the present tense for those duties you are currently performing. For all duties you have previously performed, use the past tense.

These are good examples:

• Prepare boxes for the daily shipping order (current)
• Filed 40 documents with the federal courthouse (past)
• Planned 62 office trainings that included more than 400 people per training (past)
• Judged the regional Dutch oven event for 17 years (past)

These are bad examples:

• Filing 40 documents with the federal courthouse
• Have planned 62 office trainings that included more than 400 people per training

Put the Most Important Information First
Don’t wait until the end to show why an employer should choose you for an interview. Put the information at the top that is most relevant and will speak the best of your skills and qualifications.

Be Concise
Keep your CV to one page. Make your bullet points short. Have a good reason for every word on your page. A good way to do this is by pretending you are being charged for each word on the page. Be sure not to take out the word you need. Most importantly, it needs to make sense.

Only Include the Best
Create a master resume that you can keep in your file. List every position you’ve held and all of the things you’ve learned from each position. Do not limit yourself to a page. However, be concise and show your experience with numbers and specific information. When you find a position you want to apply for, make a copy of your CV and start to delete the jobs and experience that are not relevant to the qualifications on the advertisement. Trim it down until you only have one page. By doing this, you will be forced to leave only the experience and skills that are most relevant to the position. No two jobs are the same. Customize your resume to show how you fit the particular needs of the company.