We all know that the resume is an important door-opener.

So we thought it best to inaugurate this column with a brief checklist on getting the resume right. Anyone can benefit from taking a quick look at these pointers—and incorporating them into their resume.

1. Two pages, maximum. Try not to exceed this. You can put more specific information in a cover letter or address these items in your interview.
    
2. Leave out the "objective." That’s typically for people looking for their first job. Instead, include this idea in your cover letter.

However, a "profile" is often a good idea. This is a short (2-3 sentence) summation of your unique skills, style, capabilities, with lots of adjectives that make you come alive. Recruiters often use this brief intro when doing triage on the many resumes they get each day.

3. Avoid the first person (I, me, mine).
    
4. Use a chronological resume if you have a relatively stable work experience, a functional resume if you have jumped around a bit or are making a career transition. If you’ve worked for different employers in a short timeframe, put your dates of employment in an inconspicuous place (the body of the text), not in the margin, where they’re more visible.
    
5. For each position you’ve held, list your accomplishments in the most compelling way (usually best done with numbers, as in "increased net sales 70% year-to-year, or other hard facts).

Start these sentences with strong verbs like "increased," not weak nouns or adjectives like "head of" or "responsible for." Use bullets, not paragraph form.

6. Always include the city and state of your current and previous employers. One candidate failed to do so, and when a background check was done the wrong company was contacted.
    
7. Don’t forget your education, licenses, professional training, business organizations, published work if relevant—but put these at the end of the resume. Don’t include personal information (marital status, children, religious or political affiliation); recruiters don’t care, and this can often work against you.
    
8. Consider two resumes. If you’re at a higher level or have a breadth of experience, you may be able to tell two different "stories" about yourself, allowing you to address employment opportunities more precisely.
    
9. Edit carefully! Always have someone else read it—preferably your favorite English maven. Remember, spell check doesn’t always catch typos, and grammar check hasn’t yet been perfected.
    
10. Avoid using all-caps anywhere in your resume (hard to read, harsh). Instead of white paper stock—also harsh—try cream or oyster.
     
11. Refine regularly. If you’re actively searching, you’re always learning new things about the market and your contributions to it. Put these in your resume—even if you’re not actively searching.

Finally, always remember to update your resume soon after you begin a new position.