Don't you love the show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"? Some deserving family gets sent away on an all-expense vacation while a team of experts and neighborhood friends transform their dilapidated home into a jaw-dropping abode. Why not apply this same strategy to your resume? It is easy to turn something quite lackluster into a beautiful document that will help you achieve a dream.

1. Identify the Dream

Create a resume that is impressive from the employer's perspective by clearly identifying your dream - your career objective. Stated in a stand-alone section at the top of the resume, the "Career Objective" or "Mission Statement", if you prefer, confidently states "where you are going" and how your qualifications and experience are going to get you there. When a potential employer can see that you are strongly committed to achieving certain goals within the chosen professional field, you will be perceived as a go-getter who is ready to make the intangible a reality.

2. Employ the Help of Professionals

We employ the help of professionals everyday; the chefs that prepare our food in restaurants, the educators that teach our children, the meteorologists who tell us what kind of weather to expect, the doctors who we literally rely on for our lives. Let's not forget about the plumbers, electricians and architects that help build those Extreme Makeover homes! When it comes time to find a job, many people never even consider using the advice or resources of a professional. From career coaches and headhunters to resume writers and online job resources, there are many ways to tap into the experience and insights of people who are employed by the employment industry! If you are on a budget, many services are offered on a sliding scale and others are actually free!

3. Enlist a Team of Faithful Friends

Each time a home is being built on Extreme Makeover, an exuberant mass of friends, family and neighbors are shown pitching in to help make the dream come true. Using people you know to help you get a job is just smart, it's called networking! Shaking hands and meeting for lunch may lead to meeting friends of friends and other professional introductions! Based on the exponential nature of networking, you'll eventually end up with an army of contacts that may help you land the dream job. Additionally, trusted family and friends can be asked to give advice on your resume and help you role-play for interviews.

4. Make it Look Good

On Extreme Makeover, the show always ends with the great reveal of the new and improved house. When you are looking for a job, remember that you are the "great reveal" and first impressions do count and are often made in just a few seconds. This is why it is important to have an impeccably written resumes, to arrive at interviews on time and in your best business attire, and to always send a follow up thank you letter or touch base with a quick phone call.

Todd Denning
Resume Locker
Resusme Locker is your career home page. Create, improve, and store your reusme online. Free recruiter blast to thousands of recruiters and free resume upload to over 10 leading job boards at Resume Locker http://www.resumelocker.com.