When a potential employer looks at a resume there are several things he or she will be looking for. If you make sure your resume contains these important elements, your resume will impress a potential employer.

Show You Know What the Employer Is Looking For.

Sending in a job-tailored resume that fits the position exactly is one of the best ways to impress a potential employer. You want the employer to feel an "ah-ha" moment when your resume hits the computer screen (or desk). So how do you accomplish this?

1. Read the job posting carefully to make sure your qualifications match the job.

2. Identify specific strengths within those qualifications to highlight.

3. If you are seeking to transfer similar skills into a different career track, use the new career's terminology (if there's a difference).

4. Use the Department of Labor's career descriptions to help you identify overlapping skills.

Show You Are a Person Who Contributes.

Once you have identified the skills you need to include on your resume, you need to shift gears. Professional resume services do more than list your qualifications. They seek to show you doing the job.

For example, you may work well with others, solve problems efficiently, etc. If you just say, "Works well with others," your resume will look like most of the resumes out there. You need to show that you work well with others. How do you do this? Look back over each job that you list on your resume. Ask the following questions.

1. Are there any problems I solved for my employer?

2. How did I solve them.

3. Were there any teams I worked on?

4. What role did I play?

5. Were there any goals I aimed for?

6. How did I reach those goals?

7. Did my employer give performance reviews?

8. Are there any performance measurements I can use?

These questions should lead you to identify examples of how you work well with others, solve problems, etc. If they don't, you may want to turn to a professional. Often, just talking about your previous jobs will help a professional identify things you are overlooking.

Organize Your Resume Effectively.

The nature of your work history has an impact on how your should organize your resume. If you are changing careers, your information will be more impressive if you use a combination resume that highlights skills at the top. Then list work history with additional highlights on the skills you gained within those positions focusing on things that apply to the job.

In fact, almost any resume is more effective when a combination format is used. The skills section can be used to emphasize the skills that fit the job description. It can be presented in a bullet point format.

Then under your work history, you emphasize specific situations that show you participating actively in benefiting your employer. In this section of your resume, you want to avoid the feel that you are listing job duties. Use the duty as a springboard for demonstrating action. Don't say, "Preparing P&L statements." If you say, "Always prepared P&L statements within 10 days of month end," you show your work ethic and action.

There are other factors such as layout that are also important. This is another aspect of organizing your resume effectively.

1. Stick with two fonts maximum, using one font for headings and the other font for text.

2. Use a readable font size. 10 pt. is usually the smallest you should go for text. Headings may be in 12 or 14 pt.

3. Don't try to cram too much information onto one page. A two-page resume is better than a single-page resume that's hard to read because there's no space.

If this all seems too overwhelming, you aren't alone. Resume preparation is a unique skill. There's nothing wrong with turning to someone who provides professional resume services. Almost everyone expresses themselves better in person. Not finding it easy to express yourself in resume form is a common problem. Understanding what your resume should include is one way to ensure that the professional resume service you hire delivers the quality of resume you need to impress a potential employer.

Denise Rutledge has provided resume and cover letter writing services for over three years through WritingasaGhost http://writingasaghost.com/. Her clients have said things like: "I've always gotten an interview when Denise has written my cover letter." R.F. "You are the best money I have ever spent." K.S. She shares this information to empower others to write their own resumes and cover letters for successful job search results.