Here are some tips and considerations when putting your resume together and as you continually update it.

1. Keep your resume up to date in case that perfect job comes along and you dont have time to write your resume from scratch.

2. Ensure your resume has no spelling or grammatical errors. Typos can be an instant turnoff for hiring managers as they indicate a lack of attention to detail.

3. Include a short statement at the beginning of your resume stating your career objective and include a brief mention of what type of job you are looking for.

4. Structure your resumes bullet points by describing a problem, the action, and the result whenever possible ie. improved an under achieving division by upskilling a group of employees and increasing their work output by 25%.

5. Tailor your resume for the specific job you are applying for. You dont necessarily have to list a specific job title but at least tailor it to the job you are applying for.

6. Type your resume using fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman or another popular font that is virtually guaranteed to be viewable by the person you are sending your resume to. Using obscure fonts only increases the chance that your recipient might not have that font installed on their computer.

7. Print your resume on plain white paper or off-white paper. Dont bother with the fancy paper.

8. Use action words in your resume bullet points that describe your job tasks rather than just listing your tasks. When describing your role, consider using words like managed, maintained, saved, directed, supervised, achieved, improved, etc.

9. Keep your resume focused on the job you are applying for. Having unrelated job functions and skills can quickly make a hiring manager believe you are unqualified for a job and cause them to stop reading your resume.

10. Clearly highlight the special skills and experience you have that the hiring manager is looking for.

11. Prioritize your skills and experience and ensure that the most important information is visible at the top of your resume not at the bottom. The person reading your resume might skim resumes and not make it past the first page.

12. Explain gaps in your resume if you were between jobs for a significant period of time ie. more than several months. If you were traveling, taking courses, on maternity leave, etc then state this in your resume along with the specific dates when this occurred.

13. Clearly show your educational achievements including the date you graduated. If you are one or two credits short, you dont have a degree. Lying about your educational achievements is normally a very serious problem if you get caught.

14. Include Mr. or Ms. in front of your name on your resume if you have a first name that could be male or female ie. Mr. Robin Jones, Ms. Pat Jones.

15. Protect the exclusivity of your resume. Mass emailing your resume to recruiters and employers either through a resume distribution service or on your own is a low impact job search method unless you really believe putting your resume in front of thousands of people who dont know you can somehow be effective. Plus, if youre planning on using a recruiter to assist with your job search, they generally wont work with you if your resume is plastered all over the Internet already.

Carl Mueller is an Internet entrepreneur and professional recruiter who wants to help you find your dream career.

Visit Carl's website to separate yourself from other job searchers: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com

Sign up for The Effective Career Planner, Carls free 5-day course: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com/effective-career-planner.html