The importance of a professional resume cannot be overstated. Many people are familiar with the oft-quoted truism that recruiters and human resources professionals only spend 10 seconds reviewing a resume. How can this be? Well, to tell you the truth, hiring managers are looking to exclude job candidates who are not a good fit. Therefore, their first objective is to weed out bad matches and then focus on the remaining resume. Your goal should be to have a professional resume that makes that initial cut so that employers can take some time to see if you would be a good hire. By all means, the quality of your resume contributes to whether your make the initial cut or not. You should have an attention-grabbing headline or title, a targeted objective or career summary and concise descriptions of how you added value in previous positions.

Professionalism in a resume comes from what you say and how you say it. In other words, you should be presenting yourself and your work experience in the best possible light. Be truthful. As per the Society for Human Resource Management, 53 per cent of applicants tell untruths on their resumes. According to Hire Right, almost 1-in-10 applicants claim college degrees they don’t have, jobs that didn’t exist, or employers that don’t exist. MSNBC/Forbes writer, Scott Reeves advises job seekers “Writing a good résumé takes some skill, time and practice, and interview techniques always need polishing. A word to the wise: Keep your résumé short, to the point — and honest.”

If you are a Canadian professional with the skills and experience to show for it, you may be short changing yourself by not having an up-to-date, professional resume. Just as a commercial represents a business or product, your resume is a visual representation of “you.” Make certain that you devote the appropriate resources to developing your resume. Does your resume let potential employers know who you are, what value you bring to the table, and why they should hire you? If not, you should definitely take some time and revamp your resume. If you discover that you do not have the skills needed to make your resume stand out, consider obtaining professional help. A certified resume writer, career coach, or other employment professional can help you structure the document so that it accurately reflects your experiences. Make sure to pay attention to relevant keywords as many resumes are now scanned into databases and parsed electronically.

A professional resume is critical to a successful job search. Your resume should get you a “call-back”, or get your foot in the door. Your experience, skills, and interviewing skills should get you a job offer. If you want to make it to that stage of the job search process your resume is the key. A professional resume will attract attention and get you an interview. Acing the interview can often get you the job. As most successful people have done, begin at the beginning and work on your resume. Make sure it accurately represents your work experience and presents you to the hiring managers in the best possible light.