The myths in the resume writing field abound. I have clients who have been asked why in the world they would hire a professional resume writer when it should be so easy to write your own resume. The problem is that the conception that these people have of resume writing comes from the bare bones variety that they were taught in school.



What is essential in my resume?



If you ask a room full of people, many will tell you that you just have to tell them where you worked and what you did. While your career chronology is important, you need much more than that to succeed in landing your new role.



1. TARGET ¡ú What position are you targeting? Many resumes fail to target a position at all. This is one of the biggest misconceptions in resume writing. There is no one-size fits all. A resume is targeted to a specific role or the employer will not know what you are seeking. This can be accomplished by putting in a banner headline that contains the career focus.



2. ACCOMPLISHMENTS ¡ú Are you only listing what you were responsible for ¨C the duties? Or are you taking it to the next level by incorporating accomplishments throughout the resume?



3. KEY WORDS ¡ú As you reflect on the next role you want to play, does your resume highlight industry key words and incorporate those key words throughout the body of the resume?



4. SPECIAL CREDENTIALS ¡ú Does your field require licenses or certifications or will noting specific certifications make you more valuable to the employer? Make sure you have added these when you need them. Leaving them out could cost you the job.



5. EDUCATION ¡ú Some positions specify the college degree, make sure you have included relevant education in your resume.



There are many more tips and tricks to crafting the resume that will capture the attention of the reader but leaving out these key ingredients could easily cost you your future role.