Times have changed. Years ago we could say with great assurance that the most important tool in the job-search was .... that's right ... the resume. The wonderfully communicative, all-powerful, ubiquitous resume! But that was in an era that preceded the epidemic of mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, restructures, and downsizings that have resulted in the job market being flooded with a whole new demographic component of job-seekers. In the transition, we have become very proficient at developing the resume into a sharply honed instrument and, thanks to modern technology, we can inundate potential employers with mass mailings, cleverly mail-merged to make each communication appear one-of-a-kind.

That has brought us to the point where the search firms and corporate mail rooms are awash in a sea of resumes. The recipients have neither the time to read them all nor the filing cabinets to hold them for future reference. Most that are unsolicited will not get responses, and even a solicited one will only get the reader's attention for an average 15 seconds of screening to determine whether it's a keeper.

So where does this leave us? Do we abandon the resume as a tool in the job-search? Not at all! It remains a necessary element for anyone who wants to conduct a comprehensive campaign. But we should recognize that, in contrast with yesterday's practices, the resume needs to be regarded in a different way. Today it represents about 5% of the total problem in a job-search. Today it is not the best way to open doors or get interviews; it is not the best way of initially introducing yourself. In fact, we believe the best way of using the resume today is as a written confirmation of your qualifications and interests, with emphasis on the word confirmation, implying that you already have someone's attention.

Nonetheless, there are at least two circumstances under which you will need to use the resume as means of initially introducing yourself: (1) in responding to ads that specifically call for a resume; and (2) in working with recruiters and search firms who require it to communicate with you. Given these and other possibilities, everyone engaged in a job-search should have a well-developed, high-quality, attractive, readable, and interesting resume that represents yourself in a professional way.

That said, you should also understand that there is no one right way to do a resume; the right way is the one that pleases you the most. If you ask other people, you will get as many opinions as there are people to whom you show it. If you try to satisfy everyone, you will make so many changes that eventually you will come full circle, back to where you started. To ease this potential frustration, we recommend that you follow the The Riley Guide, develop a draft that pleases you, consult with about five professional colleagues who know you and whose opinions you respect, and establish a final version for ongoing use.

Many job-searchers ask us about having more than one version of the resume, to which we are tempted to respond, "OK, but which is the real you?" We happen to believe that everyone is a unique combination of skill, knowledge, and competence; and that for everyone there is an appropriate career direction; and that direction is the one that the resume should support. But you, the author and the subject of the resume, are the final authority, and if having more than one version makes you more comfortable, so be it. Just keep in mind that "focus" is one of the most important ingredients of the job-search and one that is valued by potential employers, and regardless of which way you are representing yourself, your focus should be reasonably clear to the reader.

Now, let's talk about organization and content. There is some conventional wisdom about what is working best today, and in our experience, it is the following:

1. A clear, concise objective, written in as few words as needed to convey it; or a summary or profile, from which the objective can be easily inferred.
   
2. A brief paragraph highlighting one's major skills and competencies.
   
3. A reverse chronology of work or professional experience, showing employer, with inclusive years (not months) on the right margin; positions or titles with inclusive years in parentheses; followed by accomplishments, bulleted or otherwise highlighted, each beginning with an action verb, past tense, expressing measured, quantified results achieved. We emphasize accomplishments, not responsibilities; employers want to know what you actually did do, not what you were supposed to do!
   
4. A reverse chronology of education, higher degrees first, with year received on the right margin.
   
5. Other professional (not personal) information that is relevant to your objective, such as professional certifications, licenses, honors, awards, recognition, etc.
   

We believe that the format of the resume is important to the extent that it makes it easy for the reader to follow and absorb. We recommend the judicious use of highlighting techniques, maintaining parallel construction, with bullets, indentation, italics, bold face, underscore, and upper case. Some of these techniques may cause problems with electronic scanning, but the number of companies using this are relatively few to date.

In summary, we believe the resume is still important in the job-search, but does not have the introductory value it once did, because of the proliferation of them. This piece of paper is unfortunately a poor substitute for the talented, skilled human being it purports to represent, and is thus best used as a complement to person-to-person communications. It is also useful to remember that the resume is like a product brochure, not a manual of technical specifications. Clear, crisp, and concise are the words to keep in mind when preparing this verbal portrait.