The first step in learning how to write a resume is knowing how to format a resume. The top of your resume should contain all of your contact information. Your name should be first, followed by your address, your phone number, and your email address. Your voicemail or answering machine message should be professional. Likewise, your email address must also be professional. Ideally, it should be your first and last name, and it should not be a throwaway email (like hotmail or the like).

The next part of learning how to write a resume is learning what information to include. The next thing on your resume should be your education. If you have only graduated from high school, include the name of the school, the year you graduated, and your GPA. If you have a degree or an advanced degree, you should list those instead of your high school. You should include the name of your university, the year you graduated, the degree you earned, and any special graduation honors (magna cum laude, or graduated with honors, etc). Maximizing your educational background is an important part of knowing how to write a resume.

After that, you should include your most recent work experience. This is the most important part when learning how to write a resume. List your jobs in reverse chronological order. The job you worked the most recently should be listed first. Include your title first. After that, the name of the employee, the city and state, and the years you worked there. Below this heading, include a brief description of your duties. The best way to do this is in list form, and each item should begin with a strong verb.

Below the career experience, list any special skills. How fast you type, ten-key, if you have multi-line phone experience, and what software you are familiar with (include the version number and year). Your references should be listed on a different page with the same header information.

Always remember that the only purpose of a resume is to get you an interview. A resume is a marketing tool; a great resume by itself will not land you the job, but a poorly done resume can keep you from even having a chance at it. A resume is your one chance to make enough of an impression for a hiring manager to want to talk further with you.

All resumes follow a fairly standard format, at least with regard to what information is included:

Contact Information. I have frankly been amazed at the number of people over the years who have sent in resumes with incorrect or missing contact information. Sometime it’s simply a case of not updating an address after a move, but the result is the same; no matter how good you look on paper, it doesn’t matter if the hiring manager or Human Resources representative has no way to contact you.

Always include your name, current home address, e-mail address, and at least two contact phone numbers, preferably home and cell. If you include your e-mail address, be sure to check it daily. If your resume is longer than one page (and later in this article we’ll discuss why it never should be), put your name and phone number in the top right corner of the second page in case the pages get separated.

Objective Statement. An objective describes the type of work or specific position you are seeking; it should also tell the prospective employer what you are offering them. Avoid general phrases such as “challenging and rewarding career” and “potential for growth” which don’t tell the reader anything anyway.

Experience: Your prior work experience is the most important section of your resume. List your current or most recent company first, along with dates of service (the month and year are usually sufficient), and then list all previous employers or positions in reverse chronological order. There is no need to go back more than ten years with one major exception: if you had military service, it should always be listed on the resume, no matter how long ago it was. Simply having prior military service tells employers a great deal about you, and it gives you an edge with hiring managers who were in the military themselves.

Under each position held, describe your responsibilities using short statements that demonstrate success, practical experience related to your field, and the fact that you have good work habits. Bullet points work much better than long paragraphs, and each statement should begin with an action verb. When possible, quantify results (i.e., number of people supervised, size of project, etc.).

Education. Employers are interested in the highest educational level achieved, and the high school you attended should only be listed if you have not completed an undergraduate degree. List the schools attended (in reverse chronological order), the degree obtained, your major, and the month and year of graduation. You should also list any relevant certifications. If you are a recent college graduate with little work experience, list education before experience. Otherwise, experience should always be listed first.

Finally, there are a few miscellaneous points to consider:

Never include personal information such as race, religion, age, or marital status. It is illegal for employers to ask these questions (as a means of deciding on your employability) and you should not volunteer it.

Do not list hobbies. Employers don’t care if you build model trains while doing yoga.

Do not exceed one page. Hiring managers are typically inundated with resumes, and usually spend less than 30 seconds deciding if a resume goes into the “no” pile. If your resume is more than one page, you did not present yourself in a clear and concise manner.

Do not include references on your resume. The employer will request references if you advance in the interview process.

Use good quality, white or off-white paper (no funky colors) and ensure that there are no errors in spelling or grammar.