Standing out in the monstrous pool of r茅sum茅s with scented pink paper (thanks Reese Witherspoon in 鈥�Legally Blonde鈥�) is not highly regarded in the real world. Neither is a stale listing of job duties. A star r茅sum茅 and cover letter use action verbs, describing the accomplishments of the candidate in previous positions.
Another way to get to the top of the pile is to include keywords in your r茅sum茅s and cover letters that correspond to the qualifications of each job description. 鈥淐ustomize your r茅sum茅s and cover letters, instead of creating one blanket r茅sum茅 that you send out to every single job you are applying to,鈥� said Allison Nawoj, career adviser at CareerBuilder.com, a large online job website based in Chicago.
In a survey conducted by in May, 38 percent of the 2,500 employers surveyed said on average they spend less than a minute reviewing a r茅sum茅.
