If you will be submitting a formal resume to a potential employer you should understand the type of information that you need to submit to get noticed.

Unfortunately because of the large number of applications businesses receive both requested and cold call applications, from people requesting employment when no job has been listed, employers have had to turn to sophisticated software that scans documents looking for information that may point to a good prospect.

You can think of this software in a similar way that Internet Indexes like Google search millions of websites and return the best results based on the search information you have entered.

Because your resume needs to be read by both a scanning system and a human who will eventually review your application you can not just fill the pages with search terms that will cause a good hit. However you should use keywords to indicate all of the industry specific terms that you might look for in a good candidate.

For example if you are applying for a computer network specialist position you should not just say that “I have worked with computer networks of all sizes for the past 5 years” you should instead say something like “I have 5 years experience in supporting Microsoft, Novel, Cisco, technologies.” 

The specific keywords will change as needed but they are required when you are applying to a business that has a large number of employees and will definitely be using a resume scanner to review the hundreds or thousands of documents they receive every week.

If you are applying for a job that is listed by the employer then you should carefully read their listing and reuse those terms in your application and resume. Companies have a specific way of looking for people and often want someone to fill gaps that their other employees don’t fill. Although you may have the same skills that everyone else has and those skills may be important to meeting your job’s demands, when an employer asks for someone that knows an exact piece of software then you better be one of the people that puts that in their application or you will be overlooked.

Once you understand this part of the application process you can move on to the general content requirements of a good resume.

Where your cover letter is your personal introduction your resume is your technical background.

When writing your resume you should follow formal formatting because you will not be writing for your direct supervisor you will be writing for someone that more then likely has a Masters in Business and Human Resources who’s only job is to review people for potential hiring.

Your name and contact information should be at the top of the page followed by your education and previous career information. Optionally you may add any affiliations and outside self initiated related information.

The format of your resume should follow two basic styles: Functional or Chronological.

Chronological formatting groups types of experience and lists them in date descending. This format is preferred by employers because it shows a time line of work, education and other information allowing the reader to see a progression of responsability and any empty spots in your life.

An example may look like

Education
2005 - Masters of Computer Science, Someplace University
2003 - Bachelors Mathematics, Someplace College
1999 - Honor Student, Someplace High School

Work Experience
2005 / Present - ABC Computer Consulting, Network Engineer
2002 - 03 BigBox Electronics, Computer Repair Technician

Functional resumes emphasize qualifications over experience. This type of resume is somewhat frowned upon because it is used when the applicant is lacking either work experience or education however a combination resume which includes parts chronological and parts functional can be used to include functional aspects in your resume while still committing to the chronological format.

Part of a Functional Resume might look like:

5 years experience managing projects over $100k
3 years programming in Microsoft Visual C++
6 years experience supporting Office Applications

I developed a system of paperless file management storage saving ABC Company over $300k in its third quarter.

I have the following certifications: Microsoft MCSE, Cisco CCNA, A+ Networking.

As you can see there are no dates and few skills are tied to business related experience while the information provides your skills that may or may not have been acquired through formal education or workplace training.

Final Note
There are a number of books on this subject that are available at any local library. The formatting has not changed for well over 30 years and is taught in most job training centers. Software has also been designed to allow you to answer questions and enter information which will be formatted into either Chronological, Functional or Combination formats.

Today most employers request applicants to fill in forms on their website or on a job refereal service site. The use of these forms may not allow you to enter some information that you find important but it will provide the company with specific information that they are looking for.

When applying online for a job you should try to structure your background to meet the needs of the company. This may mean emphasizing training or experience that they are looking for over the bulk of your background that may not be relevant to their needs.

JobZoneUSA has a number of online documents including sample resumes and cover letters that should help you through this process however if you are applying for an institutional position with education or government and even at some businesses you should try to find their online personnel help site and look for any documents on how their internal HR staff processes internal transfers of employees. Often you can see samples and help information that has been designed by the business and this will allow you to meet their needs.