Your résumé is a key tool for obtaining interviews. A résumé is a concise summary of your educational and work experience, accomplishments and skills. Obtaining an interview is the main goal of a résumé. Think of it as a marketing brochure. Your goal is to generate initial interest in your product. It needs to be visually appealing and grab the attention of the reader within the first few lines (and within a scanning time of as little as 15-30 seconds). Your résumé will need to motivate the reader to take action and call you for an interview.

If you are considering a career change, it is essential that you relate your skills and abilities on your résumé to your target position or industry. If you are pursuing several career options, you will need to create several different résumés, each one with a particular focus. Keep your goals and your audience in mind each time you set out to write or revise your résumé. What is the main message you want your résumé to convey about you? Is this message clear after the résumé has been briefly reviewed? Résumés are about initial impressions; you need to pull the reader in and make them want to read more. Remember to have others critique your résumé and check for typos and other errors.

There are three general formats for a business résumé: chronological, functional and combination. The chronological résumé lists your education and work experience in reverse chronological order, and presents other relevant information when applicable. The functional résumé emphasizes the functions you have performed rather you're your work history. The functional résumé can be very helpful if you feel you may not experience which is directly related to your career objective, but the skills you have developed are transferable. The combination résumé uses elements of both the chronological and the functional formats.