Tips for resume writing

1.    Keep it simple.

Steinfeld recommends focusing on the basics: keeping your resume concise, using lots of action verbs to describe your experience and making sure there are no typos -- a perspective shared by Marc Karasu, vice president of marketing at Yahoo Inc.'s HotJobs career site.

''The better your resume is written, the clearer the format, the crisper the language, the more likely it will rise to the top of the pile and get noticed,'' says Karasu, who recommends using plain-vanilla Microsoft Word for documents because of its universality.

He suggests a similar approach for cover letters: ''A cover letter can be a very short. 'Dear so-and-so, I came across this job opportunity and am very excited to apply.' And then something about your experience to whet their appetite.''

2.    Use active language.

''Words that are empowering -- managed, led, increased -- or that quantify previous successes are important to use. Words like assist, contribute, support can weaken your resume. They make you sound a little more junior,'' Karasu advises.

You also need to make sure that your resume will pass another test: the screening software used by many employers to sort through electronic submissions. These programs often look for certain words or phrases in resumes and cover letters.

There is no real formula to this,'' Karasu said. ''The best rule of thumb would be to use key words that resonate within your industry and reconstitute the actual title of the job that they're looking for.''

3.    Forget the ''goals.''

You might think twice before listing an ''objective'' or ''goal'' at the top of the resume, particularly as your career advances, Steinfeld says.

''I actually think that as you get to be a more job-experienced jobseeker a goal is not a wise thing to do. Say you apply for one job but they have something else you'd be a fit for, but your resume has a conflicting message, you may not be considered,'' she says.

4.    Stick to your story.

Resist the temptation to customize your resume every time you apply for a job, Steinfeld says, and instead focus on tailoring a compelling cover letter to draw an employer in.

She recommends faxing or mailing a hard copy to a prospective employer. A follow-up phone call is also a good idea.

''You can tell a lot about people very quickly, and if someone really wants the job and they've taken the step to figure out who you are and make the phone call and get through to you, that is a good thing,'' she says.

5.    Finally, tell the truth.

Don't exaggerate or lie about your experience -- or gaps in your resume.

''Say you had a terrible job and it didn't work out. If you were there a short duration, I'd omit it. If you were there three years, I'd put it on your resume and then if someone asks you about it, you would not go into a lot of detail and be diplomatic,'' Steinfeld says. ''Even if your boss was the boss from hell, you can't say that. No one wants to hire someone who seems really angry or disenfranchised.''