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Good ideas for writing good résumé

It’s time to drag out that résumé and take a good, hard look.

Because September, it seems, is Update Your Résumé Month.

Career Directors International, formerly known as the Professional Résumé Writers & Research Association, is a Melbourne, Fla.-based organization that claims credit for originating the observance.

Maybe you’re craving a challenge or looking to earn more money. Maybe you already have the perfect-fitting job.

Either way, analyzing your résumé on a regular basis is a healthful exercise in self-analysis.

Are you keeping up with the herd, just getting by, or pushing the envelope? Would a new graduate walk into the work force with skills that left you behind? How much initiative, creativity, innovation does your résumé reflect, and does it truly demonstrate your employment value?

The association’s Web site, at www.prwra.com/uyrm.htm, offers several worksheets and articles to help résumé-writers focus on the essentials, from the basics “Why You Need a Résumé” to “Getting Past the 15-Second Scan” and advice on everything from the proper length of a good résumé to how to account for job history gaps.

And Ford R. Myers, president of Pennsylvania-based career consulting firm Career Potential, LLC, and author of “The Ultimate Career Guide,” has issued the following tips for stand-out résumés that get results:

• Be brief.

Less is more. If you break your résumé into the most familiar format — five sections featuring summary, professional experience, education, professional development and affiliations — a concise summary is most vital. Sum up who you are, what you have to offer an organization, in five or six lines.

• Be specific.

Don’t skip crucial details, particularly in the “professional experience” section. List past jobs, responsibilities and accomplishments, but also highlight specific business results. Most employers will focus 90 percent of their attention here, so give it the attention it deserves. “Quantify wherever possible — everything from retention rates to sales achievements, profits generated and performance improvements by using percentages, dollars and hard numbers,” Myers writes.

• Be active.

Strong action words, such as “develop,” launch,” “initiate,” “lead” and “build” are infinitely better than the more vaguely stated “was responsible for,’” advised Myers.

• Be selective.

Skip after-school jobs, old news or accomplishments in irrelevant fields unless they directly relate to the job you want.

• Be honest.

Even exaggerations are regrettable and can come back to haunt you. If your résumé isn’t getting results, rewrite it, or take actions necessary to include the skills and experience to sell yourself for the job you want: take a class, learn new computer skills, join professional organizations or volunteer for a new project.