Is your resume working for you?

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You know the feeling when you spend hours, or even days, creating a résumé; poring over every word of your cover letter and agonizing over what to say in the email. You then hit the 'send' the button and wait. And wait. And wait. No one calls. No one writes. You don't know if anyone even saw your résumé.

When such thing happens, it's easy to feel dejected and worry that employers are not interested in you. But, remember they haven't even met you. They have only seen your résumé and that may be the problem.

If you are not getting the desired response after posting your résumé, try this '10 Step Program' to diagnose the problem and get your résumé working for you.

1. Is your résumé of the right length?

You may have heard that your résumé should fit on one page but that's not true. Recruiters are not really concerned about the length of your résumé; however, they do expect it to be comprehensive, crisp and easy to read.

Make sure that you highlight the vital information and put it upfront.

2. Does your résumé clearly position you as someone who can meet the needs of the employer?

Think of a résumé as an advertisement for a product, only this time the product is you. Just like any other advertisement, positioning is very important to capture the target audience.

The person who receives your résumé will scan it quickly, perhaps for no more than 20 seconds, to determine whether you can help the company. Your résumé's main aim is to state it swiftly and clearly that you can!

Don't just launch into a chronology of your career history. Instead, determine your own positioning by spelling out your message at the start of the résumé and giving the reader your version of events.

Use the first 1/3 of your résumé to create a compelling personal profile, which highlights your key strengths in an attractive, easy-to-read format.

3. Does your résumé begin with an objective?

Recruiters and hiring managers do not like objectives that focus on the needs of the job seeker rather than the needs of the potential employer. Consider the following objective statement:

"Seeking a software engineer position with a progressive employer where I can contribute to the development of new technologies and work with bright, committed people."

This may be very honest but it is irrelevant to the recruiter, who does not care about what you want and only concentrates on what you have. Instead of an objective, try using a positioning statement that clearly and concisely explains what you have to offer.

"Senior Software Engineer with 10 years experience developing leading-edge technologies."

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Now the reader can immediately conclude how you can add value to the company. It is recommended to tailor this statement for each position so that the employers immediately see a match between their needs and your skills.

4. Does your résumé contain specifics?

You must state your achievements in context by providing specifics. For example, don't say something vague like "contributed to product design" as this tells nothing about your actual contribution. Instead be specific about what you did: "Conducted market analysis for (name of product) to determine design and mechanics" or "Received critical acclaim and sold over 4 million units."

See how being specific makes a difference? This level of detail shows the reader the contributions you have made in the past (and therefore the contributions you can be expected to make in the future.)

5. Have you outlined achievements as well as responsibilities?

Most employers would already know the main responsibilities of your job and would be more interested in knowing the results that you achieved.

It will be your accomplishments that will give you an edge over other applicants.

An effective résumé summarizes job responsibilities in a few sentences and then provides details of quantifiable achievements.

6. Are there any typos?

Your résumé has to be perfect. Note that even if one word is misspelled the reader will assume that you didn't know the correct spelling (this is bad) or that you didn't care to rectify the same (this is even worse).

Nothing puts the reader off more quickly than spelling mistakes and typos. Proof read the resume and once you are sure it's perfect, have other people read it.

7. Is the résumé easy to read?

At least 50 percent of the impact of any résumé depends on its design. A good résumé design will pull the eye through the document, making it easy to read and will highlight your key strengths clearly.

However, if a résumé is badly laid out, disorganized or hard to read, it will be discarded even before the reader knows how qualified you are. Take time to understand how the page should be laid out and then apply what you've learned to your résumé.

8. Have you listed irrelevant information?

Don't mention your hobbies or non-professional affiliations, such as religious volunteer work, unless they directly support your candidature for the position.

In addition, avoid giving non-required personal information such as marital status and number of children.

Any personal information runs the risk of turning the reader off. However proud you are of personal achievements, you should not run the risk of alienating the recruiter.

9. Are you too modest?

While you should never exaggerate in a résumé, you should definitely take credit for the things you've accomplished. Many people play down their achievements and prefer to explain in an interview.

But if your résumé doesn't spark interest, you may never get that opportunity!

10. Have you created an internet-ready version of your résumé?

If you have to post your résumé online, you need to convert your résumé to a text-only format as most online systems cannot support the type of formatting used in a résumé (bold, italics, bullet points, lines etc.)