Go easy on the italics, bold lettering and underlining. Keep the font simple. Minimize graphics and colors. It will make the resume easier to read and download.
"Don't cutesy it up," said Robyn L. Feldberg, president of the National Resume Writers' Assn. "Clip art and photos in general look tacky."
Some recruiters now read resumes on smart phones, devices that can send e-mail and browse the Internet. Send a trial copy to a friend's BlackBerry or iPhone to see how it looks.
"Sometimes, a bullet point comes across as a question mark -- not quite the brilliant first impression you were trying to make," she said.
Develop a permanent online home for your credentials. The networking site LinkedIn lets you create a personal profile where you can list your education, professional experience and skills. When you share your contacts with someone, that person in effect has access to your electronic resume.
Sites such as LinkedIn can put you on the radar of prospective employers, who increasingly are using online tools to hunt for qualified candidates.
But be warned: Companies trawl sites such as Facebook and MySpace to verify the backgrounds of prospects. You'd be wise to yank those online pictures you posted of yourself drunk in the hot tub while you're job hunting.
Be (a little) creative
Creativity counts when you're looking for work. Graphic designers have screened their resumes onto T-shirts. One recent applicant scored a manager position with a Manhattan accounting firm after wearing a sandwich board inscribed with "Experienced MIT Grad for Hire."
If you're applying to a smaller, local company, show your enthusiasm by going into the office and handing the resume directly to the recruiter. Who knows -- if you're likable enough, you might be offered an interview on the spot.
But there's a fine line between self-expression and self-destruction.
Skip the smiley faces, exclamation points and pink, scented resume paper -- only Elle Woods of "Legally Blonde" fame can pull that off.
And beware the video resume. Less than a quarter of executives said their companies accepted them.
And consider the cautionary tale of Aleksey Vayner. The Yale senior constructed a video resume a few years back, replete with clips of his weightlifting prowess, fancy dance moves and bizarre ramblings about what it takes to succeed.
