Crafting a resume that will grab recruiters

Some snickering investment banker e-mailed it to friends. It ended up on YouTube, where it promptly went viral. National publications picked up the story, completing Vayner's humiliation.

Get to the point

Many recruiters narrow the field after just a cursory scan of your resume.

"An employer is going to form a first impression in 30 seconds or less," Hardy said. "The only purpose of the top of the resume is to get them to read down to the end."

Be concise. Keep the document to one page and leave the most relevant, impressive information at the top. Avoid a too-detailed list of job experience, and cut out that waitress position you held for three months in college.

Leave plenty of white space. Employers aren't going to bother reading a resume so jammed that it requires a magnifying glass.

Laura DeCarlo, president of Career Directors International, recommends a "summary" early on of concrete skills, such as budgeting or supervision.

Florid prose is likely to irritate recruiters rather than impress them. And skip the "references are available upon request" boilerplate. Employers assume you'll provide them.

Customize

A targeted resume that demonstrates your understanding of the company and the specific requirements of the job will do better than a slightly rehashed version of a decades-old document.

"It's a fatal flaw when people leave their resumes generic," Feldberg said. "The hiring manager can't figure out what kind of job they want, and the candidate can't present themselves as the solution to that employer's problems."

Never lie on your resume; recruiters are increasingly vigilant about confirming credentials. But you can tidy up flaws in your work history.

Start by shaking up the format of your resume. The traditional method of listing your work history in reverse chronological order is becoming passe, experts said.

A "functional" resume might be best for someone switching careers or trying to hide gaps in employment. Instead of a timeline, this format focuses on skills and experiences, showcasing a candidate's range of abilities.

Meanwhile, keep your skills current. That item about your Microsoft Word proficiency might have been impressive 15 years ago, but highlighting it today makes you look dated.

Consider a short section on special interests. Candidates for sales positions can show competitiveness by running marathons, while mechanical engineer hopefuls can prove their aptitude by building computers for fun, Feldberg said.