Because the market has changed dramatically, what worked in the past is no longer relevant. In 2007, when unemployment was at 5% and LinkedIn were not widely used, you could still get interviews using an older-style resume. These are the 5 rules you should follow today.

1. Display your brand and theme.

The Objective which says “Here’s what I want” has been replaced by a simple headline such as SENIOR PROJECT MANGER. This should be followed by a concise description of your strengths (brand), which will help you stand out from other candidates.

As an example, the Corporate Troubleshooter is regularly assigned to the most difficult initiatives.

This establishes a common theme throughout the resume. Your opening basically says “Here’s what I excel at” and your resume continues with “Here’s proof that I am good”, showcasing the results.

2. Write tight

Resumes today must be concise and tightly written. Avoid using clichés like dynamic and visionary in your resume. Your sentences should be concise and factual.

Example: Sales Executive assigned to increase sales and expand existing accounts in the New York metropolitan region.

You don’t have to list all of the jobs you did on your resume. As you can see, the typical tasks of sales professionals are to call prospects, attend tradeshows, and make presentations.

3. Use the Harvard Format

The Harvard format is also recommended. This means that you should use paragraphs for your roles and responsibilities and bulleted forms for your achievements. Employers will find it easier to identify your accomplishments quickly. It is not a good idea to have a single-page resume. The most important thing is that your resume tells a compelling story, and it is easy to read.

Your resume should be an advertisement for your abilities and not a legal document that lists everything you have done. The purpose of your resume is to whet the appetite and get them to call you for an interview.

4. Strong accomplishment statements can support your theme

Now that you’ve chosen a theme, it is time to show off your achievements. Your accomplishments should be directly related to the job you are applying for and support your brand. If you’re applying for a job in sales and have created a database that streamlines ordering office supplies, that’s a great accomplishment but not one that should be on your resume. You should quantify your achievements and compare them to your goals.

Although it is nice to say that your sales revenues increased by $2 million over the previous year, it doesn’t really describe your achievements. It is much more powerful to say that you achieved 135% of your quota, which represents a $2,000,000 increase in year-overyear revenues.

5. LinkedIn

Recent research shows that LinkedIn is used by more than 85% of recruiters and employers to find you before they call you. Make sure you have your LinkedIn ID and your profile are consistent with your overall theme.

You should note that your LinkedIn ID may have /pub/ at the end. This means you have a temporary ID. To get a better ID, you can edit your LinkedIn profile and go to the PUBLIC PROFILE editing button on LinkedIn. This is easy and you should do it to get your name.

These rules will make a big difference in how your resume looks.