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Having a well-formatted and professional looking resume can give you a great head start at getting the job you want. There are many different ways that you can go about getting ideas to create the perfect resume for you. Visit any search engine and type in the word "resume" and you will get tons of responses. Deciding which one of these examples will be your next step in determing what type of resume you wish to provide to a prospective employer.

Go through them and decide which format works best for you, and then put your focus into detailing your qualifications and skills in the way that is most flattering to you, but also factual and to- the- point.

In the most basic format, you will want to list your name and contact information, including a cell phone number and email address, at the top of the page, in a larger font than the rest of the resume will be in. Depending on when or if you have received a degree, and what your work history is, that information will follow.

If you are a recent graduate without a lot of experience in your chosen field, then your educational accomplishments should be listed first. On the other hand, if you have been in the work force for years and have accrued experience in anything related to what you are applying for, list your employment history first, followed by education.

At the end of the page, this is where you will include such things as extracurricular activities, or special designations.

Due to the extremely large amount of resumes that land on employers' desks each day, it is advisable to try and keep your resume to one page. This makes it easier for the prospective employers, rather than having to read through two or even three pages. However, don't focus on this so much that you are leaving out facts that are really critical to applying for this certain job. By using your common sense and good judgment you should be able to differentiate between what is essential and what is not.

A resume should never be made to look to pretty or "cutesy." No colored paper, please, no elaborate fonts and forget little drawings or jokes! This is a serious document which is going to be read by someone looking for a serious employee; one who knows and understands professional boundaries, and is willing to follow them. You can display more of your charming, funny, and artistic side after you've been offered the position.

Remember, just because pink, scented paper on her resume worked for Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) in Legally Blond and helped land her a coveted spot on a legal team in her first year of law school, that was a movie! This is real life, quite definitely not the same thing.

So, be serious-mind, empathize with your prospective employer and what he is dealing with at the moment, and create your resume accordingly. In the end, I think you will be very glad you did!