When presenting your resume to a prospective employer, whether on paper or online, you only have 15-30 seconds to grab the reader’s attention. It is essential to present the gift yourself as well as possible from the beginning.

From a substance standpoint, a resume should begin with a “Summary of Qualifications,” which is a 3-8 sentence review of your professional experience. You can also start with a title of the position you are going to or have held. Unless you recently graduated or are changing fields, an “Objective” is not the right way to start your resume. In your “Qualifications Summary” you can demonstrate your skills front and center, “twenty years of digital marketing experience”, “gifted at building strong teams”, or “familiar with Mandarin and Cantonese”.

Next, you need to characterize your “Core Competencies” and quickly summarize the key words as if you were going to post your resume online. Many organizations search for key words like “team collaboration,” “expense control,” “financial reporting,” or “communication.”

It is essential that you recognize and describe your skills and achievements, quantifying the results whenever possible. Potential managers are more intrigued by your skills and achievements over the course of the last 10-12 years. You can include previous jobs if they are relevant to your field, however it is important that your resume is no longer than two pages, unless you are a high-level executive.

What will set you apart from the competition are achievements. Your accomplishments in each position should demonstrate the positive impact you had and how you contributed to the success of the organization. Some examples include how you contributed to profits, saved the organization money or time, optimized efficiencies, etc. Be particular with numbers and rates if possible. Some particular examples of “Achievements” are: “Decreased labor expenses by 13% in the first year of tenure”, “Orchestrated the organization’s first global exhibition contract for the entire product offering” or “Appointment to the President’s Circle three consecutive years”.

The last aspect of the resume to focus on is the arrangement or visual presentation. If the design is boring, it just won’t work. The visual presentation is practically as important as the substance. For example, if the font is too small, there isn’t enough white space on the page, or the print is smeared or too light, you’re simply wasting your time and shipping costs sending it out.

The purpose of a resume is not to get you a position. A resume should get you a welcome phone call for a meeting.