A great job can be hard to find, but once you see your dream job listed, you need to be prepared to jump on it. That means instead of just printing a copy of your résumé – you know the one you’ve updated maybe 2 or three times in your life – take a hard look at what it says about you.

Your resume is the tool that lands you an interview, and it should be treated as such. This document should speak volumes about why you are the perfect person for the job. We learn this in high school and college, but many people forget the importance of that two or three sheets of paper, or just plain don’t understand how to sell themselves.

The following information is guaranteed to help anyone get a foot in the door for that job interview. It will focus on how a person should market themselves for that job that hundreds, even thousands are vying for.

What Your Résumé Should Say About You

Think of your résumé as your very own informational brochure. It is a marketing tool that should paint a picture of your job performance. It should be broken down into four basic sections:

Qualifications

Job Experience

Education

References

And depending on your situation, a few others may be added if they apply to your experience:

Honors/Awards

Civic Organization/Association

Membership Certifications

Let’s take a look at just what information fits under each résumé heading:

Qualifications.

After your Résumé heading (which we will discuss later), the first thing a prospective employer wants to see is if you are qualified for the job. This is an overall big picture of what your work experience and education will later support. And if not written well, your Résumé may be tossed without being read all the way through.

The biggest mistake many make at this point in the résumé is being too detail-oriented. You cannot list your qualifications as a number of tasks you know how to do; rather, this should be a mix of overall skills written in a big picture format while including specific information.