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Relax – there’s a point to customizing your resume to meet the needs of employers. In The Career Champion newsletter, I regularly cover the fact that a resume needs to deliver a clear message in order to be effective. However, this doesn't mean that every resume you send must be a completely different version.

If you’re unsure of the actual breaking point between one resume and another, here are 3 ways to tell if you’ll need an encore version:

1) Your skills aren’t focused on one main career goal. My clients often find that they can target one particular job type by showing strengths for that role. If they wish to pursue a similar position, I recommend that they change a few words here and there.

However, if they focus on an entirely DIFFERENT job type, that's another matter. It's hard to convince employers of your business development skills, for example, if your resume is centered around your expertise in operations management.

2) Your credentials are SO broad that your resume goes on forever.  If your resume gives hiring authorities too much to read (especially if there’s too many interesting facts that don’t add up to one message), then it’s time to narrow your focus.

Proving your fitness for a particular job is a matter of tuning the text around WHY you’re qualified, and then backing up your story with achievements and other examples.

3) Tweaking your resume for each job application requires a major rewrite. If you can’t reasonably dedicate a summary to one suite of skills, then you should separate out your career goals.

This may involve extra effort on your part, including additional keyword research and a different presentation, but the end results will be worth it.

Remember, recruiters have enough resumes to read without getting confused by what you want to do! Zeroing in on your specific, measurable credentials allows you to quickly convey why you are qualified, eliminates the potential for confusion, and gets your resume noticed much faster.

A unique resume authority, Laura Smith-Proulx is the Executive Director of An Expert Resume, a career services company that caters to technical, sales, and organizational leaders, from managers poised for growth to senior-level executives.

A Certified Professional Resume Writer, Interview Coach, and Career Coach, Laura has achieved a 98% success rate for thousands of clients through creative and skilled writing/editing, insightful career coaching, and positive motivation.

If you're ready to make a key change in your leadership career, get our FREE 7-Part E-Course on "The 7 Biggest Resume Mistakes That Can Keep You From a $100K+ Job... And How to Avoid Them."

If this situation applies to you, remember that you are in good company! I would estimate that nearly a third of my clients have experienced a period of unemployment at one time or another.

Your best bet in this case is to meet the challenge head-on by preparing to address the gaps directly. This will make it much easier to market your skills for a high-powered role. I have compiled three highly effective tips you can use when presenting an interruption in your work history to a potential employer:

1) Remember that hiring authorities see gaps all the time… but they also expect to see career progression, PLUS an explanation. This is a critical point! In order to deflect questions on gaps, ensure that your résumé shows some strong areas of growth, which can make the interim period seem more like a blip in your career.

Also, be prepared to explain the gap itself by pointing to an activity that filled it, such as volunteer work, caring for an ill family member, or launching a business.

2) If possible, give a name to the gap itself. Give readers of your résumé an idea of what you did by using a between-jobs “title” such as Consulting, Sabbatical, Leave of Absence, or Family Management.

But what if the gap was short enough that you were merely searching for work? You can just leave it “as is,” while still preparing your explanation. This leads to the next tip, which is…

3) Don’t point out a gap that you can’t name. Essentially, your best strategy when dealing with any potentially negative information is this:  focus more on the RESULTS you can bring to your next employer than anything else.

In other words, if you don’t have a plausible explanation for being out of work, then simply move on to focus on your value proposition—and save your explanation for an interview.

My personal philosophy is that everyone has something POSITIVE to offer their next employer. The more focus you put on your strongest contributions, the less you—and hiring managers—will need to emphasize any shortcomings in your career history.

A unique resume authority with a 98% success rate winning interviews, Laura Smith-Proulx, CCMC, CPRW, CIC is the Executive Director of An Expert Resume, a career services company that caters to organizational leaders, from managers poised for growth to senior-level executives.

If you're ready to make a key change in your leadership career, get our FREE 7-Part E-Course on "The 7 Biggest Resume Mistakes That Can Keep You From a $100K+ Job... And How to Avoid Them."

Here are three key reasons that many employers are turning to online sources as a substitute for references (whether you want them to or not!):

1)  Personal websites are growing by leaps and bounds.

It’s not news that many people are turning to personal and social networking websites in droves. The popularity of MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sites has exploded in recent years.

What you might not know is that, search engines frequently find your online profile first, since it uses your name as an identifier.

2)  Press releases can make their way onto the Internet with astonishing speed.

I’ll use a case study here to make my point perfectly clear:  Roy, a former client, learned a valuable lesson when he embarked upon a job hunt and wondered why he wasn’t approached for leadership positions.

I did an online search for his name and discovered that his previous achievements were “spun” the wrong way inside press releases. We rebuilt his online profile, counteracting this effect by presenting his own version of events.

The lesson? You never know what someone else considers important about YOUR career.

3)  Personal life or opinions have become fair game.

Have you posted to a blog lately? As with other hot information, blogs can rocket their way around the Web. Don’t forget about published articles, project lists, and any other sources in which you’ve been quoted.

A well-known CEO of a major corporation in Colorado was caught flagrantly posting his opinions on a company merger to a public group on Yahoo late last year. While the merger went through (barely), his reputation suffered significantly, and the press had a field day with it. Can you imagine what a potential new employer would think? Enough said!

To prepare my clients for these scenarios, I have developed a special report entitled “When Employers Google You, What Will They Find?” that covers key strategies for managing online identity.

To sum up, consider that the information you provide on your career might NOT be the only data employers see... and that you should check your online identity often to avoid surprises.

A unique resume authority with a 98% success rate winning interviews for six-figure professionals, Career Management Coach and Certified, published Resume Writer Laura Smith-Proulx is the Executive Director of An Expert Resume, a career services company that caters to professionals targeting a $100K+ position.

If you're ready to make a key change in your leadership career, get our FREE 7-Part E-Course on "The 7 Biggest Resume Mistakes That Can Keep You From a $100K+ Job... And How to Avoid Them."

However, many leadership professionals experience minimal results when they fail to adequately express their true strengths and core competencies.

If you aspire to the corner office, moving from searching to successful requires using some key strategies to pique an employer’s interest. Consider these tips to present a confident image and look the part on your resume:  

Look at your career contributions with dollar signs.

Employers are always interested in the bottom line. Can you add to it, or control the expenses affecting it? Then, by all means, get this information onto your resume.

Ask yourself hard questions about the results of your work, and then put figures to as much of it as possible.

For example, when working with a sales director in the mortgage industry, after discussing his leadership of an underperforming location, we were able to turn dry task descriptions into “Turned around branch to achieve #1 status nationwide from initial ranking of 32 out of 40.”

As you can see, results such as these speak for themselves—and cut through any doubt about your abilities.

As with any business communications, consider your presentation.

If you want to portray a standout image, look beyond the strategies used by countless other job seekers. Case in point:  millions have used a do-it-yourself style or worse yet, that Microsoft Word resume template, to create their resumes.

Given that this is arguably the most important document of your career, take a hard look at your presentation, and consider implementing some components found in professionally designed resumes.

You can find examples online at many websites, including An Expert Resume, that show streamlined design, leadership presentation, and effective formatting that preserves both content and space.

Showcase your personal brand and leadership qualities.

Everyone has unique strengths and capabilities to offer their next employer. What are yours? Have you thought about the impact you have on the company’s business?

Make a list of what you achieve that consistently affects revenue, the corporate reputation, or efficiency, and then describe the steps you’ve taken to attain these results.

Ensure that this information takes center stage on your resume, rather that just listing mundane details and job descriptions.

In summary, accessing today’s fast-track jobs requires connecting your performance and personal brand to bottom-line results—thereby ensuring that your resume gets noticed.

A unique resume authority with a 98% success rate winning interviews for her clients, Laura Smith-Proulx is the Executive Director of An Expert Resume, a career services company that caters to organizational leaders, from managers poised for growth to senior-level executives.

If you're ready to make a key change in your career, get our FREE 7-Part E-Course on "The 7 Biggest Resume Mistakes That Can Keep You From Your Dream Job... And How to Avoid Them."

How can you tell if your résumé will make the cut? Unfortunately, some résumé flaws are so fatal that I can GUARANTEE they will fail to get interviews. See if any of these apply to your situation:

Your résumé uses that Microsoft Word template. At least one third of all the millions of Word users probably created their résumés using this style.

Standing out isn’t just a matter of words—it’s also in the presentation. Bottom-line: use an attractive style that reflect your UNIQUE qualifications.

You are facing challenges in your job search (such as a job that ended last year, lack of a degree, etc.), yet your résumé skips RIGHT to your job history. This can be a killer—since it quickly gives the reader LESS reasons to call you for an interview.

This is where résumé strategy comes in. I recommend developing a plan BEFORE writing the résumé that can put your best foot forward to meet these kind of challenges.

Your wording is weak. Did you write “responsible for” on your résumé? If so, you are missing some fantastic ways to sell your skills. Try “power verbs” (achieved, revitalized, captured, etc.) instead.

You’ve used an objective statement to top it off. Funny thing about that objective – it really ISN’T objective! While this was a standard for the résumé of yesteryear, using this will nearly ENSURE you get passed over today.

A better idea: summarize your unique credentials in a profile or summary.

You’ve borrowed phrases. There must be hundreds of “self-motivated team players” out there. If you’re guilty of copying some great-sounding phrases, give some clear thought to this one.

Your résumé should present your personal “brand”—meaning qualities that describe your capabilities PRECISELY. To get started, ask colleagues or friends how they would describe you or your work.

To sum up, refreshing your résumé can make THE difference between having your phone ring for interviews, or being passed over in favor of someone less qualified.

A unique résumé authority and former recruiter, Laura Smith-Proulx, CPRW, CIC, Executive Director of An Expert Resume, has achieved a 98% success rate landing interviews for fast-track professionals.

Laura’s newest book, “Solve Your Toughest Résumé Challenges to Win More Interviews!,” gives insider secrets to gaining an employer’s attention.

For FREE tips on how to create a knockout resume and successfully manage your career transition, visit www.AnExpertResume.com.

In my recruiting days, I frequently saw candidates who, although qualified, undermined themselves at EVERY turn through an amazing lack of interview etiquette and professionalism.

Study these tips prior to that all-important interview… especially when you’ve promised yourself that things will be different this time:

1)        Look serious. What do your demeanor, dress, and attitude say about you? Get feedback from a friend, and rework any components that need to be addressed.  

I’ll never forget the young woman who showed up at our corporate office in a sweater and jeans, wearing a backpack. Her message of disinterest could not have been louder.

2)        Be prepared. With nearly every company online these days, there is no excuse for not doing your homework.  

Tap into press releases, websites, and annual reports to formulate some questions about the company, their mission, and the job at hand—and have your notes ready to go.

3)        Rehearse answers to common questions. If basic queries such as “Tell me about your strengths” make you freeze, it’s time for some serious preparation.  

Giving thoughtful responses and practicing answers WILL pay off when you see that smile on the interviewer’s face—and you get called back for a second interview.

4)        Act interested. Do you fail to take notes? Look everywhere but at the interviewer? Skip asking your own questions?  

If you want to be remembered, bring a notepad, open it up, and carry on an intelligent dialogue about the company and the requirements for the open position.

5)        Follow up. A staffing corporation study found that 88% of executives are swayed by candidates who write a thank-you note—yet nearly HALF of all job seekers fail to send one!  

Consider the message you want to leave with a potential employer, and make every attempt to distinguish yourself from others competing for the same position.

Laura Smith-Proulx, CPRW, founder of An Expert Resume and author of “Solve Your Toughest Resume Challenges to Win More Interviews! 25 Secrets to Fast-Track Career Success,” uses a background in corporate recruiting to achieve a 98% résumé success rate landing interviews for fast-track professionals.

For FREE tips on how to create a knockout resume and successfully manage your career transition, visit www.AnExpertResume.com.