Happy New Year! It’s that time again. Time to think about the things we want to accomplish this year, set some realistic goals and put together an action plan to achieve them.

I decided to write the very first blog post for The Resume Group today, the first day of the New Year, because one of my goals for our company during 2008 is to do whatever I can to grow our business and in doing so, help our clients to achieve their career objectives.

Many of you have made New Year’s resolutions that include expanding your skill set or going after a job promotion. You may be thinking about polishing up your resume and exploring new career options. You might have the goal of increasing your income, relocating, or finding a job that will allow you to spend more time with your family. Maybe you’ve decided to try to find a job that enables you to make a living doing something that’s been a much-enjoyed hobby in the past.

So how do you create that persuasive, keyword rich, forward-looking resume that will make your dream job a reality? It can be daunting to sit down in front of a blank sheet of paper and try to find the right words - believe me, I know - and I’ve been writing professional resumes and executive resumes for more than 10 years.

I love writing resumes and I think I’m actually pretty darn good at it, but it’s not as easy as some might have you believe.   If finding a new job or making a career transition is among your New Year’s resolutions, here are 5 tips that can help you create a winning resume.

1) Your resume has to tell a compelling story that captures - and keeps - the reader’s interest.  It has to contain the keywords and key phrases that will boost your resume’s ranking in the ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) used by companies and job boards. Your resume has to present you, your talents and your achievements in a way that positions you for the next step in your career - not necessarily the job you have now.

2) Take stock - what do you want in your next job? Think about your past jobs - what aspects of your jobs excited you? What did you like? What did you hate? Do you enjoy managing people, projects or special events? Do you thrive in challenging, pressure-cooker arenas or do you prefer more structured situations? Knowing what you want in your next job - and what you don’t - will help you create a focused resume that targets a corporate culture and business environment geared to your needs and desires.

3) Think about each job that you’ve held from several perspectives. Naturally, you want to communicate the responsibilities of each position. But also think about the challenges you faced in your job and the contributions you made to the organization. Did you come up with a process improvement that saved a significant amount of time? Did you help generate revenue or improve the bottom line? Did you contribute to an improved customer experience?  Try to quantify results as much as possible.

4) Don’t lie. I know, every resume expert says “don’t lie”.  I’m saying it too. Don’t lie. Don’t say you have a degree if you don’t. Don’t say you were a Vice President if you were really a Supervisor. Don’t fudge dates. Address gaps in your resume honestly. And make sure that you can put a positive spin on those items when you’re asked about them in an interview. If you need help putting together positive answers to tough questions, get some professional interview assistance before you start scheduling interviews.

5) Proofread your resume. Proofread it again. Give it to 5 friends and ask them to proofread it, then proofread it again yourself. For heaven’s sake, don’t rely on spell check, grammar check or any other kind of automated check. Make sure your resume has no spelling errors and no formatting errors. Make no mistake about it - hiring managers are looking for a reason to toss your resume on the ‘NO’ pile. A mispelled word or a grammar error could very well give them that reason.

So there you have it. I hope these tips will get you started. Let us know if we can help in any way. We’d love to have the opportunity to help you create a winning resume and get it out there to be seen by the right people at the right companies. I’ll be posting many more resume-writing, networking, job search and cover letter tips in the future. For now, Happy New Year and I hope 2008 turns out to be the best year ever for you - in every way!