The quality of your resume may significantly enhance your chances of landing the position of your dreams. Many top-level candidates have short-circuited their hopes of securing their position of choice because of a poorly constructed resume. Because the resume has become the instrument for initiating candidate evaluation, close attention must be paid to development of a professional resume.

The three key segments of a standard chronological resume are employment summary, work history and education.

The employment summary is a short two or three sentence synopsis of one's background, experience and skill sets. It is designed to give the reader a quick overview of the candidate's background and experience.

The work history section is a chronological compilation of the candidate's employment history by date, company and position held. This section should begin with most recent job experience first and then proceed chronologically backward. Readers are looking for specific functional and operational information in a short two or three sentence summary, followed by a series of bulleted accomplishments. The accomplishments portion is the most important part of the resume, as hiring managers are looking for what you have accomplished in the past, which will help them in the future.

The education segment focuses on any education experience you may have. This includes colleges, degrees, industry courses, and outside courses which have contributed to your career advancement.

Others may wish to include awards and key references as segments below education. It is not recommended to have an objective on your resume. Many candidates have been arbitrarily dismissed because their objective did not match a position they were qualified for and interested in.

Another type of resume, which many candidates utilize, is the functional resume. This style of resume focuses on the skill sets, capabilities and accomplishments of the individual with little reference to company work history. This type of resume can be helpful in certain situations where duties and functional background is more important to the hiring manager.

Great time and care should be devoted to producing a professional resume.