Resume reading done in a flash.

• Position: Your Life - Executive survey - Tips for improving resume writing - Brief Article

In the same amount of time it takes you to make your morning coffee, most prospective employers decide whether or not they want to interview you for a job, suggests a survey by Accountemps, a Menlo Park, Calif., temporary staffing service for accounting, finance, and bookkeeping professionals. Fifty-six percent of executives polled said they spend five minutes or less reviewing each resume they receive for an advertised position. Nearly one-quarter of respondents said they spend no more than two minutes reading one.

"Because resumes are reviewed so swiftly, it's essential that they're succinct, error-free, and relevant," stresses Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career for Dummies. "This is also why developing more than one resume is a good practice--the more targeted the information, the more likely you will make a favorable impression."...