The most important piece of information that you should retain is that your resume, no matter how well it is put together, will only get a 15 to 30 second review by person who does initial screening.

That person is normally someone in Human Resources whose job is to look at hundreds of resumes per day. You must create your resume in such a way that it gives all information they need in a maximum of 30 seconds.

There is information that, under most circumstances, should not be in a resume. This includes: • Your age or date of birth • Religious or political affiliations • Reasons why you left your last job • Your Social Security Number • Health restrictions or physical limitations • Any sentence that has "do not," "cannot," or "unable"

Age or Date of Birth

I repeat, you should not put your age or date of birth in a resume. In US, an employer has no legal right to know your age. An employer can ask you only if you are over age of 18 for insurance liability reasons or if local, state, or federal law requires that employees be over a certain age.

Therefore, if you’re concerned that your age will be a factor, don't list date you graduated from high school or years that you received any of your degrees. I received my undergraduate degree in 1962. Can any of you guess my age?

Religious Affiliations or Political Affiliations

It’s generally recommended that you stay away from listing a particular type of religion or political party affiliation. However, being active in your community or church can sometimes be a positive factor in many large companies, so you should make general statements about your participation in activities that support community. Volunteer work for a charity group would be a positive example but active support for an environmental group could raise some eyebrows.

Reasons for Leaving Previous Jobs

People who are successful at interviews are not lucky ones. They're people who have invested a considerable amount of time and effort into process. If you want to create a good impression at your interview, you need to begin preparing for it at least a week in advance.

First you should try to find out a bit about company and its products or services. There are several reasons for this:

• If you’re familiar with some of names, terms, and products associated with company then you’ll feel more relaxed at interview. Knowledge really is power. There’s nothing worse than feeling that you’re totally ignorant about procedures, personnel, and products. No one expects you to have a detailed understanding of place, but you should at least know whether company employs twenty people or two hundred; whether it makes sausages or software ... Don't laugh, some people really do turn up for interviews totally unprepared.

• The employer will be pleased that you know something about his business and this will put him in a better mood. You’ll also impress him as someone who has initiative and is willing to make an effort.

• You’ll stand out from other applicants who haven't taken trouble to do this research.