A lot of people spend a ton of their time reviewing and editing their resumes, and too much of that time is spent on useless things like selecting special "resume paper" that no hiring manager cares a lick about. When you put together a great resume, what's on the page and what it really says to the hiring manager is all that matters. Hiring managers are just people who have problems that need to be solved. Are you the person to solve these problems? A great resume will say yes, and a bad resume will drone on about nothing. Which do you want as yours?

Focus on the Job You Want

It was lovely that you waited tables in high school. But unless that has direct relevance to what you intend to do now, don't include it. Hiring managers have very little time to wade through a bunch of self important drivel, so including your entire life story is a waste of everyone's time and your ink - not to mention your chances of actually landing an interview. So only focus on experience that shows how great you'll be if the hiring manager brings you in and hires you.

Keep it One Page Long

Hiring managers aren't lazy, but they lack the time to read several pages. If you're lucky, you'll get 30 seconds of attention before your resume is either set down for later or pitched. If you're applying for a C level executive position, it's a different story. But that's an entirely different realm. For the other 99% of the work force, keeping it short and concise is by far the best way to get interviewed and get a great job.

Make Every Word Earn its Place

A lot of people are afraid to remove anything from their resumes, but they can't say why. A lot of times this comes down to thinking they don't really deserve the position, but that they can trick the hiring manager into interviewing them if they talk enough. This isn't a long form sales letter, so you should only include things that will add to the hiring manager's perception of you as an interesting professional who will bring a lot of great ideas to the company. Clean up everything so it makes a point and then disappears. This way, you can make a few points, get the hiring manager interested in interviewing you and then elaborate as needed.