QUESTION: I have been in employed for the past 20 years. I have moved to other companies but always stayed on my same career path moving up a level each time I changed jobs. This is the first time I have had to look for a job. I am having a hard time keeping my resume to one page, can you give me any advice?

ANSWER: Yes, make it a two page resume, as a matter of fact, you better have a two page resume.

Everyone should have a resume that is two pages, no more, no less. Even if you are right out of college. It used to be acceptable for individuals out of college to have a one page resume but even that isn't the case these days. With the competition in the job market right now and with the way the economy is companies have the cream of the crop applying for jobs and you need to stand out. College students should have internships or accomplishments at school as well as jobs they might have held in school or positions they might have held in a club, organization or on a volunteer level.

Your resume should be structured to have the first paragraph be what I like to call your "paragraph of awesomeness". I still see people put "objectives" at the top of their resume... companies don't really care what you are looking for and what you want your future to look like. They are looking to see what you can do for them, what you can do to help make them better. Do not uses the word "summary" before your paragraph of awesomeness either. Instead, put the title of the job you are trying to land. For example, list "Director of Marketing" or "Vice President of Finance" etc. Then talk about why you are the best "Director of Marketing" or "Vice President of Finance" they could hire by talking about your skills and what you have to offer. After your paragraph of awesomeness list Four Key accomplishments as four bullet points. To write your key accomplishments use this formula: come up with a bunch of scenarios in your career where there was a problem (state the problem), how you helped develop and implement the solution and the result. The result should contain a number to make it even more effective. Be sure the key accomplishments also contain keywords for the type of jobs you are applying for.

For example: "Took a time consuming manual process and designed and created a multi-page spreadsheet using formulas and macro increasing productivity by 65% and reducing error by 95%."

After your Four Key Accomplishments list the standard chronological listing of past jobs and experience, ending of course with education and professional development. Try not to submit your resume through the internet, instead try to network your way into a job you found online. Most jobs that are applied for online are scanned by computers and are not even looked at by humans. The computers are scanning for keywords, not for content or accomplishments. It is another reason why networking is the way to find your next job, you get to tell your story, instead of having a piece of paper represent your entire career history.