With experience on your side and accomplishments to talk about, your resume is the passport to put you in a completely different league. But it has to be well written and thought through to sell to the employers. Mostly, with your vast experience you wonder how to best package it and often make it content heavy. Avoid commiting that mistake. 

So, as an accomplished professional, where do you begin?The thumb rule is: follow the basics;have a very strong objective, followed by a professional snapshot and finally your work history and accomplishments. 

Sounds simple right? But it’s easier said than done.Resumes of experienced people should ideally have:

• A length of not more than 2-pages as the breadth of your experience suffices. More importantly, it should be relevant to the job search. Don’t unnecessarily expand it, nor cram it to a two-page document reducing white space and font size, making it illegible. If it is imperative to the job to include certain details i.e. project details for a technical person, you can go to a third page, but not beyond that. Use the universal and easy to read yet elegant, Times New Roman or Verdana font. Insert white space and make section headings aesthetically pleasing and prominent. Make the resume accurate, harping your strengths and using correct grammar and syntax. 

• A separate section showcasing career accomplishments. This is the most important part distinguishing you from others. In this highly competitive age, your achievements are the only criteria to make you stand apart. Moreover, with the economic meltdown, it’s all the more relevant that you highlight your achievements relevant to the job in such a way that it’s eye-catching. Highlight  achievements in the first page; having them quantified in terms of percentages, revenue figures and time periods as proof. Put figures like generated a revenue of Rs. 13.2 million rather than putting earned good revenue for the company. Remember to put what you have achieved in these years in your realm of work.

• A thorough skills inventory for the job. Research various sources to find the requirements of the position, and then strike a balance between your experience, skills, and attributes. A liberal sprinkling of action verbs is vital at a senior level. Use verbs like led, spearheaded, steered, handled, generated, earned, etc, leaving out the personal pronouns. Don’t include dates you joined; limiting it only to the month and year for the first few jobs. Earlier jobs can have just the years even. 

• A specific objective. Never have an open-ended objective thinking that your opportunities would otherwise shrink. At your level, the objective should be specific to the job backed by solid experience. Convey strong work ethics, your willingness to contribute to the environment and ability to strategise, through it.  
• An education list last. With experience on your side, put education last. Also how much you scored at school etc is now irrelevant – unless you have been a topper/gold medalist.

• Some basic points: If your experience is not of your present chosen field, delete that. At your level, your resume has to be direct. Don’t state work experience beyond 15 years.

Your resume is an art for landing that plum job. Remember, resume is no longer the tell-tale of your degrees. It is the document speaking about the real you in your absence. And when you are are experienced, it’s all the more important. Remember, resumes make or break your career; spend time in writing it right, doing many drafts and edits. It’s after all your ticket to a better job.