Finding work through companies or job placement agencies in Phoenix, AZ, starts with creating a powerful resume that compels a hiring manager to contact you. It takes a little strategy and a lot of self-awareness, but you can craft a dynamite resume following these 10 proven tactics.

Five things to include
1. Headings and keywords. Resume-screening software searches for relevant words and phrases. Make your heading job-specific (“junior financial analyst” as opposed to “accounting position”). Then pepper your resume with the most meaningful words associated with the position you seek.

2. Achievements. Don’t fall into the trap of creating a list of job descriptions. Instead, highlight the impact or benefit your contribution brought to each employer or your community. Position your experience in terms of streamlining workflows, enhancing productivity, improving morale and retention – whatever is most appropriate.

3. Action verbs. “Worked on” is a bland way to state your experience. Instead, you “coordinated,” “managed,” “influenced,” and so on. Action verbs impart an impression of power, so use them liberally. Leave the personal pronoun “I” out of the wording – just start with the verb.

4. Complete contact information. Make sure the job placement agencies in Phoenix can reach you. Put your full name, mailing address, email, website (as applicable), and the best phone number for day and evening.

5. Bullet points. Make your resume easier to scan by breaking paragraphs into bullets. Start each bullet with an active verb.

Four things to leave out

6. Non-essentials. Keep hobbies, marital status, and religious or political affiliations out of your resume. The exception: if the job is tied to one of these elements. For instance, if you apply as a sales rep for a golf equipment company, your golfing expertise will lend you more credibility.

7. References to age. Leave graduation years out of the education section. Include only the  most relevant employment history going back a decade or two.

8. Images and fancy fonts. Unless you’re applying as a graphic designer, keep artwork out. No photos of you, either. “Artsy” fonts may not be recognized by resume-scanning programs and can annoy a hiring manager, too.

9. “References available upon request.”  This is a given.

And one big to-do
10. Proofread. Check, double-check and have someone else triple-check your work. Typos, misspellings and bad punctuation can brand you as careless and torpedo your chance for an interview. Don’t count on Spellcheck on your computer.  It won’t identify misplaced and mistakenly used words.