Objective statements on your resume are *so* over. What would you rather read?

"Searching for a competitive position in an organization where I can grow and contribute to a sales team." You will take yourself out of the game with this old-fashioned approach. That's not what resumes look like anymore.

**Or this?**

"Results-oriented project manager experienced across the healthcare and banking industries. Skilled leader and team builder with record of architecting efficient processes, ensuring compliance, and guiding organizations through complex business objectives."

Let's be honest: hiring managers want to know what you can do for them, not how you want to grow and be fulfilled. Cue the strong qualifications summary.

**Where Do I Start?**

The top portion of your resume is valuable real estate, so make it count. In place of your address, list your LinkedIn address next to your name, email and phone number.

Be specific, and provide statistics wherever you can. Hiring managers love to see data relating to increased revenue, savings, process improvements, and increased efficiency.

What did you do best in each role you held? What were your wins? If you feel you're coming up short on empirical evidence, take a harder look at some of your soft skills. Are you a subject matter expert? Have you ever gone above and beyond your job description? Jumped in as a leader? Of course you have, you're a military veteran. Showcase those moments.

One way to crystallize exactly what your biggest strengths are is to write from the bottom up. Tackle the easier sections first. I've found that what told me who I really was as a brand was listing and then honing my successes and achievements in each role that I'd held. By the time I'd finished writing them all down and editing them to be as lean and compelling as possible, my strongest selling points became clear. Then I was ready to take those nuggets and formulate them into my qualifications summary.

**Play to the ATS**

Just face it: your resume shouldn't look the same for every job application. The applicant tracking system will search your resume for keywords that relate to the job you’re seeking. Don't have them? Your resume won't get picked for further scrutiny by a live person. That's why you must examine the job description and pepper in those keywords. That's right, every time.

ATS systems are trained to scan vertically, so align your resume down the center.
Find out what they're looking for - take note of their descriptions and glean keywords used. Then, weave those keywords into your qualifications summary and throughout the rest of your document.

**Work Smart**

Your LinkedIn profile and your RecruitMilitary candidate profile are extensions of your resume. A well-written qualifications summary should also have a presence on both.

Your resume should deliver solid proof of your value. Lead with a paragraph built from the ground up that cements your best qualities. Then maximize its value by using it to strengthen your LinkedIn and RecruitMilitary candidate profiles.