I can’t be the only one glued to the TV on Monday nights watching Hell’s Kitchen. These poor chefs are tops in the field, but they are being trashed and yelled at all day long on the reality show. And at the end, they have to sell themselves to Chef Ramsey in an attempt to save themeselves. It really is a lesson in self-marketing.

Self-marketing is what makes the difference. Your resume and cover letter give you an opportunity to level the playing field. The worst thing you can do is to take someone else’s resume and simply fill in the blanks with your facts. Not only that, it’s bound to backfire on you! Your colleauge might have a 3.9 GPA and therefore doesn’t need to flesh out his/her work know-how quite so much. A colleague might have been promoted to a high-ranking job and therefore doesn’t need to do as much selling of his/her expertise. You need to view your resume” resume and cover letter as an opportunity to show what you DO have that your competitors DO NOT.

Learn How to Think Like an Business

The best way to get a great idea of what makes an effective resume and letter is to be on the other side of the hiring process. When you are in the position of hiring someone, you will see firsthand what companies like and dislike in applicants.

When Resume Apple goes through the process of hiring businesslike resume writers, we understand even more about what should and should not be in a resume and letter. Even among the pros–the people who write resumes for a living–there are resumes that stand out and those that are mediocre. We hire only the cream of the crop to join our team and learn more from them about how to write truly exceptional resumes.

If you are beginning a position search, try to put yourself in either a real hiring situation (for instance, volunteer to participate in interviewing/screening candidates at your current job) or a virtual hiring process in which you should try to imagine a scenario in which you would need to hire someone. Think of your ideal intern, colleague, or boss. Jot down a brief job description. Then think of what you would want to see in that individual’s resume and letter.

You will find that there are a few key qualities you are looking for in your worker. Say those things are: (1) a degree from a reputable college in a particular subject; (2) strong organizational skills; (3) experience in a particular part of your industry; and (four) evidence of strong writing skills. If you find candidates with these credentials, you will look more closely at their resumes. If they have few or none of these qualities, you will toss their resumes.

After basic credentials have been met, you will consider “other” factors. Read through resumes wherever samples are offered (this site, online, job services offices), and find some that strike you as impressive. Once you have compiled a few, start to look for common themes. What language is used? What is/is not included? How is the material presented? What catches your attention?

Then interpret the cover+letters” cover letters. Did you read them or did you go straight to the resume? Which letters did you find appealing? Were they short? Long? Aggressive? Laid back? Make a pile of the ones you like most, and see what they have in common.

This process will help give you proper perspective. You may realize after analyzing the resumes of others that some of the items in your own resume are not of any relevance, while other aspects should be given more prominence. Developing the mind of an business is a critical first step in creating a masterpiece of a resume.