Having a well-written, professional looking resume is important to job search success. Even though you may think you know what it takes to create a winning resume, there are important elements that are easy to miss when you are preparing your resume, especially if you are applying for your first post-college job or internship. The following 9 quick fixes will help give your resume the edge it needs to stand out from the crowd.

1. Make sure your resume has a sales element. It is important that you treat yourself as a product and your resume as a sales letter to sell that product, in order to make it has persuasive as possible.
2. Only mention past experience and accomplishments that are relevant to the position that your are applying for.
3. Use bullet points to help make your resume easy to skim while getting across important points, but don’t overdo it. Having too many bullet points will turn your resume into nothing more than a grocery list that lacks substance.
4. Make sure your contact information is large and legible. Many resume templates use tiny font which can be difficult for managers and recruiters to read. If you use a resume template, make sure to adjust the font on your contact information if necessary.
5. Have someone else proofread your resume to avoid typos. As even top notch writers know, your own work can be the toughest to check for small typos because your brain knows what is “supposed” to be there. If you don’t have anyone who can look it over for you, the next best idea is to walk away from it for a few hours and proofread it again with ‘fresh eyes’. The worst time to proofread your resume is right after you’ve written it, as that is when you are most likely to miss simple errors.

These first 5 fixes will get you started. Next post: the remaining 4 fantastic fixes that will help give your resume more appeal.