8. Create An Image That Matches The Salary You Want

As you write your resume, keep in mind the level of job and salary you want. Be sure to create an image that presents you at the appropriate level. For example, language used in a resume for an $8 an hour position is much different than the language used for a $16 an hour position. I recently met Lynn, who had held a Health Insurance Claims Management position $42,000 per year. She had retrained for the accounting field and hadn't yet gained any "direct accounting experience" although she had prepared monthly accounting reports as a Department Manager.

I was appalled when she shared the resume she had been counseled to create. It began with this statement:

Now what pay rate do you think this statement would motivate employers to offer Lynn? A much better statement would be:

My goal is to help people either stay at their current salary level or move up not go backwards. As you can see, the last statement greatly elevates Lynn's image and will be much more likely to generate salary offers comparable to her last pay rate.