Are you struggling to write your resume and promote yourself effectively in your job search? Here are five prevalent resume writing myths and mistakes to avoid that you must be aware of.

1) Myth: Resumes should be only one, or at the most, two pages.

In most cases, this is true. It is the rare reviewer of resumes who, when being completely honest, will tell you that he or she spends more than a few seconds in the first review of a resume. Unless your resume captures immediate attention through an eye-appealing design and succinct, compelling language, your resume will be screened out after just 15 seconds. With this reality in mind, imagine the thoughts of the reviewer when he or she receives a four- or five-page resume, with another 100 resumes waiting for review right behind it. Clearly, the odds of your resume capturing attention and being read increase when the length is limited to one or two pages.

Are there exceptions to this rule? Absolutely!

While it is true that with each additional page you reduce your chances of your resume being read thoroughly, for many executives, contract workers, consultants, and technical professionals it is unrealistic and nearly impossible to compress years of experience into one or two pages. When attempted, important achievements are left out to make room for a full chronology of the career history and education. What is left is a boring listing of companies, positions, and dates that are virtually guaranteed to turn off the reader and land your resume in the circular file.

A better strategy is to write your resume with exactly as much detail as is needed to persuasively convince the reader that you are the ideal candidate to solve his or her problems - to compel the reader to pick up the phone and call you for an interview. While this is sometimes a difficult balance to strike, you should edit your resume with a very discriminating eye toward reducing unnecessary wordiness. Every word in your resume should have a purpose. Items that can be presented as a list - continuing education courses, technical summaries, associations and memberships, etc. - can often be included in an addendum that may or may not be used as appropriate. Within the resume, use succinct, dynamic, action-oriented language to convey your ability to add value to the reader's company and you will capture and hold attention through three or even more pages.

2) Myth: All resumes should include a clearly stated objective.

It is essential that your resume is audience-focused - it must succinctly communicate that you understand the employer's needs and that you are uniquely qualified to meet those needs. While the use of an objective is a controversial issue, at its basis, an objective tells the reader what you want from him or her (focused on YOUR needs rather than the employers'). A popular and often more effective alternative to the objective, the qualifications summary, allows you to establish focus for the resume while summarizing the key qualifications and value you offer the employer. This is a subtle but critical difference - one that may weigh heavily in opening the door to an interview. While an objective is both appropriate and effective in some cases, for example, career changers or new graduates with little or no work experience in the targeted field, experiment with the qualifications summary as a strong alternative.

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