Once upon a time, you applied for afterschool/weekend jobs at McDonald’s or the local Cinema and filled out an easy one-page sheet of past job addresses, references and dates. Times have changed! Now you are expected to fill in your roles, responsibilities and achievements at your past jobs. You’ll need to explain any absences or lapses in work. You need to pick and choose which stories to tell, worry about formatting, spell everything flawlessly and come up with a winning cover letter that best states your desires and your talents. Resume writing can be daunting, but you will need this skill when you apply for internship programs and entry level jobs. Here are some of the biggest pet peeves human resources managers have when it comes to resumes. If you avoid them and follow these great tips, you’ll be on your way to career path success!

John Logan is a human resources manager for the ZS Associates management-consulting firm in Princeton, N.J. and he shares some resume writing tips to help job seekers stand out from the pack. “I find that most resumes do not provide enough details for me to understand the scope of the candidate’s work,” Logan complains. He says that a good resume will detail specifics, such as the number of people supervised, the size of a project budget, sales figures or the estimated cost savings. “Anytime you can quantify your accomplishments, you give them more credibility,” explains Brian Howell from The QWorks Group. Some estimates say that at least 40% of your bullet points should have measurable metrics in them. Think in terms of comparative sales volume, the number of people you hired or led, the amount of money you saved, your success in completing projects based on goals, revenue-generating initiatives, process improvement and cost containment.

Human resources personnel come across all kinds of resume writing nightmares, they say. Some resumes arrive without a cover letter, which is immediate cause for dismissal for many recruiters. Other resumes and cover letters appear to be obviously generic. Perhaps all the bullet points have the exact same job description or the cover letter doesn’t speak to the position being advertised. “Resumes are auditions without the benefit of you being around. I will decide if you are a match for my job/client within 20 seconds,” says Lisa De Benedittis, president of Elite Staffing Services. “Your resume will speak volumes about your communication skills. Do you use words to demonstrate your value or is it boilerplate? Did you put thought and effort into this audition?”

Students can receive college assistance with their resume writing long before they’ve left the academic environment. Free services can be sought at student career centers. Peer mentors will go over your resume with you and point out areas that need improvement. Some people meet with former employers or student intern bosses to discuss how they might reword their job accomplishments and descriptions to grab attention from future employers. Some communities also offer resume skill building programs to help local individuals shine. Since there is so much competition in the job world, seeking help from as many sources as possible is wise.

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