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Think your resume stinks? Here’s the acid test: does it tell stories that will make the boss want to pick up the phone and call you? If not, your resume needs some serious work. In a tough job market, all your job search tools, including the resume, must be top notch. Often, poor resumes are symptomatic of poorly-run job campaigns.

Many accomplished people have ordinary resumes. The resume fails to market them, but just tells dry histories: companies, titles, dates, and duties. Most importantly, they fail to speak the boss’s language. The boss needs people who can get results! He (or she) needs someone who can solve the tough problems—and help him advance his career.

*Tell stories*
Don’t bore the boss with long descriptions of your duties. Don’t think your titles and high-level responsibilities will be enough to impress the boss. Many people with impressive titles and lots of responsibilities are incompetent. Tell brief, well-crafted stories of how you made a difference, and give quantifiable results. If the results aren’t quantifiable—many people’s work doesn’t easily translate into numbers—you can still express them powerfully. It does takes a little more work.

*Be clear*
Make sure people besides you can understand clearly what you did. Many outstanding accomplishments are overlooked due to a murky, lackluster presentation.

*Be relevant*
Don’t waste the boss’s time describing a job you did 25 years ago that is irrelevant to the needs of today’s markets. Instead, anticipate the needs and issues facing the boss and speak to them. Some people go through their career, just adding their latest job onto old resumes. Their resume starts to resemble a compost pile–one piece of garbage thrown on top of all the others. They never reevaluate themselves and ask important questions like:

Who am I today?
How have I changed since I wrote my last resume?
How have markets changed?
How do I want to portray myself?
What part of my experience is most relevant today?

Some people write great resumes for themselves, but many—perhaps most—ought to get them professionally written. Most of us don’t hesitate to pay professionals, including plumbers, mechanics, attorneys, and accountants because professionals usually do a better job. Your job search is too important to skimp. Not only is a good professional skilled in writing the copy, but, as outsiders, they bring a valuable objectivity. Often, we’re just too close to ourselves to articulate well what we did. A good career professional can ensure you speak about what most matters to the boss—results.

People often get in trouble in their careers by not listening to their inner voice. Our sensitive “sixth sense” is alert to our surroundings, but too often, we second-guess ourselves and get into jobs that aren’t right. Then, we make it worse by staying far too long.

Sometimes, we know almost right away that the job isn’t a good fit. The boss is abusive, the office politics are hostile, we’re on the losing end of some internal caste system, or the job duties aren’t suited to us. Often the job discussed in the interview is NOTHING like the job you get. Many times, we delude ourselves into thinking things will improve. Usually, they just get worse.

It took Marcy months to recover from two years in a job she never should have taken. The very first time she heard the boss’s voice on the phone, she knew she wouldn’t like him. After submitting her resume, Marcy called to follow up. The boss, Herman, had a voice as warm as a corpse. He told her arrogantly: “I have your resume, and will call you if I’m interested.”

But Marcy didn’t have any other offers, so when Herman called, she interviewed and got the job.

It didn’t take long to find Herman’s is a blamer and a screamer who plays favorites. Some of his staff could do no wrong, while others, like Marcy, could do no right. She knew she was in a losing situation, but kept telling herself that she could win him over.

Marcy’s self-esteem suffered terribly from Herman’s venom. She lost a lot of sleep, she often couldn’t eat, and her friends told her she looked terrible. She was so exhausted and felt so bad about herself that she couldn’t bring herself to apply for another job. She tried to deny her feelings and put on a happy face, but she fooled no one. Finally, she found herself in Herman’s office, getting pink slip.

This is not to say that you should quit after the first day on the job if it doesn’t go well. In rare cases, that is appropriate, but usually, it’s a good idea to give it a chance for a month or so. Sometimes, things can be a little chaotic or unpleasant at the beginning. Still, pay attention to what is going on when, and if it’s not right, don’t stay.

Often people stay in bad jobs out of a belief in scarcity, or because they believe they can’t get, or don’t deserve, what they really want. As one client said recently, “I never chose a job. I just grabbed whatever came along. I’ve been a victim.”

The good news is that you can get what you want. But first, be clear about what it is. If your’e not clear, get help from a career coach. Then, summon the courage to go for what you truly deserve.