Your resume (or CV) can either help you greatly increase your salary or hinder your career advancement. Here’s how to achieve the former with your resume.

First, focus on the structure. An ideal structure consists of Name and Contact Information, Career Summary, Computer Skills, Professional Experience, Education.

Then, consider the length. For entry-level purchasing positions, a one-page resume is appropriate. However, “If you have more than five to seven years of experience, then you want to have a two-page resume,” according to Tonia Deal, President of Tonia Deal Consulting, a leading supply chain recruiting firm. “I will not submit a resume over three pages.”

Next, ensure that the Professional Experience section is done well. List experience from most recent to oldest.

Within the Professional Experience section, have headings listing each company and the years you’ve worked for those companies. But an additional commonly ignored item that employers and recruiters like to see is a short description of those companies.

“Who is this company? What do they do? I want the annual sales,” says Deal of company descriptions on the resume. She explains that employers like to “know the type of organization that [candidates] are coming from.”

Underneath each company heading, you should include subheadings for each position you’ve held accompanied by dates you’ve held those positions. Under the position subheadings, include your responsibilities and achievements in bullet point or paragraph form. For responsibilities, Deal indicates that she finds the following information helpful:

* The categories you’re responsible for buying
* The annual spend you’re responsible for
* The type of supply base you’ve dealt with
* The number of team members you’ve supervised
* The purchasing organization’s structure (e.g., centralized), particularly if “the individual [has] been part of restructuring the company,” she says.

For achievements, Deal admits “The first thing that I will look for is numbers,” such as “Improved delivery performance by 50%” and “Initiated structured cross-functional global sourcing process to accelerate $20 million of annual savings.”

“I love it,” Deal exclaims when asked about a candidate including credentials such as the SPSM Certification on a resume. “I like to see it right under Education.”

Including a certification on a resume “is really critical,” in Deal’s opinion. “I really want to see that because that should be highlighted.”