Does having the best resume guarantee you the interview? Well, it depends. Often the most qualified candidate isn’t the one that gets the job, it’s the one who can sell himself. So proper presentation can do a lot. Often the most qualified candidates not only don’t get the job, they don’t even get an interview because of poorly prepared resumes, cover letters or failure to follow up on the application.

A resume and cover letter are very important aspects of personal branding and they need to do more than simply list your qualifications. They need to compel readers to want to meet you. Even if your resume is free of spelling and grammar errors it isn’t complete until it addresses AT LEAST 30% of targeted hiring authorities.

A good resume and cover letter gets the attention of employers and makes them want to see you. If they do that, then you have good ones. The best resume can only be judged by the callback rate it generates. With good documents a 75% response rate is possible, it’s happened before and it can happen again.

In the end, the goal of a resume isn’t just to show what you can do but to make you stand out in the eyes of potential employers. That is the best resume: the one that gets you in the door.