A little foreground before I give you tips on how to get an employer or recruiter to read your resume:
Why do you need a resume?
The resume is the tool that will typically get your foot in the door
If it is done correctly it will land you the interview
The resume is the "first impression" of you to an employer. Remember the old saying "you only get one chance to make a good first impression"!
Important Note: You should consider LinkedIn and other social media as a resume of sorts.
Do your social networking sites represent you appropriately to your future employer? Even if you are not looking, your next employer might be passively looking for you! Caution, keep profile pictures "employer" appropriate!
Keys to getting your resume noticed:
Create a resume that is easy to read - bullet point format is typically best- it allows you to concisely relay your KSAA's (knowledge, skills, abilities, accomplishments)/paragraph form is NOT an effective way to relay your KSAA's...(it is overwhelming to read this type of format). Imagine yourself, for a moment, as a recruiter or hiring manager and you are up against a large stack of resumes...Would you want to read a labor intensive paragraph- even with good sentence structure!?
Make sure your resume succinctly relays your KSAA's- you should spend the most time on your accomplishments and the least amount of time on skills- although they are important and should be mentioned!
Be consistent in your format throughout the resume
Flow it similar to a book (you read left to right) use that same format in your resume...requiring them to read the resume in another flow is confusing and takes precious time that they do not have!
Create a tag line with appropriate buzz words in your industry or key skills that you are looking to incorporate in your next position (list skills that you possess not desire to gain). This will get your resume to come up when employers/recruiters "search" databases or surf the web
Keep your resume length to two pages (1 page for 5 or less years of experience)
I could spend a whole day on this topic, but hopefully these initial tips will get you off to a good start!