Whether you've lost your job, you're looking for your first real job or you're exploring a Plan B in case your employer doesn't weather the recession, count on this much: You need a resumé.

That wasn't always true. Your grandfather might have hired on at a factory without an outline of his experience, accomplishments and credentials, but finding a job today will go much easier with a good resumé - or much worse with a lousy one.

That's where a little advice helps. We talked with people who write resumés and who read them by the hundreds. Together, their perspective provides an edge in understanding how to get the attention of a prospective boss and improve your chances of being invited to interview.

Rest easy. Put down that video camera. Don't rent the rabbit suit or hire the folk singer to help present a multimedia, interactive look at your qualifications and experience.

In most fields of employment, a degree of conventionality still works best in a resumé - that is, it should be printed.

If an organization asks for an e-mailed resumé, don't send them a link to the “I Love Me” video you've posted on YouTube. Make sure that even in an e-mail, a resumé is in an electronic format that can be easily printed. (Of course, nothing is a gimmick if an employer expects it. A video makes perfect sense for a television anchor or a producer of television commercials, for example.)

Brevity, however, is not a gimmick. It's a thing of beauty in resumés, which should be one or two pages long.

Sheila Biggs, assistant director of student support and advising at Ivy Tech, helps students with perhaps 100 resumés a month. She said a common problem is that people new to writing resumés write autobiographies instead.

“Employers use a first glance,” she said. “You've got 30 seconds before they move on.”

If you last wrote a resumé 20 or more years ago, you may remember a standard format along the lines of objective first, experience second, education third and so on. Don't assume that's the best way to show a prospective boss how much you might help her.

Biggs dismisses making your objective part of a resumé at all. “That's what a cover letter is for,” she says.

Instead, consider leading with accomplishments in your past, particularly if those accomplishments can be quantified, such as increases in sales or more customers served. “People like to see the numbers,” Biggs said.

Caroline Dewey, who writes and edits resumés through her business, USA Resume, is not so firmly set against a statement of a job-seeker's objective. She says it can be a chance to provide a kind of mission statement and give an employer a glimpse into your priorities and values - and whether those would be a good fit with a new organization.

Sometimes a job-seeker can find out or anticipate what skills an employer would be looking for, and she can lead her resumé with skills or personal attributes. That's particularly helpful when hunting for a job in a new field.

Dewey has worked with many military veterans returning to civilian employment. She said it's often important to express their strengths and proficiencies in terms general enough for those without military backgrounds to understand.

People are understandably worried about seeming like insufferable braggarts if they highlight their accomplishments and strengths in a resumé. That's a phobia job-seekers need to overcome. To compete with other applicants, you need to talk up your strengths in your resumé. The key is to adopt a realistic tone.

“Be bold about your history,” said Steve Gotsch, senior vice president and human resource director at STAR Financial Bank. “A job search is no time for modesty. But don't lie,” he said.