What are the main reasons resumes fail?

There are many reasons why resumes fail and do not result in an interview. The most important is that most people fail to realize that the resume's sole purpose it to secure an interview and not be one's self-proclaimed biography.

Resumes should be no longer than two pages long, and should communicate the best selling points in the first few paragraphs. The longer the resume the less chance it has on being read.

A second reason is that most resumes are too generic and should be focused (at least the resume objective statement) to the specific job one is applying to.

A third reason is the resume is poorly written and written on substandard paper- makes the wrong impression for one of executive stature.

A fourth reason is that the resume is not written to an individual, but to a department. These resumes rarely get in the right hands.

A fifth reason is having a juvenile email address or personal answering machine that is comical rather than professional. It's all about making the right, professional first impression.