Every day, thousands of resumes pump into the cyber stream aspiring to meet their employer match. And every day, thousands of resumes get ignored, deleted, or if they’re lucky, a first glance.

The reason why resumes are treated like a dime-a-dozen is often because there is no “feeling” from the person writing their resume.

When the resume is treated as a drudgery to fill a peg in a project puzzle, then it will appear just like all the other pegs. You’re a “strategic marketer with a results-focused attitude?” So are the other thousands of other marketers vying for the same role.

Instead of rushing to the resume table with a copy of your favorite job description and a blank page on which to splash the same old me-too verbiage, you must do something different.

Try these four steps to set your resume apart from the pack:

1. Stop Obsessing Over Every Job Requirement. Matching up your resume to some of the core requirements is essential. However, you also want to focus on selling your strongest achievements, regardless of how perfectly they align with key words on the job description. While this doesn’t mean you should write stories about programming software for a cost accountant resume, it does mean you can adapt a programming problem-solving story to fit the needs of the accounting role. In other words, sell your value through a unique lens.

2. Quit Worrying About What Everyone Tells You Is the Key to Writing Your Resume. Write first from your own head and heart. What stories make you tick? What are you most proud of? What did others whom you worked with and for thank you or praise you for? What did you love doing? And why? Only after you’re done painting the page with these brilliant red stripes of “wow” should you consider how to artfully adapt it to basic resume rules. Even then, beware of over “ruling” your resume.

3. Stop Being So Safe. If you have numbers or data or text that would illustrate your words or enhance your story, weave them into a nice graph or chart and then be happy you did. Create a second version stripped of the illustrations for those audiences (or systems) you suspect cannot process the formatting. Which brings up another subject …

4. Don’t Write for a Computer. If you’re writing only to satisfy the needs of a keyword search, then you’re writing wrong. Your message should also be written with a human in mind. In fact, if you go deep into the process of job search, you will realize it’s all about researching needs, and participating in conversations. If you’re not investing properly in the process while ensuring your story is introduced to the right audience, then it is time to pause and reboot. Commit the time and energy and get human in your search.