I’ve always read and heard that a resume needs to be short and to the point. I’ve considered trimming my own resume down by leaving off older positions and non experience related information.
I have used that strategy with a fair amount of success.
The key thing for any resume is to convince the person who is scanning it(nobody reads a resume for plot), that you have the skills needed to do the job that they are looking to fill. If you don’t list the two or three skills that the hiring manager is looking for in the top portion of the first page of the resume, the hiring manager will never look at the second page. More than two pages and you might as well be submitting a manuscript for publication...
One thing to keep in mind is that some ads are posted by staffing agencies looking to build up a resume database, so sometimes there isn’t an actual job behind the ad that you are replying to, hence no contact or follow up by the recipient.
My strategy was to list my skills and show how I used them to accomplish a goal at my present or previous employer.
Being at one employer for ten years conveys a bit of information about you to the hiring manager. One thing hiring managers try to discern is are you a quick learner who will be up and running in no time in the position that he is advertising.
Were you at one job for 10 years because you were a solid dependable employee who had loyalty to your employer, or were you comfortable doing the job for your employer and was afraid of leaving the comfort and security of that position for a more rewarding position but one fraught with new pitfalls?
Darned if you do, damned if you don’t.
So, what I am saying, is that if you were very good in your current job and led the way to finding solutions, convey that in your resume. Chances are, any possible employer will care less what you were doing 10 years ago and instead will want you to focus on the last 2 or 3 years and show how what you were doing in that time can be parlayed into a win-win for the hiring manager...
best of luck...