Writing a fantastic resume is a talent that many of us don’t have. At least not under pressure when you are looking to secure your next career move or job position. This is why it is critical to update your resume consistently. This way, when the time arises for you to seek new positions or even promotions, you are prepared and ready to put your best foot forward.
Many career-minded individuals set time aside every month to review the information on their resume and make any updates and adjustments necessary. There are tons of reasons why you should do this; let ‘s explore a few below.
Major Changes
If you have been in your career and current job for a long time, then it is time for an update. Even if you feel secure and know that this is the place you are staying, it doesn’t hurt to keep on top of your professional accomplishments. You may even need to use your resume for a promotion that opens up at your company. In this case, you will be prepared to throw your hat in the ring.
Aside from all of that, you are not the same person professionally that you were when you originally got hired at this company. Chances are your skillsets and achievements have grown year after year. So, it would be silly to have a resume that didn’t reflect all of this hard work. Consider it your highlight reel. You will also want to pay attention to the style of resume you have and make sure that it aligns with the trends today. Even resume font styles are essential.
You can do some style updates easily with Word as they have a plethora of free templates for you to use to freshen your style. Another area that you will want to check is in your relevant skills. If you are in the tech field, you know that this is a fast-changing area and abilities that were coveted five years ago are likely obsolete now.
Keyword Analyzing
After reviewing your content, you will now want to begin to shorten redundant facts and sentences that make your resume appear too wordy. Remember hiring managers and especially recruiters receive tons of prospects daily and don’t have the time to read through length content.
Make sure that your resume indeed works as a highlight reel so they can gather the facts quickly and see if you might be a fit for their open position. Remember, the interviews are the place where you can elaborate on your skillsets and previous employment. If you try to cram everything in your resume, you will not have much to discuss at the interview, if you get the interview at all.
Make good use of bold fonts to jump off the page and highlight what you would like highlighted.
Personalization
Your resume is your highlight reel. This is the place where you can showcase your accomplishments and awards and hopefully stand out from the crowd. You want the hiring manager to get a sense of who you are, and this is where your personalization comes in to play.
Make sure that you offer up any volunteer work that you are passionate about, music, art, or anything interesting to you. This is especially important if you have been recognized for your efforts or have received any awards in any of these areas.
This helps to avoid the stereotypical “go-getter” keyword that gets way overused in resumes and lets your accomplishments and driving behaviors speak for themselves. And may help you secure that interview.
Self Reflection
One of the most important reasons for keeping your resume current is self-reflection. Setting some time aside every month to review what you have been doing for the past few years or more can be very eye-opening.
You can look for patterns in jobs, such as time spent at each position and starting salary versus ending salary. Self-reflection is about working on you and improving on areas that you may be lacking. But it is also about celebrating your journey. Taking time to look back at where you came from and how much you’ve learned along your path.
Make sure to pay attention to all the skills you’ve developed along the way and make a list of skills you would like to add to your list in the future. Set a timeline and hold yourself accountable at your monthly resume checkups. Congratulations on taking a smart career step.
This contributed article was written by Susan Ranford, an expert on career coaching, business advice, and workplace rights. She has written for New York Jobs, IAmWire, and ZipJob.
