6 Quick Tips on Keeping Your Resume Fresh and Up To Date
If you are in business for yourself, fortune or fate may mean you have to go back into the corporate world and seek a job. It happens to people everyday for reasons that often they have no control over. You wake up one morning, go to your business and learn your largest customer, a Fortune 100 company, just declared bankruptcy and they owe you over a million dollars. Or, maybe your market crashes as it did when the entire housing market collapsed. You just never know.
If you or someone you know is job hunting today... well, good luck. The unemployment rate is sky high and there is already a long line of people dying to land the job you want. Maybe you are 50 plus, have skills that are out of date... that's even tougher. If you know what to do, you can take steps to attract the attention of recruiters and hiring managers.
If you know what to do, you can take steps to attract the attention of recruiters and hiring managers.
These resume tips are based on an article from www.ResumeTarget.com and the experience of seasoned recruiters and resume writers.
- “Replace your objective statement with a value proposition” – what can you do for them? What skill set do you have that qualifies you for the position and would make you an asset to the company. You should also use your value proposition to communicate your future career goals.
- “Review old entries in your resume” – you may have listed descriptions in your resume which are no longer relevant. With the way technology has changed and impacted the way business is conducted, what may have been relevant in the past may no longer apply. Also, do go back in time more than 10 years for experience unless you feel it is needed to make up for something lacking elsewhere such as work experience versus higher education.
- “Add new skills, accomplishments, certifications, job responsibilities and positions” you have earned – Create a skill set spreadsheet with all of the new additions and changes that have taken place in your professional as well as personal career. Choose items that can impact and further your professional goals. Use skills in your civic duties or volunteering that you may not have used in your job, but you still acquired. They may be beneficial when looking for another job.
- “Use updated keywords” – now with the application process being for the most part online, if you don’t have keywords in your resume that match up to what the company is looking for, your resume won’t get past the online resume filters. Make sure your resume contains keywords that are relevant to the industry you are applying for as well as what is listed in the job qualifications and description.
- “Tweak your resume format” – today, the most important and relevant information on your resume should be found on the top third of the first page and the bottom third of the last page.
- "Proofread your resume – Use spell check” but don’t rely totally on spell check! Remember that a word may be spelled correctly but it is not the word that makes sense such as there and they’re. Proofread your resume to make sure sentences flow and things make sense. Proofread two or three times if necessary and better yet, have someone else proof it for you. You may find that since you have in your head what you want to say, you might not catch and error that a fresh set of eyes would.
Good luck!
Meantime, why not take Brian Tracy's advice and pick the one thing you are worst at and lean to do it excellently?Meantime, why not take Brian Tracy's advice and pick the one thing you are worst at and lean to do it excellently?
Afraid of sales and haven't a clue how to sell" Don't know how to manage people? Have no idea how to manage time effectively? Whatever you are weakest at, use this time to make it what you are best at. www.briantracy.com is an excellent resource for learning new business skills with proven programs to teach you how to excel at the foundations for success in business and life.
Why not make downtime uptime and add to your skill set? You'll be amazed at how opportunity comes to the prepared mind.