When is the last time you updated your resume?
Even if you’re not job searching, it doesn’t hurt to keep an updated resume on hand. You never know when opportunities will present themselves, so it’s a good idea to update your resume every few months or at least twice a year.
Here are 7 specific things you should regularly update on your resume.
1) Remove Outdated or Irrelevant Experience
No matter where you are in your career, you’ve probably had a handful of jobs outside of your career path. For instance, maybe you were a lifeguard in college but are now graduated and looking for marketing jobs. Chances are, you probably still learned some valuable skills as a lifeguard. But should you include this experience on your resume?
While it might seem harmless to keep all past-experience listed, if it isn’t relevant, it can be very distracting to whoever is reviewing your resume. They might actually view you as less experienced because whatever experience you are sharing isn’t required for the job you are applying for.
Further, you want to keep your resume easy to read. Hiring managers see tons of resumes every single week and they don’t have a lot of time to sort through all of the information you are providing.
2) Make it Searchable
These days, most companies utilize an electronic applicant system. A lot of times, these applicant systems will screen your resume for keywords before a human even sees your application.
In order to get your resume seen, you’ll need to work to get around the initial computer screening. You can do that by working to integrate keywords into your resume. So how do you know what keywords to include?
Start by looking at the job description. What qualifications are they looking for? Are there certain skills or certifications they are requiring?
Add these keywords to your resume periodically. That way, the computer screening process will recognize your resume and you can get through to the hiring manager.
As a word of caution, you don’t want to use these words too often in your resume. Computer systems can also recognize if you are trying to game the system and will reject you if you copy the job description word for word.
3) Refresh the Formatting
Is your resume formatted in a clear, easy-to-read way?
Formatting is very important to hiring managers. Good formatting can draw their attention to your resume. Bad, hard-to-read formatting acts as an immediate deterrent.
To determine if your resume is formatted correctly, ask yourself a few questions. Is it easy-to-read from up close and far away? Does it draw you in? Are your sections of experience easy to follow? Are you maximizing all of the space in the most effective way possible?
You can also ask a friend or family member to look at your resume and share their honest thoughts. Sometimes, a fresh set of eyes is the best way to improve your resume.
4) Check Tenses
Even the most detailed-oriented person can overlook small structural mistakes on a resume. One common resume mistake is being inconsistent with the tenses you are using to describe your experience.
For instance, this resume sample uses varying tenses and is not correct:
- Updated social media sites daily
- Create monthly newsletters to market services to clients
- Building email list by offering a free, self-created eBook
None of the bold words are the same tense. Instead, keep consistent with the tenses. Usually, using past-tense makes the most sense.
5) Add Color
In a sea of grayscale resumes, you can easily make yours stand out by making one simple change – add a bit of color.
Even if you’re applying for a job in a traditional field, such as law or finance, adding a little bit of color to your resume can grab the attention of a recruiter. Even a simple colored line underneath a resume header can really attract the eyes of a hiring manager. If you’re in a creative field, you have a lot more freedom to experiment as see fit.
6) Add Your LinkedIn Profile
This day in age, social media is everything. Many companies will check out your social media profiles as an extension of your resume. Put your best foot forward by including the link to your LinkedIn profile on your application so hiring managers can conveniently find out more information about you.
7) Spellcheck, Spellcheck, Spellcheck
Spelling mistakes happen to the best of us. Even if you’ve reread your resume ten times, ask someone else to look over it for you. People might just see something that you missed.
Bonus: Other Resume Do’s and Don’ts
While you’re updating your resume, keep in mind these other resume do’s and don’ts.
- Do be yourself! A resume is you on paper. While there are some guidelines you should follow, don’t be afraid to be yourself.
- Do brag about your experience. Many people don’t brag about their accomplishments enough. Your resume should highlight all of your greatest achievements, so don’t feel bad for talking yourself up.
- Do make it easy to read. Remember, hiring managers see hundreds of resumes for every position. If you have viable experience, but a challenging to read resume, you might find it hard to get your foot in the door of a company.
- Don’t include a picture of yourself. Though it’s common for resumes in other countries to include a picture of yourself, in the U.S., this is a big no-no as it opens up the door for companies to discriminate you based on how you look. Plus, it just takes up space.
- Don’t use an unprofessional email address. This might seem obvious, but if you don’t already have an appropriate personal email address, it’s time to get one. You can create a new email address for free through Gmail and other sites.
- Don’t talk in first person. When describing past job experiences, be sure to include direct bullet points and don’t talk in first person. It gets repetitive and wordy and ultimately weakens everything you are trying to say.
Above all, remember that a resume is a company’s first impression of you. Communicate your experience as best and as powerfully as you can and you’ll find job opportunities coming to you in no time.
Related
- In a Career Rut? 5 Proactive Things to Do
- 5 Skills That Will Help Advance Any Career
- 10 Common Career Barriers and How to Overcome Them
Have you updated your resume recently? What tips do you have? What else would help you when looking for a job?
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