Your resume acts as your first introduction to any job opportunity. As such, it can make or break your chances of landing your dream position. Given its importance, do you think it’s time to give your resume a spring cleaning?
Even if you’re happy in your current job, updating your job-seeking documents represents a useful exercise. Experts suggest that you should review your resume at least once a year and maybe as often as every six months.
However, a large chunk of people don’t routinely polish their resumes. About 40% ignore the process when they have a position. As a result, many job seekers end up passing around a document that’s years out of date.
Don’t let this happen to you. Spring offers you a great excuse to do a touch-up.
Here are eight tips to help you freshen up your resume:
Research the Cutting Edge for Your Industry
Before you make any changes to your resume, you need to understand the current market. What do employers in your industry want? By understanding these factors, you make it easier to focus your efforts. You’ll know what work history and skills to emphasize, as well as realizing which ones have diminishing value.
Look at Other Resumes on LinkedIn
Review what employers are looking for. At the same time, check out the competition. Scan sites like LinkedIn to understand what others highlight on their resumes. This way, you’ll know how you stack up. At the same time, you can learn a few tricks that helped others land positions.
Add Your Latest Experience
Once you’ve done sufficient research, you can begin to update your resume. This starts by bringing the document up to date. Add any skills or experience you’ve developed since your last spring cleaning.
At the same time, make a commitment to continue enhancing your resume on a regular basis. It’s easier to describe projects and accomplishments when they are fresh in your mind. As such, routine sprucing up tends to create a better product than attempting massive overhauls at sporadic intervals.
Trim Your Older Work History
As you beef up your most recent experience, you should look to streamline your older information. Progressing through your career means some of your previous accomplishments lose their luster. Get rid of outdated info and focus on your most recent achievements.
Think of it this way: an NBA champion doesn’t mention their high school trophies very often. Treat your resume in the same way.
Get the Most out of Keywords
Delivering a resume can feel like a high-stakes word game. Because companies have come to rely on resume-scanning software to screen candidates, it’s important to get the maximum value of each word. Discover what keywords matter most for your industry and make sure they appear in your resume.
Add Quantitative Measures
Few things impress potential employers more than hard numbers. If you can complement your bullet points with specific figures, you’ll enhance your perceived value as an employee. As such, look for ways to add quantitative measures to your resume.
Review Your Format
So far, we’ve looked at individual changes you can make to your resume. But what about a complete overhaul? It’s possible you’ll have more luck with a different format.
Research the current expectations of employers and look at the most popular resume structures. From there, you can decide whether an updated presentation could improve your chances of landing an ideal position.
Proofread, Proofread, Proofread
At the end of your spring cleaning, make sure you put the final polish on your updated resume. Read it over carefully to eliminate all spelling and grammar errors. You want your presentation to be perfect when you send it to employers.
Need Help Finding Your Next Job?
Once you’ve created the perfect resume, your main challenge comes from finding the perfect employer. Let an expert help. By connecting with a top recruiter, like Hiregy, you can locate the ideal situation for you.
Contact Hiregy today to put that resume to work.
