Updating a resume is something you should do regularly, even if you’re not planning to leave a job soon. It’s important to review it occasionally since the world is changing, as does the corporate environment. Therefore, your job application documents might be outdated once you have to use them.
Additionally, some companies might request to review an employee’s resume when planning a promotion. Alternatively, you may face a less pleasant situation if your company goes into bankruptcy, and you must quickly browse for the available positions.
So, even if updating a resume seems like not a big deal for you, you might find this post helpful to advance in a career field. Relax and be ready to take notes. We’ll share helpful tips on how to update your resume in a slow mode without wasting too much time.
How Often Should You Update a Resume?
How often should you renew your resume to feel less overwhelmed and not get that suspicious look from employers? The job search experts advise every applicant to do that every 3-6 months.
Here’s the list of apparent exclusions:
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- Moving to a new company
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- Acquiring a new professional skill, a qualification, or adding a high school diploma
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- Taking on more responsibilities
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- Working on a big project
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- Changing your personal contact information
In addition, you might apply for another job but not hear back from the recruiter. In this case, make sure to take a look at your profile and work experiences and see what needs to be changed or even removed to better align with your career perspective.
In addition, you might as well ask the resume editor to complete this task for you. Hand your resume over to professionals to achieve better results and showcase your skill development.
If You’re Running Out of Time
We’ve discussed urgent situations that won’t leave you much time to renew your resume. Let’s say you’ve got 5-15 minutes. What do you do then?
First, make sure to refresh your resume header. It’s the first thing hiring managers see when they evaluate job seekers, so you want that to be impeccable.
What to include:
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- Your full name
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- Email address
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- Personal phone number
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- Your current location (city and state)
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- LinkedIn profile
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- Portfolio (optional)
On the contrary, take time to eliminate these aspects from the header:
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- Photo
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- Street address
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- Other social media (unless you’re in a creative industry)
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- Multiple contact details
The other thing to update is the resume sections. For example, consider eliminating some or adding new ones (usually when receiving additional certifications to fit the job market demands).
The last step is to do a quick scan of your bullet points. Remove repetitions and use synonyms to make a resume engage with whoever will read it. For example, rather than saying that you “worked with” a team, use more exciting verbs like “collaborated,” “partnered,” or “advised.”
There’s a lot more that you can do within 15 minutes. These suggestions will navigate you through the process:
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- Highlight your promotions
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- Make a resume ATS-friendly
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- Include remote occupations
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- Remove jobs that are older than 10-15 years
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- Proofread for typos and style controversies
Now, we’ll explore the different situations when you have a stable job that you’re delighted with and the time to adjust your resume for occasional job opportunities that might pop up.
If There’s No Rush
Do you have time and a desire to make that perfect resume accurate? Let’s make some adjustments!
Customize Your Keywords
Even the best resume in the world won’t pass the ATS bots if it doesn’t have any keywords. Earlier, we mentioned that using the same words consistently is unhelpful, and you should consider the synonyms. That is all true, but the keywords are the missing link to show employers you fit right into a new team.
Make a Resume Shorter
Put the essential information on top and remove the irrelevant data you might have found. Remember to scan the job descriptions you’re most interested in to see what’s important for a hiring manager and what can get you an interview in no time.
Update Work Experience Bullet Points
Once you remove the sentences that don’t fit, you have more space for your professional accomplishments. Try to list the 3 to 6 most prominent results under every job title. Use numbers and facts instead of plainly describing your duties.
Tailor Your Resume to A Specific Vacancy
In addition to using keywords to match your resume with a job, you can do the following:
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- Write a summary of your skills and accomplishments
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- Make a job title reflect your actual responsibilities
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- Prioritize more relevant expertise
Don’t leave out past job experiences, skills, certifications, or anything else that sets you apart from other competition. Think about the opportunities that might come your way, and follow the job market demands to land a dream job once you need one.
Work on Your Linkedin
A “must-have” of all times is having an updated LinkedIn profile. It’s relatively common for hiring managers to browse through potential candidates even when they are not applying directly.
As a social media channel, LinkedIn has a superpower to connect the right people with companies with job openings. The hidden secret of this webpage is that employers might recruit you even before they post an official job description. LinkedIn allows networking and getting to know each other better while going through the work history.
Polish the Formatting
Last but not least, make your resume visually appealing. You probably know that hiring managers take about six seconds to scan job applications. Well, the first two seconds they devote to admiring (or disliking) the resume format.
Undoubtedly, the content matters, but you don’t want to get a rejection just because you didn’t spend time on formatting. Ensure you use an easy-to-read font, list jobs in reverse chronological order, and don’t fill all the blank spaces (so that the resume can “breathe”) to be a winning candidate.
Key Takeaways
Whether you plan to apply for a job now or in a 10-year perspective, updating your resume matters. It’s one of the practices to inform you about the job market trends and your company’s inner culture.
Based on changes in the workplace, the need to update a resume might arise to either get you a promotion or a new stable job. So, remember to look at your job application papers at least every 3-6 months, take care of formatting, and remove the irrelevant information. You’ll be one step ahead of your peers!
Read: What to do if you can no longer pay for college due to COVID.
