Career Tip: 3 Quick Resume Fixes

Update your Resume with these quick tips!

Now that hiring has picked up--a little bit--you, as a job seeker, need to be ready! The first place to start is your resume. If it is a bit out-of-date, say older than 6 months, it needs an update. Resumes are not the same documents that they were a few years ago. You need a modern, up-to-date resume to make it past the Applicant Tracking System and the HR gatekeeper, to finally arrive in hands of the hiring manager. Your resume had better be OUTSTANDING!

Keep in mind that resumes are more marketing documents now, and less a record of your career history. Be sure to tailor each resume for each job you apply to. Resume writers have a million different opinions on what goes on the resume and what stays off, and since I used to hire people, here are three things that are MUSTS:

1. List Relevant Experience - if you had a career in marketing, say 10+ years ago, and now you are a software engineer, the marketing experience is not relevant to your current job target. Hiring Mangers are NOT INTERESTED in your accomplishments in marketing 15 years ago. Experience that goes on the resume must be relevant to the position you are seeking.  

2. Use a Career Brand Statement - not an "Objective". Objectives are dated. I still see resume writers use objectives, but they are not that helpful. Instead, use a "Brand Statement" at the top of the resume (under your contact info). If you are an Architect, and a Revit expert, use a simple brand such as: "Architect | Revit & BIM Expert". The brand statement informs the Hiring Manager immediately of your expertise (and it is a keyword match).

3. Keep the Format Clean and Simple - should your resume make it to the Hiring Manager, they just may review it on a mobile phone. Make it easy for them by using a nice clean design, i.e. not a lot of fancy formatting, easy on the bold and bullets, no colored fonts, no pictures of yourself, no embedded websites, (except your Linked In profile) and use a sans serif font such as Arial.

These are 3 easy updates that you can do today. A fresh, updated resume with relevant information and a career brand will help your chances of getting a interview.

SPRING BREAK SPECIAL!  Confused or stressed out about your resume? Email me a copy in Word and I will review it F.R.E.E. If you decide to use my resume services, you'll get a 10% discount off my already affordable prices. No fuss, no muss. Email me: coachkristi@kristenigl.com.

About the Author: Kristi Enigl is a Career & Job Search Consultant who brings over 20 years of Hiring, HR Management and Executive Recruiting across a broad spectrum of industries to her professional practice. She helps professionals identify, create, and market their career brand so they reach their career goals – FAST.