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Does your resume need to grow up?
I see a lot of resumes. Some, quite honestly, need to grow up! If you are writing your resume in the style you learned in college, but college was…5, 10, maybe even 15 (!) years ago – it’s time for an update!
Certainly, styles have changed. Content has changed. (The previously required “Objective” is no longer even suggested, for example.) Suffice to say that a lot has changed! Do you really want to be sending the equivalent of “your father’s resume” when you apply for a job at that hip start-up? Or, even to the newly redesigned and rebranded business down the street? Probably not!
So many people forget that the resume style they used right out of school isn’t going to be the right choice now that they have actual “work experience.”
I hear from many job seekers who have many years of experience, but are still spending a lot of time listing awards won in college that have no significance for today’s reader. Many job seekers fail to move their “Education” section to the bottom of their resume once they have a position and enough experience under their belt (and no specific reason to keep Education on top). A few still list their high school diploma, even when they have a bachelor’s degree.
There is no fail safe ”one size fits all” advice for resume writers, but most job seekers will want to make these changes and more to their job seeking documents before applying for their targeted jobs. Otherwise, they will appear less experienced than they may be and jeopardize their chances for an interview.
Take a look at the “before” and “transformed” resumes on my site. Which one does your resume most resemble?
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Resumes only became customary after World War II, as a means for employers to eliminate unqualified candidates among scores of GIs looking for new jobs. Not much has changed. Nowadays, nearly every individual, starting a job search, begins by developing a resume, but decision makers only spend and average of ten seconds scanning them. A resume cannot do the heavy lifting in a job search. Its purpose is strictly to function, in conjunction with a follow-up call, as a marketing tool to initiate a conversation with the decision maker. Your goal should be to present your background and accomplishments in a visually appealing, reverse chronological order, with dates, succinctly and honestly. Stay away from functional resumes, extensive formatting and leaving dates off to hide age.
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[...] the fastest way to get help in finding an Entry Level Job!Great post over at Keppie Careers called Does your resume need to grow up? It’s an eye opening piece about ensuring that your resume style is current enough to get [...]