Career Reinvention Essentials!

Wait! Don’t Post Your Resume!

Posted in Blog by Vaneese Johnson 0 Comments

 

Writing a resume requires a level of consciousness about your professional brand and what it is you want to communicate. If your resume is old or outdated it’s time to make some changes. Use these resume writing tips to improve your resume before you post it online or give it to a hiring manager for review.

Update The Style and Content
If you haven’t updated your resume in the last ten to five years, guess what, it probably looks like it! Things change and get better. Do not think for a second that your old and outdated looking resume is going to be acceptable. Change the design and feel of your resume to make it more modern and up-to-date. An easy way to do this is to change the font. Consider using Tahoma, Garamond, or Georgia fonts. These fonts are readable across different computer platforms and will really jump off the page. If you haven’t updated the information on your resume, be sure to do this as well. If you notice you haven’t had any real professional accomplishments lately then you need to ask yourself why and resolve that.

Research the Marketplace, Pepper Keywords and Phrases throughout Your Resume
Research your industry to make sure the language on your resume is up to date. Is there some new technology or computer software you need training on? Get that training and add it to your resume. More mature job hunters often see their age as a barrier. Take down that barrier by updating the information in your brain. Indicate that you know what’s happening in your industry today by highlighting current information on your resume. Make sure you have industry specific keywords throughout your resume so that any computer software programs hiring managers are using can be picked up on as well.

Include Accomplishments and Achievements
Don’t sell yourself short. What have you done that is truly amazing and should be noted? Sometimes we mistake our greatness for what we consider to be every day and mundane. If you need help figuring out what makes you amazing then ask your coworkers. Sometimes getting an outside perspective or evaluation can be what you need to move forward. Writing a resume is something that may require an outside perspective in general. If you need help be sure to ask a colleague or even hire a professional resume writer to assist you.

Create an Online Resume for Easy Sharing and Access for Hiring Managers
You can use VisucalCV.com to create an online resume that is dynamic and attention grabbing. Find out other ways to make your resume pop with the tools mentioned in our previous Career Branding Tools blog post. With a Visual CV you can really communicate who you are by adding multimedia elements to your resume. You get your own web-address for your resume as well. Adding your voice and elaborating on what’s discussed in the paper version of your resume will make you stand out even more.

Create/Update Your Professional Profile so it Compliments What’s on Paper
Make sure your online profiles such as your LinkedIn profile match up with your resume. It wouldn’t reflect well on you to have conflicting information on your resume that isn’t in alignment with your virtual profiles. Once you have updated your paper resume be sure to update your online profiles as well.

That’s all there is to it. Writing a resume starts with you thinking about what you are doing today and how that is an expansion of what you have done in the past. Make sure that you communicate a story of growth and progression through your resume to highlight why you are best at what you do.

The Career Reinvention Coach

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Tags: professional resume, resume update, resume writing services, resumes that stand out, strong resumes