As 2016 winds down, it’s a great time to reflect on the past year and gear up for 2017. It is also the perfect time to give your resume a refresh. If it has been a while since you updated it there may be significant changes in your skills and experience that aren’t reflected. Here are a few tips to help guide you through the process.
Review the past year. Have you completed any significant projects? Do you have any added responsibilities? What new skills have you acquired? Looking through your calendar for the past year is an easy way to remember your accomplishments. If you received a performance review take a look at that also, as it should include some details that might need to be added to your resume.
Update your keywords. Strategically using keywords throughout your resume is essential to ensure that employers find you, and also that your resume makes it through the automated resume screening tools that many companies utilize. Your objective or summary statement at the beginning is an easy place to include keywords, and it’s also an easy area to edit when applying for specific positions.
Consider a redesign. While you are editing the content of your resume you should also think about updating the style. A new format might allow you to better highlight some of your recent achievements, or it can help your resume stand out in a crowd of others. Be careful not to overdo, however; keep it professional and remember that sometimes less is more.
Get an objective opinion. Ask a friend or colleague to look at your resume and give you their honest feedback. It can be helpful to seek the opinion of both a person who knows you well and also of someone who doesn’t know you very well. Comparing the feedback of both can help make sure that you’ve crafted a resume that speaks to who you are and what you’ve accomplished.
Need an objective resume review? Talk to one of the staffing professionals here at Allied. Working with a staffing firm is the perfect way to begin a job search and we would love to help you with your 2017 resume refresh!
