KEEP WITH THE TIMES
Be ready for anything by maintaining a modern resume
UPDATING a resume is the chore all workers should do every six to 12 months to ensure they are prepared for their next opportunity, but few actually do it.
“Resumes have changed significantly over the past five to 10 years, with resumes now more like a marketing document than a list of everything you have ever done,” Relaunch Me career and interview coach Leah Lambart said.
“In a competitive market, it is going to be imperative to have a compelling resume that clearly articulates what a candidate can bring to a role and how they match the key selection criteria.”
Ensure a resume ticks all the boxes by following this list.
INCLUDE CONTACT DETAILS
“This one seems obvious but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t include their phone number or email address on their resume,” she says.
If your personal email address is cryptic, predominantly a childhood nickname or audacious in any way, consider creating a new account to use solely for the job search.
“We also suggest including your LinkedIn profile URL if you have one – which you should,” she says.
“This is why you need to have a professional profile that is consistent with what is on your resume.”
WRITE A CAREER SUMMARY
Avoid a generic statement about a career objective and jazz up the intro with a career summary.
“The quickest way to get an employer to put your resume into the ‘no’ pile is to start off with a generic objective statement such as, ‘My goal is to use my skills and experience in a rewarding (insert job) position with (insert company name)’,” Lambart says.
LIST ACHIEVEMENTS
Most people list their current responsibilities but listing achievements provides insight into so much more.
“To capture the employer’s attention, we suggest detailing achievements that can be quantified, where possible – in numbers, percentages, etc – to demonstrate the impact you have had in each of your previous roles,” Lambart said.
SNAPSHOT YOUR EXPERIENCE
Resumes should be tailored to each job, and skills and experience obtained more than 10 years ago are unlikely to interest the employer.
“We recommend reducing your resume to employment in the last 10 years, 15 years at the most,” she says.
“Only include jobs before this cutoff if they are directly relevant to the position due to specific industry knowledge or if you stepped down from a more senior level while raising a family, dealing with illness, etc.
“In regard to education, you only need to include the name and graduation year for your undergraduate degree and postgraduate qualifications.”
LOSE THE FORMATTING
A heavily designed, creative resume may look visually pleasing to the sender but often cannot be read by the applicant tracking system (ATS) technology that is increasingly used by employers to vet applications.
They can be immediately rejected and never reach the hirer’s eyes.
Lambart says the only time it is recommended to use such a template is if applying for a design-focused role, and it was emailed direct to a hiring manager – not if applying through an online job board.
CHECK FOR TYPOS
“Even a single mistake can be enough for your resume to land in the ‘no’ pile, especially if you address the cover letter to the wrong company,” Lambart says.
“The reason is simple: if you are not paying attention to your own resume then why would an employer trust you to be attentive to their needs?”