Whether you’ve been in the same job for the past 20 years or are currently on the hunt for a job, your resume/portfolio is a strong tool for planning. Some only start to look at their resume when they are about to begin a job search, but there’s nothing wrong with keeping your resume up to date periodically. In fact, there are various benefits to doing this! It serves as a reminder for where you’ve been, where you want to go, and what you need to do to get there. It allows you to reflect on past successes and decide which are the best portrayals of you as a professional. It also keeps your resume itself as a job hunt tool up to date and ready to go when you need it. Here are a few reminders about how to maintain an eye-catching and concise Resume:
Keep It To One Page
Some of us have an extensive portfolio equipped with past work, references, and various other elements that tell about our professional successes, but keep in mind, employers are simply looking for a good fit for them. It’s great to let them know you have references on file or a portfolio of work they can review upon request, but keep your resume to a simple one page message about how your past successes relate to your prospective role with them. Make it about them. How will these past successes translate into success with them?
Clean Up Your Format
You want to make sure it’s formatted in a way that is easy to read. Use lists opposed to paragraphs. Use a few powerful words opposed to a fluffy and lengthy sentence. Use bullets to highlight main points. Use breaks to space out your sections or tabs to move more detailed information inwards. Ask someone else to read it and see if it reads well. Make it easy on the eyes!
Be Color Smart; Not Color Blind
Speaking of easy on the eyes, color on a resume has been a longtime debate. Some say it allows you be creative. Others curse it saying it’s unprofessional and distracting. Both of those statements can be correct. The trick to having color on your resume is simply being color smart instead of color blind. You don’t need to have a boring black and white resume like everyone else, but if you’re going to add color make sure it’s subtle and adds some pop to the paper without becoming distracting. A subtle blue or green for your headings, title, or a line element can really add a professional looking personality to your resume. You want them to take notice, but then get back to the content. A friend of mine was interviewing for a company she really wanted to get an interview with. She researched their website, took note of their color scheme, and then formatted her resume in a color scheme that reflected their own. Do you think that made her stand out from the crowd? Of course it did. Be color smart, not color blind.
Include an Overall Objective
This is also a point up for debate. Sometimes these objective lines can become cliché moments of large jumbled words. My perspective on the objective line is that it is a great opportunity to create a strong connection between your own vision and the vision of the company. It allows you to convey the fact that you and the company are aligned, which is why you would be a good fit. For one, it helps you make sure you’re on the right track by giving you the opportunity to craft a vision for where you want your career to go. Two, you find a place for the company’s vision within your own and truly see how you will be able to work together towards a common goal…Or it will help you realize you’re going after a job that you really don’t want.
Make Yourself Measurable
This is probably the most important point to remember when updating your resume. Having measurable bullet points is extremely powerful when a prospective employer is reading your resume. In the same sense, having immeasurable bullet points tends to be too general and the reader doesn’t end up taking much away from it. What do I mean by measurable bullet points? It usually means there is a number involved to give a frame of reference. Here is an example:
Manager
- Managed a team of employees
- Led workshops and training
- Increased sales
- Oversaw purchasing and budget activities
Manager
- Managed over 30 employees in 3 different buildings on site
- Led 2 workshops per week and over 50 trainings during the course of a year
- Increased sales by 15% within 6 months by marketing to targeted segments
- Responsible for managing a budget of over $150,000 including equipment purchasing totaling over $40,000.
Which one allows you to understand what was actually going on? The second one. Wherever you can, include a quantifiable number for your activities, a timeline for your completion, and specifics for how you completed it. It’s a fine line trying to be as specific as possible, while also giving a frame of reference for what was actually going on. A quick rule of thumb is:
Can you put a number to it?
Resumes are a necessary evil, but it can be fun to maintain them, play with format/design, and reflect on past successes to keep your job hunt fresh. I like to keep a template for myself and then a separate document with all of my experience. That way when I’m on the job hunt, I can take relevant experience from my large document and plug it into my template. It helps keep a one page resume extremely relevant to the prospective employer. In any case, whether you’re looking for a job right now, or happy with your current position, it never hurts to keep that resume up to date. Who knows? You may just use it with your current employer to apply for a raise or promotion!
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