- Why is it important to keep updating your professional resume?
- Factors to consider during a resume update
A professional resume acts as your first impression to a recruiter when you are applying for a job. This single document can make or break your opportunity in securing a job interview call.
Now, just like how you can’t use an outdated informations for your current documents, a resume update is also crucial as you progress in your career.
This blog will address the importance of updating your professional resume and tips to consider when updating it.
Why is it important to keep updating your professional resume?
A professional resume is the first step to draw a recruiter’s attention to you. Therefore making it a very important document to attaining the goal of landing yourself an interview.
To begin with, why it is important to keep your professional resume updated is because upskilling is an important part of progressing in your career. So, you need to incorporate and inform your recruiter about the new skills you have acquired via a resume update.
Not only so, an updated resume with all the newly acquired skills and key responsibilities over time can also help in the negotiation phase of a job interview by leveraging them.
Factors to consider during a resume update
Now that the importance of an updated professional resume is cleared, here is a checklist to follow when doing so,
Update your skills
This is the first thing you to look into when working on a resume format. Skills are of two types, Soft skills and Hard skills, and both of these skills play an important role in your career.
Normally when speaking of upskilling, people understand focussing on just their technical knowledge. However, it is equally important to learn new soft skills as it helps ease communication with a professional environment. This is not only applicable to freshers but even mid-level and senior professionals.
As you progress in your career, the skills you pick up showcases your experience level and the knowledge you bring to the table. Thus making it extremely important to update your new skills, certifications when updating your professional resume.
Remove old positions
This factor is mainly for mid-level to senior-level jobseekers (experience of 7+years onwards).
When you obtain experiences worth so many years, you can take the liberty to limit your initial positions as a fresher as they tend to lose relevance.
Also, it is important to keep the list clean as a recruiter has a pile of applications and can only dedicate a few seconds to scan through one’s professional resume.
Ensure to update relevant keyword
A professional resume needs to be tailored as per the job requirement and highlight your competence for the job role in the best light possible. To do so, you need to read the job description thoroughly to understand the recruiter’s requirements.
Next, you can tally it with your skillset and incorporate the keywords in your professional resume. This can also help attract the recruiter’s attention to your profile and take you forward.
Add a relevant professional resume template
Much like everything else, there are changes in resume trends as well. Your ultimate motive as a job seeker is to get your professional resume noticed by the recruiter.
In order to get noticed your resume update needs to be current. You don't have to be artistic with your professional resume unless you're applying for a designer position.
However, ensure to keep the format of your professional resume uniform while updating it, as the alignment of the text, the font size, etc.
Also, replace blocks of texts into bullet points as it is easier to scan.
Check and update the contact information
When working on your resume update, do not forget to check the contact information cited in your professional resume.
Make sure to update your email id or phone number if it has changed. This even applies to your list of references. Check if there are changes in their contact information, if yes, ask them once before updating your professional resume.
Relevant read: How to list references on a resume.
Update your resume objective
A resume objective is a short summary that helps to define your current goals based on your skills.
So check your current resume objective and see if it is aligned to your current skills and experience and update it accordingly. Remember to keep the resume objective brief, one or two sentences, and only include key achievements.
Another point to remember is to update your professional resume with a resume summary if you are a working professional with a few years of experience. Resume objectives are better suited to freshers and limited work experience.
Use the hybrid resume format
As a job seeker, your primary objective is to get your professional resume noticed. To accomplish it you need to update it as per a format best suited to your interest.
A professional resume can be written in 3 different formats, namely as follows;
- Chronological format: Focus is solely on work experience
- Functional format: Focus is completely on skills
- Hybrid format: A mix of both functional and chronological formats
The Hybrid format of a professional resume highlights both the skills and work experience of a job seeker making it better preferred by recruiters.
It allows the recruiter to get an understanding of your skills and capabilities at a glance, making it suitable for both traditional and non-traditional hiring methods.
To conclude, these are a few factors you need to remember and follow when looking to update your professional resume.
Another when opting for a resume update don't forget to Proofread the document! This will help you to locate errors and fix them.
Also Read: How to Write the Best Resume.
All the Best!
