If you are one of the many people looking for a new job this year, you need to make sure your resume is up to date, both with your work history and with your presentation. Here are a few tips to help.
How To Update Your Resume This Year
1.Open with a strong summary
First of all, don’t begin with a statement of your objective. This is essentially a waste of space. Your resume needs to focus on selling yourself and your skills, and anything that does not contribute to that end should be eliminated.
Instead, you can Inform the company of your career goal with a descriptive headline. For example, a job title, followed by one of your chief accomplishments.
This should be followed by a short summary that briefly outlines your most salient accomplishments and most in demand skills.
Also, make sure to remove any references to outdated skills or terminology. You don’t want to give the impression that you’re not keeping up with current trends in your industry, so your resume needs to reflect that.
2. Incorporate social media
Don’t waste space including a street address. Instead, include links to your social media profiles. You should have a website and profiles on social media sites such as LinkedIn.
This is essential because surveys have found that almost half of all employers screen job candidates by checking out their social media presence. And you need to make sure your profiles are up to date and professional looking.
3. Use the right words.
To make your resume as effective as possible, you need to incorporate the right keywords. Look at the job descriptions for positions that match your career goals and note the words that are routinely used in these descriptions. Make sure to include these keywords in your resume.
Your resume should also include strong action verbs and short, direct phrases. This kind of language will help to emphasize your enthusiasm and energy and ability to do the job.
4. A professional look
Appearance is important. Your resume should look professional. Some people are under the mistaken assumption that the more unusual or quirky or offbeat their resume, the more attention and consideration it will receive.
This kind of resume will certainly get more attention, but not the kind you want. Avoid things like colored paper, quirky fonts or different colored print. Use white paper with a professional looking font, such as Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman.
Make sure there is enough white space. Avoid large blocks of print.
5. References
Some people still include a line on their resume informing the hiring manager that their references are available upon request. This is more wasted space. It’s a given that you will be providing references if the hiring manager asks for them.
Looking For A Job?
If you are looking for employment, contact Opti Staffing. We are one of the best staffing agencies in the region. We have a temp agency in Tacoma, a temp agency in Vancouver, Washington, a staffing agency in Portland, a staffing agency in Salem, Oregon, and a temp agency in Seattle. Give us a call today.
