As time passes by, things change, you
change. The resume is an image of your personality and competency and with
time, it becomes outdated. Skills may become irrelevant, undertakings may lose
value, and a lot of additions become overdue. So, while you will have to update
it, here are a few tweaks you can make quickly:
Alter the Font
This is similar to a quick makeover.
Drift away from the common Times New Roman and Verdana to a different font like
Calibri, Cambria, Georgia, Arial, etc. to name a few. But remember not to lose
the readability. Make sure that the resume format is
readable, legible and clear. Just press Ctrl+A and change the font of your entire document.
Quick Tip: Printed materials use sans-serif fonts (Helvetica, Arial,
Calibri) for headlines and serif fonts (Times New Roman) in the body, for best
presentation.
Objective Statement
For one, drop the headline
'Objective,' 'Aim' altogether. And start with your statement directly, making
it the headline. Make a few good, simple, and understandable statements for
different needs. Use active and positive words and bring some strength to it.
Address Not Required
Remove the address from the personal
details section if you haven't already. It is one of the most common information
that is redundant to a professional profile (resume). Also, with current
digital scanning, it is not recognized by bots and may generate unnecessary
errors. Although, academic resume formats may require an address, in
which case it is advised to check first.
Add Your LinkedIn URL
Important as it is, giving your
LinkedIn profile URL is a wise move in today's world. Since the resume is going
to be in print as well, it is advised to simplify the URL with either
generating shortened link or editing it in your profile, or both.
Take Care of Skills' Section
As is the case with skills, they may
become redundant to the profile or level up to a more desirable one. New skills
are acquired with time and experience. And much more can happen. Check your
skills section and update as required.
Pack Action
Take a close look at the roles and
responsibilities part of your resume format. You will surely find some passive
and unenthusiastic verbs such as ‘taking care of’, ‘acting as’, ‘responsible
for’ to name a few. Instead, charge up your profile by using active words like,
‘led’, ‘managed’, ‘chaired’, ‘controlled’, ‘executed’, ‘headed’, if they go
well with your kind of profile. And add the new experiences as well.
Show Your Growth
You might be working for a company
for a longer time, but probably ignored to show the promotion and growth which
you have received. So, clearly show your promotions, multiple roles, and
positions of responsibilities clearly in the profile. Growth is the most
important part any resume format is crafted to represent, it may even point
towards changing the resume format to a more targeted one.
Using this seven-step approach to
make quick changes will help your resume with a fresh look. The introspection
required for a few points will also help you get your own bearings
regarding your career.
Also, when the time will arrive, it would be easier to update the resume with
new information and fewer complications.