Update Your Resume: Where to Get Started

Feeling that your resume looks pale comparing to those of your friends and other job seekers in your field? Are you going to change a career direction and don’t know what to add or what to leave out? Or maybe, you just haven’t updated your old resume for years and you’re curious how to make it look modern? Career experts insist that you always keep resume updated – you never know when the right opportunity will come by. Today, our resume wizards will share a few insights on updating your old resume effectively and making it game-changing.

Resume update services: When to use?

Refreshing an old resume is like a walk in the park if you have smooth career trajectory in the same field, without sudden dismissals, employment gaps or other ‘red flags’. However, if your career had had its ups and downs, the job history is inconsistent or you are in the middle of a career change, updating a resume can be daunting. And here’s when the resume experts can help.

Also in this section: 

• Benefits of Certified Resume Writing Services
• Career Change Resume: Tips From Professional CV Company
• Create My Resume: 10 Rules to Follow
• CV Help: The Future Of Work
• Get A Professional Resume: Hiring Trends of 2018
• Improve My Resume in 30 Minutes
• Resume Formatting Services: Get a Resume You Deserve

Our qualified resume writers are there to completely transform your old resume through quality writing, structure and design, and keyword optimization. We understand the requirements of the modern employers and know how to give maximum visibility to your skills and accomplishments. Moreover, you can always discuss any concerns with your writer to get a resume you’ll be completely satisfied with.

Considering creating a professional resume? Contact us anytime.

Why always having your resume updated is important?

If you’re not planning on leaving your current job, it doesn’t mean that you can ditch updating your resume. Here are a few situations when your career will only benefit from keeping your resume fresh:

• You want to take on freelance work – if you are considering taking on a few projects to complete in your spare time, keeping your resume up-to-dated will help you not to miss the best or urgent opportunities. You’ll be ready to send in your resume file at once without stressing out at the necessity to correct and edit the old copy. Therefore, you’ll feel happier and more confident about the application process.
• You’re planning on asking for a raise – if you want to have your salary increased, you’d better prepare some unbreakable evidence that you deserve it. A simple conversation might be enough if your salary is in your boss’ competency; but if it doesn’t, you need to present your credentials on paper. Be sure to add your accomplishments, the courses you’ve taken, and the skills you’ve learnt in your current role to prove that your skill set deserves a higher pay. Moreover, the same tactic works if you’re aiming to get a promotion.
• You need to plan your career further – when you have over 10 years of professional history, it’s nearly impossible to remember everything that you’ve ever accomplished, let alone the daily tasks. In this case, your resume will serve as a reference that you can look back at and plan the further course of your career.
• You’ve left your job – quitting the job is always stressful. In this situation, updating your resume and promoting your skills isn’t the task you’ll feel comfortable doing. However, if you’ve already updated your resume a month ago or so, you can instantly use it to apply for jobs. By the way, here’s how you can submit your resume online fast: https://resumeperk.com/blog/how-to-submit-your-resume-online.

7 essential tips for updating a resume

1. Delete your resume objective and include a career summary instead
   If your resume still has an objective, it’s high time that you removed it and stopped looking outdated in the hiring managers’ eyes. Resume objectives are no longer used since they are focused on your needs, not the employer’s – and they will prefer hiring someone who realizes their pain points and knows how to address them. This is what career summary is written for.
   However, in rare cases, it is acceptable to use an objective (but even then avoid vague statements like “looking for a good opportunity with a reputable company”). Firstly, objective can be helpful if you are a career changer since your career goals might not be obvious from the experience. And secondly, you can use it if you’ve just graduated to let the employer know your desired career direction.
2. Add your current (or most recent) job details
   Adding up your current job to a resume is usually the first step that people take when it comes to updating a resume. Our resume update service recommends that you add 5-6 bullets for your responsibilities and the same number for accomplishments. It’s impossible to fit everything you’ve done into 5 bullet points; therefore, you’ll have to be thoughtful about which information to include.
   In addition to expanding on your daily duties and achievements, be sure to add the skills you’ve learnt in the last few years. Be it a soft skill or a tech one, if it is relevant for your career, it deserves being mentioned on your resume. Moreover, by indicating your proficiency with in-demand skills, you create yourself an image of an individual who is focused on professional development (for more tips on how to grow professionally and personally in the workplace, see here: https://resumeperk.com/blog/importance-of-personal-development-in-the-workplace). Add a photo if you feel it is appropriate.
3. Get rid of the outdated facts
   If you keep adding new information without removing the old stuff, you’ll turn your resume into the excessively long and unnecessarily detailed document. Delete your GPA and college accomplishments if you’ve graduated over 5 years ago. Remove the part-time waiter job and any jobs you had over 15 years ago. Get rid of the outdated skills and technologies which are no longer used. Not only you’ll make your resume shorter and fresher, but also will avoid the age discrimination.
   Have you been working late hours for weeks? Check out the symptoms of a workaholic and why workaholism is any good for your career.
4. Remove any personal information
   Senior job-seekers and overseas applicants often make the mistake of including personal information in a resume, for instance, marital status, nationality, hobbies, etc. However, in today’s US labor market it is considered inappropriate. Hiring managers typically reject such applications to avoid discriminatory claims. The same is with your picture: although it’s good to have one in your LinkedIn profile, it’s a big no-no for a resume. It’s only acceptable if the employer specifically mentions including a picture in the job listing, or when the appearance is important for the job (i.e. if you’re an actor).
5. Ditch the ‘funny’ fonts
   Your resume should capture the attention of the reader, it’s true. However, using acid colors and extravagant fonts (such as Freestyle Script or Comic Sans) is the worst way to achieve this. Unprofessional fonts are an eyesore for hiring managers and they’ll rather irritate than evoke their interest. Moreover, non-standard fonts might not be read correctly on someone else’s computer. Change the font to Calibri or Arial – they’re the safest bets. And if you think your resume looks pale, consider ordering professional resume help – an expert writer will improve the visual appearance of the document without turning it into a designer’s nightmare.
6. Focus on the future, not on the past
   An effective resume should reflect your past accomplishments; yet, it needs to be focused on the position you’d like to obtain. Let’s say you’re a senior accountant looking to obtain a managerial role. While it’s important to highlight your subject matter expertise, your career summary and skill set should be written with a prospective role in mind. Be sure to stress your soft skills and any other competencies that meet the employer’s expectations from their perfect candidate. If you tailor your resume for that dream job in the right way, you’ll be preparing for a phone interview with the company quite soon.
7. Incorporate the right keywords
   Many job-seekers don’t realize the importance of keywords and therefore miss out on a lot of opportunities. Writing killer statements with strong action verbs and supporting your accomplishments with figures are important, however, it’s the keywords that influence whether your resume will ever be seen by a hiring manager or not.
   Adding resume keywords works best when you have a specific job opening in mind. By using skills and competencies mentioned in the listing on your resume, you will significantly increase the chance that your resume will be noticed. However, you can always add the Skills section (if you haven’t done so yet) and list the most crucial skills for your field of work – most of those skills will likely be keywords.

Get your resume updated by a pro

Don’t have time to give your resume a proper makeover? Our resume writing experts are at your disposal. In only a few days, the writer will transform your old resume and turn it into a modern, professionally edited and polished copy that will blow away the hiring manager. It only takes to upload your old resume and let the writer know your career aspirations.

Want to boost your career? Get a resume that reflects the current trends in resume writing and meets the employers’ expectations. Talk to us via chat to find out more.

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