By Jerry Grohovsky
Copyright 2019. JPG & Associates, Inc.

Often one of the biggest misconceptions about having a resume is that it is adequate as is. Resume ownership might be viewed at as a continual process of review and improvement. You will want to be prepared for that next career opportunity that comes knocking on your door.

  1. The following provides you some good reasons for doing a periodic review, along with some helpful tips for making it an effective interview catcher:
  2. Check your employment status (i.e., job descriptions, employers change).
  3. Update your professional facts as they change (i.e., skills, strengths, accomplishments, training courses, certifications, etc.).
  4. Update your personal contact information as necessary (i.e., address, cell, email, etc.).
  5. Check for and correct any embarrassing typos, omissions, and bad sentence structure.
  6. Rethink the resume model that works best: chronological or functional; the model you choose depends on your job history, present profession, and what objectives you have for the future.
  7. Chronological is more effective for professionals with a shorter job history. Functional is often recommended for those with a long employment history, with multiple jobs and employers. It is a better choice for emphasizing professional skills and strengths, while de-emphasizing (and in turn devoting less resume space) to individual job descriptions.
  8. Emphasize the most recent entries, and de-emphasize the more distant past ones.
  9. You may find it necessary to either customize your resume to fit a specific job posting, or have several versions prepared ahead of time that can be used for several different communication specialties.
  10. Consider these basic headlines when outlining a completely new resume, or when assessing an existing resume for improvement: objective, education, professional skills and strengths, accomplishments, work history, computer and/or software skills.
  11. Keep the resume to two pages maximum if possible–one page for new grads (this is optimum, but not always possible). There are exceptions of course for going longer if needed.
  12. Make sure the formatting is appealing and facilitates an easy read. One column wide is highly recommended.
  13. Limit fonts to one or two (maximum); for example, Times Roman is preferred for body text, and Arial or Helvetica for heads/subheads.
  14. Optional bolding for headings; italics or underline for emphasis and attention. Do not bold with underline or italicize with bold (as this is over-doing it). Avoid using all caps for words or sentences, unless it is abbreviation or acronym.
  15. Use bulleted lists where possible; avoid long paragraphs.
  16. Begin each bulleted list sentence with active verbs (i.e., developed, managed, coordinated, wrote, initiated, negotiated, presented, and so on).
  17. Use words, phrases, and abbreviations which help build your brand for a specific profession (for example: technical writers might use deliverables, interviewed, or SMEs to strengthen the image as a communication professional.
  18. Select a commonly accepted authoring program with which to develop the resume (i.e., MS Word).
  19. No photos or color gimmicks–please!
  20. Cover letters get better results. Include when applying for a specific job.
  21. Stay “in the know” and well-read as to what is happening in the marketplace. Talk to colleagues and find out: Are there new tool demands and trends that should prompt one to change the order of a list, or emphasize a particular recent experience at a direct-hire job or contract job. Are there new tools and/or methodologies to investigate, and for which to pursue training?

Summary:

The resume is a reflection of your present professional status and personal brand, and therefore requires updates, deletions, and general improvements to mirror those life changes. It is surprising how quickly it can become outdated, and how much you can improve it with periodic critiques. Therefore, the resume should never be considered complete or adequate. Before the next job exploration, give it a few reads. You will rewarded with the results.