The resume is the single most important document in your job search. A resume is the simplest and concise way for you to communicate with employers and thereby give them all the initial information they need to know about you. Since the resume is such an important document, it is necessary that you should manage it in a proper manner – keeping the resume up to date.
Whether or not you’re looking for a new job, you would be wise if you update your resume frequently. Why? Because you never know when a new job opportunity will pop up that requires submitting your resume right away.
Additionally, you’d be surprised to know that as time passes you forget those professional details that so important to include in a resume – updating resume requires your attention and your time.
Why should you update Your Resume? Benefits of Updating your Resume:
It is evident that as time passes, the facts pertaining to the individual will change and will increase.
There are several benefits of an updated resume. For one, if you update your resume on a regular basis:
- It can change your perspective on what you have accomplished so far and what you still need to improve.
- You can ask friends for their resume samples to learn of some resume objectives ideas you may add to yours.
- An updated resume may open new doors – new job opportunities.
- It means more facts and figures, which will enable you to spend more time with the interviewer. The time that a prospective employee spends with the interviewer is a golden time. Even a minute more than the other interviewees can mean that you have landed the interview. In these circumstances, a fuller, larger resume would mean that you can spend more time with the interviewer.
- It will obviously be a mirror to the progress that you have covered in your years as a professional. This will work positively while your pay package is decided.
- The interviewer immediately understands that you have done your homework before coming to the Interview and will therefore take your interview in a different perspective.
Therefore, one should make it a point to put down these professional updates.
Resume Update: How to Update Your Resume?
To update your resume, you should first jot down the changes that have occurred in your professional life since you first made your resume, for example –
- Relevant achievements
- Major projects
- New job responsibilities
- New certifications
- And of course an updated job positions.
Two points to consider when updating a resume:
- Once you have written these down, implement these into your resume wherever necessary. Try to add the changes using the resume format you are having, for example – if your professional details are written down in a particular manner, try to keep the details that you are putting in the same manner.
- When you are updating your resume, make sure that you do not warble a lot in the add-ons that you are making to your resume. Keep the information concise and to the point. Also, make sure that you are giving out only those details that are needed for the recruiter to know more about yourself on a professional basis and therefore would be beneficial for your job search. A point to jot down any changes in your personal life that may reflect on your professional life too, like: marriage, change of residence, change of contact numbers, etc.