Spring in Western New York is a wonderful time of year, as we all resurface from the cold and snow of winter. In our area, Spring goes beyond just the budding of flowers and the chirping of birds, as it is also the time of year when we start to work on our chores that couldn’t be done in the Winter.
Cleaning up is a major “To Do” this time off year, whether it is around the house, washing the inside/outside of your car, or picking up the debris left by the wind storms we had this winter. So, this Spring, try to add one more important assignment to your weekend chores by giving your Resume a “spring cleaning” as you prepare for your job search.
Since I am sure you are going to be very busy with all of your spring cleaning assignments, we know that you won’t have time to spend days poring over your Resume. So, we will focus on how to refresh and renew your Resume in a matter of just an hour or two. How do you go about doing this? Let’s list a few key areas to “clean up” on your Resume.
• Give Your Resume a Full Reading – I know this may sound odd, but actually READ your Resume. If you think about it, most of the time when someone is reviewing something they have written, they are actually just speed or even spot reading the document. For this exercise, I want you to actually fully read the document like it is your first time. Do not assume or skip over anything. Read every word. I suggest actually printing out a copy of the document to hand mark anything you want to change. In my experience, an old fashioned hard copy is the best way to make sure you are actually fully reading the document. If you feel like you are too close to the document, then consider having a friend or family member also read your Resume for their opinion.
• Consider Changing Objective for Qualifications – If you have not reviewed your Resume in a little while, you may be behind in this trend. The current standard is to remove the traditional “Objective Statement” (you know, the one that states you want a “meaningful position with a growing company that will utilize your expertise”) and, instead, add a bulleted summary of your key qualifications as it pertains to the job you are seeking.
• Provide Any Updates – Examine your current employment listing and determine if there are any items that you need to add since your last update. Give some thought regarding whether you have been on any important projects, learned a new skill, or celebrated an important achievement since your last update. If any of this has happened (and you probably will be surprised that you will have updates), then make sure to tweak your Resume.
• Delete Dated or Unneeded Information – After you are done adding any updated information to your Resume, then think about what you may be able to remove. This is especially important if you have added considerable information in your update and you are now on a 3rd page (or more). There are many reasons you may be able to remove information, such as the skill/knowledge is now obsolete or just is not that important any more due to the age of the item.
• Edit Mistakes – Let’s hope that you do not find any typographical errors (whether spelling or grammatical), but if you do, then they definitely need to be corrected before a new Resume goes out. Sometimes with time comes a fresh view of the document and you find sentences to tweak or other corrections to make. This is also an area where someone else reading your Resume may be very helpful.
• Use Appropriate “Buzzwords” – Another common change in Resume writing is to make sure to use the key or “buzz” words associated with a profession or industry. This can help you grab the attention of the human reviewing or the computer applicant tracking system that you submitted your Resume to.
Your Resume is one of the most important parts of your job search. It is something that you should be reviewing and tweaking on a regular basis. So, as you are compiling your spring list of chores why not make room for one more and give your resume a thorough scrubbing.
As always, best of luck in your job search.
The following has been prepared for the general information of WNYJobs readers. It is not meant to provide advice with respect to any specific legal or policy matter and should not be acted upon without verification by the reader.
Joe Stein
WNY Human Resources Professional
Feel free to contact Joe Stein regarding questions or comments at:
Joe Stein
