Update Your Resume: 10 Essential Tips

Searching for a new job can be a challenging experience, often filled with setbacks. Imagine discovering what seems to be the perfect job—or what you believed was the ideal role for you. You apply, only to receive a rejection. Or perhaps you apply to ten jobs, or even a hundred, and the rejections pile up, one after another. How do you respond? Are you motivated and inspired to continue applying, determined to land that dream job? Or do you find yourself feeling disheartened? While some might succumb to despondency, the majority of job seekers choose resilience. Facing rejection, especially when you’ve set your hopes on a yes, can be disheartening. Yet, it’s this very resilience that propels most forward, transforming setbacks into stepping stones toward achieving their career goals.

But, the one thing that we don’t always think about when we’re faced with a setback such as this, is that there’s always something to learn from it. There’s always something that you can take on board, something that can help you to grow, and something that will get you that yes next time. But it’s not always easy to be objective and find what something is. So, you need to always be on the lookout for what you can do to improve yourself as a candidate.

You need to always be looking to grow, to push your experience, and to make sure that your resume only ever gets a yes! And this can sound like a lot of work. But, if you want to make sure that you start getting interviews for the jobs you want, you need to recharge your resume. And here’s how.

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The Right Look

Now, the first thing that you need to be thinking about, is the look of your resume. Is it clean and tidy? Is it concise or is it confusing? Make sure that you choose a simple layout and an appealing font so that it looks professional and easy to read.

Tailoring

When drafting your resume, it’s crucial to customize it for each specific job to which you are applying. Avoid the mistake of sending a generic, one-size-fits-all resume. Carefully review the job description, understand the requirements, and tailor your resume accordingly. For guidance, consider these examples.

Awesome Experience

And, of course, you do have to have the experience too. But you can quite easily showcase ANY experience that you have in a good light, and show how the skills are transferable to a new role if you do not have experience in the particular field.

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Killer References

Not only that, it’s so important to have people who will champion you too. If you are great at what you do, getting great references shouldn’t be difficult. But what about if you’re just starting out? Surely there are going to be people that you have worked with in the past that you can add to your resume even when you’re brand new too. A boss from a weekend job or a professor at school? They can really work if you need someone to sing your strengths.

An Accompanying Portfolio

Now, you also need to be able to demonstrate why you’re so great. And for that, you need a portfolio. If you’re new to the industry and just starting out in your career, this is so important. Because you may not have much experience. So you need the experience you DO have to speak for itself. You need to be able to demonstrate what you can do and what you have done in the past.

The Right Skills

Then, it’s going to work in your favor if you have the skills that are being asked for too. If you feel inexperienced, then you may even want to start working on the skills that you do need, in your own time, or professionally with a course or coach.

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Relevant Training

Next, ensure you possess the necessary training for the roles you’re targeting. This might seem fundamental, yet it’s crucial. If you find gaps in your qualifications or if your training isn’t current, it’s important to address these deficiencies promptly. Explore the training options available for your specific career path, and take action by signing up or inquiring further. Staying updated and qualified is a straightforward yet vital step in enhancing your career prospects.

“The problem with these hundreds of identical resumes is that all of them look alike, like clones. Moreover, some of them are almost as annoying as spam messages, which have miraculously gotten through a spam filter. Oobserve the rules of business etiquette and make your resume to stand out from the crowd at the same time.”

A Blog

From here, there’s also the idea of starting a blog. Now, to some people, this will just seem like a lot of extra work for nothing. But a blog can often benefit your career. It will show your strengths, initiative, and your interests. The work that you put into it can often be transferred over to your career and showcase real, actionable, work and results that can prove impressive to employers.

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Evidence

Additionally, your resume should provide concrete evidence of your accomplishments. Avoid merely listing your duties or responsibilities; instead, demonstrate your achievements with quantifiable evidence. Include metrics such as the results you’ve achieved, percentage increases you’ve driven, or any significant milestones reached. Presenting this data will capture more attention and underscore your contributions. This approach requires proactive data collection during your employment, ensuring you have compelling evidence to present in your resume.

Originality

Now, when you read all about writing a resume online, you will set lots of the same points. You will be instructed to include this and advised to write like that. You may even be offered a template that you can use to create your resume. But, this just means that you’re one of the many. Your resume will look like EVERYBODY else’s. It won’t stand out. So if you really want to recharge your resume, make it original. Make it very you. Show your personality but still, be professional. Make sure the resume speaks for itself and then, you will get offers – from the companies that you’re suited to the most.

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Additional Resources

1. Resumeble

   

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2. Kickresume | Best Online Resume & Cover Letter Builder

   

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4. Resume to Referral

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5. Resume Companion

   

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7. Great Resumes Fast

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8. Knock'em Dead Cover Letters: Cover Letters and Strategies to Get the Job You Want

   

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   In the newest edition of his classic cover letter guide, job search expert Martin Yate shows you how to dramatically increase your chance of landing an interview. The key, as Yate explains, is to use language drawn from the job posting itself, words that will send your application to the top of database searches. 

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   11/21/2024 06:23 am GMT
9. EarnBetter - Free Professional Resume, Personalized Job Matches

   

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