New Year, New Resume! 7 Tips to Give your Resume a Refresh for the New Year!
New Year, New Resume! 7 Tips to Give your Resume a Refresh for the New Year!
Whether you’re continuing last year’s job search or thinking 2023 may be the time for a new opportunity, your resume may need to be freshened up as you re-enter the job market. Resume rules & trends seem to always be changing but here are a few of our tried & trues to help you get started!
2022 is in the Past – and so are objective statements
Objective statements can take up prime real estate on your resume. This space can be better utilized to showcase your applicable skillset or relevant experience. However, if you’re making quite the career change, an objective statement can be used to explain the shift and why your experience may not totally apply to the position.
Less is More – keep your formatting clean & simple
While you may think fun graphics, bold colors, and festive fonts will catch a hiring manager’s eye, it tends to distract from what you can really offer to the role. If it takes too much time to read – or hard to follow, the hiring manager might not dig deeper. Clean, easy to read, organized content should be your goal. There are so many amazing templates out there, but make sure you don’t sacrifice content for beauty in support roles.
Be Available – make your contact information stand out
No recruiter wants to go on a wild goose chase to track you down. Your phone number, current email address, and LinkedIn profile link should be right at the top of the page. If they think you’re a fit, they’ll want to contact you ASAP – make it easy for them! Also, double check that your voicemail is set up and is never full, this happens more than you would think.
Make it relevant- This one is key. You want your resume to mirror the role you are applying for. This means you should tweak your resume to reflect what the specific job is seeking. Unfortunately, this one takes a bit more time and work, but it will pay off. Job descriptions are your cheat sheet. The company listed the responsibilities and requirements they are looking for! Of course, you cannot add things you have not accomplished, but if you notice that they are looking for certain skills you have, make sure to highlight these, and even list these qualifications first. The hiring managers are telling you their priorities- be intentional and let them know you are listening and why you are the perfect fit!
Writer’s Block – what’s another word for managed?!
You may have assisted, maintained, or coordinated many things over the years, but repeating the same words over and over can make your resume a little dry. If you can’t think of a replacement word, Thesaurus.com is your best friend! You can also use writing resources from many accredited universities, like this Action Verb List from Berkley.
Get Out the Red Pen – proofread and edit...then do it again
Even if you weren’t an English major, it is imperative that you painstakingly proofread your resume. Candidates have been passed over for one spelling or grammatical error – employers can get real picky! Print it out and proofread on paper since we often gloss over mistakes on our computer screens. Also, always have another person (or two!) look it over. An outsider’s perspective often will pick up on something you missed.
Save & Send – last minute details not to overlook
Always save your resume as “Your Name Resume”….saves hiring managers so much time and is very much appreciated! Also, always save your document as a PDF. This will ensure that none of your formatting goes awry, and it will look the same when opened on any operating system.
Resume ready to go and looking for something new in 2023?
Check out our current openings at www.burketalent.com!
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