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4 Tips for National Resume Month

Posted on | by lsnow

Looking for a job can be stressful. Trying to put together a resume that stands out might seem impossible. September is National Resume Month, and we include four tips that you can keep in mind when organizing your resume.

ResumePic1The Benefits of an Online Resume

An online resume offers a lot of advantages, the most common places being:

  • LinkedIn
  • Your site
  • Job boards like Monster or Indeed

Recruiters and employers do a lot of searching online these days, so if your resume is online, they can find you more easily. An online resume also functions well as a "master resume."
For each job you apply for, you typically edit your resume down and tailor it to that particular job. Having an online resume allows potential employers to see a complete picture of you, and there might be something on there you didn't choose to include that sticks out to them that gets you a callback.

How to Organize Your Resume

There are a lot of different ways to organize your resume, and all can be successful.

  • The most shared and popular is a chronologically organized resume that has your most recent accomplishments at the top and goes back in time from there.
  • Career changers or recent grads without a lot of experience can use the functional resume format, which emphasizes your abilities over your past employment.

No matter how you ultimately decide to organize your resume, the bottom line is: use the same organizational style throughout.

What Not to Write on Your Resume

  • It is accepted that including references on your resume is a waste of time and space - if a potential employer wants references, they'll ask, and you can provide them separately.
  • Objective statements have also fallen out of fashion because they are focused on what you, the applicant, wants, not what the employer needs, which is their focus when looking to hire someone.
  • If you must have a header statement, try using what's called a personal statement instead. It sums up who you are and your professional qualifications in a sentence or two - basically like your Professional Headline on LinkedIn.
  • Do not list hobbies on your resume, unless they are extremely relevant to the position to which you're applying.
  • Do not list old jobs on your resume that have no relevance to the one for which you're applying.

Keep Your Resume Up to Date

resumepic2Even if you are not currently seeking employment, you have a lot to gain by periodically updating your resume. Opportunities can arise very quickly, and even if you are content in your current job, your dream job might make itself known to you at a moment's notice.
It's good to be able to respond immediately when opportunity calls instead of having to take up precious time to massively update your resume or build another one from scratch. You also might forget particular accomplishments when you go to update your resume at a later date.
So give your resume some love this September by picking it up, dusting it off and looking at it critically. Update it even if you're currently happy with your employment situation. You never know when your dream job will come knocking, or your situation will change!
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