Well don’t do it! Step back and review your current resume. If your resume is over two years old, if you have a new job, if you’ve been promoted, then it’s time to redo your resume not update it.
Keep in mind that your resume is:
— an advertisement for your career
–not a job description
–a document that show progression of your career
Now look over your resume with a very critical eye. Delete anything that you don’t really need, have repeated elsewhere and that you have done in an earlier job. Remember, you want to show progression. If you did the same thing earlier in your career, you are not progressing. If you are now managing the function, make sure it shows up that way.
Your next step will be looking at the current format of the resume. Is it showing you off to your best advantage. A chronological resume, which lists your work experience in reverse order, is the standard format. A skills-based resume highlights your accomplishments and downplays any gaps in your work history. A combination resume will highlight your skills and show your employment history.
Once you have your format decided, start to think about your objective/summary. It is perfectly acceptable not to have one of these on your resume but it has become very popular to do so. An objective will state the type (s) of positions you want. A summary/profile gives an overview of your career. Think of your summary as your written ‘elevator speech.” Keep it short and to the point. Avoid a long paragraph and descriptive adverbs and adjectives.
Regardless of your format, if you wish to highlight some of your qualifications, make sure they are skills-based. Some examples would be: strategic planning, media relations, social/cause marketing. Avoid things like good listener, project manager.
Remember to proof, proof and reproof. Then send it to friends and family. Try to send it to someone outside your field. If they don’t understand something, you might want to rewrite it. The person reviewing resumes might not always be someone from your profession.
By Marie Raperto, Cantor Executive Search Solutions
