Saturday, October 22, 2011

Top Five Ways To Update Your Resume and Get Hired

Caroline Levchuck of Yahoo! HotJobs brings us 5 steps for updating the resume via Monster.com









1. Start at the End
Don't overwhelm yourself by looking at your entire resume -- yet. "Look at the bottom of your resume and see if there's anything new that you can add," Milligan says. "Workshops, professional training or awards are a quick way to add something current."

2. Where You've Been and Where You're Going
Next, look at the position nearest the bottom of your resume. "Ask yourself if it's still relevant to your current career goal," Milligan advises. "If it's not, delete it so you can build on more current accomplishments that will further your career."
If that last position is still somewhat relevant, edit it down. "The very first position you held should get the least amount of attention," Milligan says.

3. A Year in the Life
Turn your attention toward your current job. "Update any new projects or accomplishments that have occurred over the last year," she says. "Even if it's not a promotion, just include anything from [the past year] that can be added to it."

4. Update Your Look
Current information deserves a current look. Is your resume's look stylish and polished -- or plain, dull and dated? If so, Milligan says it may be time to give your resume a face-lift. "If you're still using the same resume format you used a few years ago, you should change it to something more suited to the positions you're currently pursuing -- not those you had after graduation."
Also, make your resume available in several formats -- text only, Microsoft Word and PDF. "There's a good use for each of these formats," Milligan says. "Having a PDF of your resume at the ready implies a little more technical savvy on your part."

5. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread
Milligan cannot stress enough the importance of proofreading your resume. "Every time you make any changes to your resume, it's possible to introduce another error," she says. "Proofread it again and again, and ask a few friends to look at it, also. You can never be too careful."

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