Updating Your Resume: Quick Tips on What Stays and What Goes
Your Resume Is Your First Impression
Whether you are someone who is continuously maintaining your resume or someone who updates only when they are looking to leave a job, this process is time consuming. After all, your resume is your first impression with an employer so it should accurately reflect your skills and experiences. Unfortunately, most job applicants create a generic resume that fails to make hiring managers notice them.
According to a study by TheLadders, recruiters spend an average of six seconds before they make the initial ‘fit or no fit’ decision on candidates. That being said, here are some general guidelines to keep in mind.
5 Things to Delete from Your Resume
1. Your Picture - This simply looks unprofessional
2. Personal Interests and/or Hobbies - Leave this for casual interview conversation
3. Basic Skills - Everyone can type, focus on speacialized skills in your field such as Adobe Creative Suite or Quickbooks
4. Every Prior Job You’ve Held - Only put prior jobs that relate to the position you are applying for
5. An Objective Statement - The time for these have come and gone
As you know from past posts I’ve written on the subject of resume writing, nowadays you not only have to catch the eye of the hiring manager, but you have to have key words for applicant tracking systems (ATS).
Here’s a eye-opening statistic for you: Did you know that 72% of resumes are actually never seen by human eyes? The best way to combat this problem is to tailor your resume just like you would for a hiring manager.
5 Tricks to Make Your Resume ATS Friendly
1. Use Language from the Job Description
2. Choose Standard, Readable Fonts
3. Focus on Your Skills Section
4. Don’t Use Special Characters
5. Get Rid of Irrelevant Information
Read through your resume and delete anything that doesn’t focus on the keywords that are most important. You’re not done yet! PROOF READ, PROOF READ, PROOF READ!!! Check your spelling, grammar mistakes and correct capitalization!!! Do Not lie solely on your eyes. Make sure to send your resume to a friend or two and have them review everything before you submit!
