Updating your resume is something many people avoid. When was the last time you refreshed yours?
Here are some straightforward tips to keep your resume competitive:
Types of Resumes
Choose the best type for your industry. Here are three options:
- Chronological: Lists your work history from the most recent job backwards, highlighting roles and responsibilities. This format is preferred by most recruiters.
- Functional: Focuses on your skills rather than your work history. This is ideal if you’re changing industries, entering the job market, or have gaps in your career.
- Combination: Blends achievements and key responsibilities without summarising your entire career.
No matter which format you choose, keep your resume to 2-3 pages for easy reading.
Basics
Your resume should encourage a recruiter to contact you.
- Contact Details – Update your phone number and professional email at the top.
- Socials – Add a link to your website or LinkedIn profile.
- Overview – Write a clear summary statement that reflects your current goals and what you can contribute.
- Work History – Review your work history, skills, responsibilities, and achievements.
- Tailoring – Tailor your resume to each job you apply for while being truthful – this can be time-consuming so think about having two resumes that might reflect different target markets.
- Continuity – Ensure your resume and LinkedIn profile match in content.
- Referees – Instead of stating “references available upon request,” simply leave that section out if you’re not ready to share details. References are only contacted after an interview.
- File Saving – Save your resume with your full name for easy identification.
- Proofread – Have a friend proofread for clarity and typos.
Modern Design
Use a clean layout with plenty of white space.
- Consider adding a splash of colour in headings.
- Choose a common, readable font like Calibri or Arial, size 10-12.
- Use bullet points for easy skimming.
- Start each bullet with a strong action verb and quantify achievements.
- Keep it professional; too much flair can confuse applicant tracking systems (ATS).
ATS-Friendly Resumes
Many companies use ATS to scan resumes. These systems look for specific keywords found in job descriptions. To improve your chances of being shortlisted, include relevant skills mentioned frequently in the job ad.
Updating your resume is something many people avoid. When was the last time you refreshed yours?
Here are some straightforward tips to keep your resume competitive:
Types of Resumes
Choose the best type for your industry. Here are three options:
- Chronological: Lists your work history from the most recent job backwards, highlighting roles and responsibilities. This format is preferred by most recruiters.
- Functional: Focuses on your skills rather than your work history. This is ideal if you’re changing industries, entering the job market, or have gaps in your career.
- Combination: Blends achievements and key responsibilities without summarising your entire career.
No matter which format you choose, keep your resume to 2-3 pages for easy reading.
The Basics
Your resume should encourage a recruiter to contact you.
- Update your phone number and professional email at the top.
- Add a link to your website or LinkedIn profile.
- Write a clear summary statement that reflects your current goals and what you can contribute.
- Review your work history, skills, responsibilities, and achievements.
- Tailor your resume to each job you apply for while being truthful.
- Ensure your resume and LinkedIn profile match in content.
- Instead of stating “references available upon request,” simply leave that section out if you’re not ready to share details. References are only contacted after an interview.
- Save your resume with your full name for easy identification.
- Have a friend proofread for clarity and typos.
Design Tips
Use a clean layout with plenty of white space.
- Consider adding a splash of colour in headings.
- Choose a common, readable font like Calibri or Arial, size 10-12.
- Use bullet points for easy skimming.
- Start each bullet with a strong action verb and quantify achievements.
- Keep it professional; too much flair can confuse applicant tracking systems (ATS).
ATS/AI Friendly Resumes
Most companies today use applicant tracking systems of some kind to scan and filter incoming resumes. The ATS then forwards and shortlists only the best ‘fit’ resumes. Remember that ATS algorithms look for specific keywords, especially the one’s in the job description. To increase the likelihood of getting shortlisted, incorporate the skills that come up more than once in the job description.
Whether you are on the job hunt or not, it pays to have your updated LinkedIn profile ready as well.
