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<\/p>\nI was working with a close friend recently who just lost his job, so is now updating his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 to support his job search efforts.\u00a0 It’s not a particularly enjoyable exercise, of course, particularly because it’s all wrapped up in the emotional maelstrom he’s experiencing.<\/p>\n
It’s better to do an update periodically, like at the beginning of each year.\u00a0 If you had to do a year-end performance summary, or are just looking ahead to your new goals, it’s a great time to update the list of your skills and accomplishments as well.<\/p>\n
Why bother?<\/p>\n
First, it becomes harder and harder over the years to remember what you’ve accomplished and contributed.\u00a0 Even capturing a year can be a bit of a pain.\u00a0 Imagine that you were trying to remember back five or even ten years.<\/p>\n
Second, it’s a great opportunity to update the language and drop off less-relevant stuff.\u00a0 My friend included mentions of programming languages that I haven’t heard of for 15 years, just on the off chance that someone would care.\u00a0 But overall it gives the impression of someone who’s not on top of the latest trends, which can be deadly in high tech.\u00a0 It’s much better to mention the most-relevant skills, including “and many others” so the reader understands there’s a greater breadth.<\/p>\n
Third, even if you’re not looking for a job, there may be others out there looking for you.\u00a0 Keeping your LinkedIn profile current may just open doors to new opportunities.<\/p>\n
Which reminds me: I haven’t updated my LinkedIn for awhile.\u00a0 Must do that.<\/p>\n
I’m a big fan of having customized CVs and tailored r\u00e9sum\u00e9s whenever possible.\u00a0 When you apply for an actual job opening, it’s always worth the investment to reorder and prioritize so that the reader will scan the most relevant information and want to dig in further.<\/p>\n
Here’s a section that I just made up, highlighting how people tend to scan:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Notice that the reader will spend more emphasis on:<\/p>\n
This is why ordering, action verbs and numbers are so critical:\u00a0 If someone is going to spend one second scanning this section (yes, seriously!) then you want the relevant and most intriguing information to pop out.<\/p>\n
It’s not manipulation or playing games.\u00a0 It’s respecting the reader’s time.<\/p>\n
This level of customization is difficult or impossible for a generic r\u00e9sum\u00e9.\u00a0 Different information is probably important to different people.\u00a0 But when you’re applying for a specific job, you’ll use the information in the job posting (and whatever else you can learn) to create a document which is truly compelling.<\/p>\n
My friend also worked with an adviser who rewrote his entire r\u00e9sum\u00e9 into a form with which he wasn’t at all happy.\u00a0 It felt dense, distracted, and unnatural.\u00a0 I advised him not to completely reject it, though, but to learn from the experience.\u00a0 What was it about this form which upset him?\u00a0 Was it because he had a mental image formed from his last job search ten years ago which might be becoming obsolete?<\/p>\n
In the end, he combined the best inputs from lots of places, and is now ready and energized to launch into his job search.\u00a0 He’s confident that his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 powerfully represents his unique skills and contributions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"