In the career development world, when we talk about your passport, we’re not talking literally. Although our passports may always be ready for travel – itching to receive more stamps to signify all the places we’ve been and the adventures we’ve had, what we really mean here is your resume.
Why is your resume referred to as your “passport”? Because it is your way to get to the interview. Without a captivating resume, you’ll never take flight and land at the job interview.
You should always be working on updating your resume on a consistent basis. You never know when you might need to apply to a position, provide it to a contact, or have it ready for networking purposes. As a Career Development Practitioner, one of the areas that I see clients consistently needing assistance with is resume writing and how to effectively target and tailor their resume to each different position they're applying to. Clients usually come to me and say they don’t need help with their resume but are looking for help with interviews, LinkedIn, or cover letters. When I peruse their resume to make sure they are on the right track, I am always amazed at how many people think they have a powerful resume when in reality it is too general, not specific to what they’re applying to, and just not interesting.
Job seekers need to make their resume something that hiring managers actually enjoy reading. Because yes, resumes can be engaging and powerful. In fact, they should be.
What you may have learned about what a resume should look like has very possibly changed entirely. Resumes can be two pages long. The sections of a resume (Education, Work Experience, etc.) are fluid and can move around. Every time you apply to a job you should be editing your resume and highlighting the most important skills and qualifications specific to the job posting. Keep the most pertinent information on the first page because sometimes hiring managers and recruiters won’t bother flipping to the second page at all. It's your job to convey that you are a good fit for the role on the first page so the employer wants to read on to page two. Every bullet point you have on your resume that explains what you did in your different roles should be accomplishment statements beginning with strong action verbs.
What type of resume do you have? Depending on your personal situation, you may be best suited to having a chronological resume (experience listed in reverse chronological order), a functional resume (designed with a focus on skill competency headings), or even a combination style (a little bit of both!).
Do you have a gap in your resume? Maybe you needed to take time off work to perform caregiving duties, you were on maternity leave, you were laid off, you had an unexpected personal dilemma that warranted leave, you finished school and were job searching for quite a while, or maybe you were suffering from burnout after a particularly stressful job. Regardless of your situation, as a CCDP, I can help you to navigate the situation and market the gap on your resume to your advantage.
Did you know that your resume may look differently stylistically based on the industry you are in? If you are a graphic designer, you may want to showcase your abilities on your self-presentation documents directly. You may need to put together an artistic portfolio, whether a print version or an electronic version. It is a good idea for you to have a professional portfolio regardless of your industry with your resume, samples of your work, testimonials, thank you cards, awards, certificates, and more.
Have you heard about applicant tracking systems? It isn’t necessarily a real person reviewing your job application anymore. It could be an electronic system set up to scan your documents and pick up on certain key words. If you have enough of those key words from the job posting in your documents, then you may just land the interview because of that alone. It is imperative, now more than ever, to be closely aligning your resume and cover letter to the job posting for this reason.
There are so many important pieces when it comes to crafting a powerful resume and I’ve only listed a few of those above. If you find yourself with questions about your resume after reading this, do yourself a favour and get in touch! The importance of investing in yourself cannot be overstated.
Getting an in-depth resume critique from Sand to Pearl Coaching includes:
1. The Coach’s notes
2. Worksheets to help make the changes
3. Sand to Pearl’s Step-by-Step Guide
4. Support, guidance and consistent help with revisions
5. Knowledge and tools for a great finished product
I hope to help get your passport ready so you can start landing those interviews and adventuring through your career!
Talk to you soon,
Sabrina
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