I see a lot of resumes. Some, quite honestly, need to grow up! If you are writing your resume in the style you learned in college, but college was…5, 10, maybe even 15 (!) years ago – it’s time for an update!
Certainly, styles have changed. Content has changed. (The previously required “Objective” is no longer even suggested, for example.) Suffice to say that a lot has changed! Do you really want to be sending the equivalent of “your father’s resume” when you apply for a job at that hip start-up? Or, even to the newly redesigned and rebranded business down the street? Probably not!
So many people forget that the resume style they used right out of school isn’t going to be the right choice now that they have actual “work experience.”
I hear from many job seekers who have many years of experience, but are still spending a lot of time listing awards won in college that have no significance for today’s reader. Many job seekers fail to move their “Education” section to the bottom of their resume once they have a position and enough experience under their belt (and no specific reason to keep Education on top). A few still list their high school diploma, even when they have a bachelor’s degree.
There is no fail safe ”one size fits all” advice for resume writers, but most job seekers will want to make these changes and more to their job seeking documents before applying for their targeted jobs. Otherwise, they will appear less experienced than they may be and jeopardize their chances for an interview.
Take a look at the “before” and “transformed” resumes on my site. Which one does your resume most resemble?
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