How Often Are Resume Updates Needed

How Often Are Resume Updates Needed How Often Are Resume Updates Needed How Often Are Resume Updates Needed?Whether youre looking for your first job, seeking a better opportunity, or currently unemployed, your resume is a crucial tool in your job hunt.Dont just write yours and then rely on it, thoughrealize that its a work-in-progress and merits attention throughout your search. Its vital to keep updating your resume, especially in a difficult employment market. Make sure youre always presenting yourself as impressively as possible.For students seeking an internship or first job, revise every semester, advises Lisa Dickter, associate director for Career Consultants Carnegie Mellons Career and Professional Development Center, Pittsburgh, PA. Once youre working, update several times a year. If you wait, its hard to remember what you did ten or eleven months ago. After each new project, update your resume while details are fresh in your mind, and its easy to explain what you accomplishe d or learned, Dickter recommends. Whenever you have something to add, do it as soon as possible. The point of a resume is citing your accomplishments and giving the specifics what you did, and how you did it.If youre bedrngnis working, its especially valuable to keep freshening your resume, update as often as you can, Dickter emphasizes. In todays job market, with lay-offs and downsizing, being unemployed for a few months is typical. If youve been job-hunting longer than three months, try to find a volunteer, part-time or temporary position within your field. Register with a temp agencyan employer may have a short-term project requiring additional staff, but would rather notlage hire full-time or permanent engineers who also have to be paid benefits. Volunteering shows both motivation and involvement in your field. Tutor a beginning mechanical engineering student, or find a local high school or non-profit organization thats encouraging interest in science and engineering. Finding an appropriate volunteer spot isnt always easy, Dickter admits, but its an excellent addition to your resume while youre not working.Revising is a strategic job-hunting tactic. If its been a few months since you applied to a particular employer, Updating your resume is a good reason to get in touch again, says Dickter. (However, remember that you cant contact them every other week). Ask a professional colleague to review your resume and make sure its effective and nice-looking, she suggests. Its a good opportunity to ask for an informational interview, with someone who you know has no current openings. Just be clear that youre simply seeking advice about the industry right now, and any suggestions about how to strengthen your resume. The reviewer may suggest changing some wording, or adding more detail in one area, says Dickter. Then one day, if a friend mentions having an appropriate opening, because of that recent contact the person you asked will probably remember you, and might re commend you for that job.Employers pay attention to when youve done things, Dickter finds. She prefers placing dates at the right margin or immediately after the job youre listing, because putting them on the left side of the page draws attention to the time frame. You want the employer to focus on what you achieved or which skills you gained.For accomplishments with the same employer, you neednt list the date of each previous project simply distinguish each one with a bullet. When you update, add any recent project at your current job. In describing your current position, say July 2011 to present. Youll need to decide whether its more impressive to describe the position through specific projects youve handled, or by general accomplishments on the job, says Dickter.Make periodic decisions about what to add or delete. For experienced engineers, include mostly information relevant to the field. Mention things youve set up for professional or alumni associations, like networking events . This shows organizational skills and time management. I think employers do like to see that people have a life outside their engineering jobs. Some career advisers prefer including hobbies, but I think something like running a marathon is better to bring up in the interview, Dickter says. Twenty or more years after college, Its fine not to list every job, especially if youve had ten different positions. But decision-makers dislike employment gaps, so try to show continuous employmentdont simply omit your fourth and sixth jobs. Be sure to add any new publication, conference presentation, or position at your professional association.If youve accomplished something specific that you really want a chance to talk about, like an impressive skill youve acquired, realize the interviewer wont ask unless you mention something for them to pick up on, Dickter notes. Thats why updating about that new project, responsibility, or accomplishment is so important.Your resume is a marketing tool for you to show your strengths and skill, she emphasizes. Make sure that yours is always a powerful, very current, asset.Carol Milano is an independent writer.The point of a resume is citing your accomplishments and giving the specifics what you did, and how you did it.Lisa Dickter, Career and Professional Development Center, Carnegie Mellon University