Resume Updates to Make – Even if You Aren't Looking for a New Job

I get calls every week from jobseekers who were unprepared following a layoff or who were not ready when approached with an amazing opportunity. Proactively making the changes outlined below will save you a considerable amount of time if you need to shore up your document quickly. 

Your future self will thank you. 

1. Remove old or irrelevant information. The standard length of employment to highlight on a resume is 10 to 15 years. New grads will have less experience than this, and some more tenured folks can make a case for including more years of experience. 

2. Update your experience section. Did you add new responsibilities or change departments? 

3. Refresh your bullet points. Add major projects, accomplishments, and results. How have you made money? Saved money? Made a process more efficient? How do you stand out from others who hold that same position?

4. Remove graduation dates if you are more than 5-7 years out of college. 

5. Update professional development training courses and certifications that you have obtained within the last 5 to 7 years. Include course name, company that offered the course, and the year you took the course. 

6. Update your resume format. Your document will be going through an applicant tracking software (ATS). Columns, text boxes, and tables can cause critical errors within company ATS. If you have important information in a table, column, or text box consider reformatting it. See this Jobscan article for more information.

7. Back up your resume (but not on your work computer). Email a copy of your resume to a trusted family member for back up. Computer issues happen, laptops break, synced files get messed up. Even if you are 100% sure your files are saved to the cloud, send a copy of your resume to someone you trust or go old-school and print out a copy. 

8. Keep a copy of your resume on your phone. You never know when it could come in handy to email your resume to someone while you are not at home. My colleague, Bob McIntosh, wrote a great article about the importance of storing your resume and other documents on your phone.