As you prepare to look for your next job, you may want to consider updating your résumé to make sure you have added your most recent accomplishments, streamline formatting and added any keywords … and always, always proofread once more!
- Weed out what’s not needed. This covers a few aspects of the résumé. For example, if you’ve been out of college for more than three years, an employer doesn’t need to know you made the dean’s list. You may also want to eliminate any fancy fonts or formatting that would make it difficult for a résumé parser to read. And if you’re going for a position some of your old jobs don’t align with, pare them down so they don’t create clutter.
- Trim up keywords. Remember, most résumés get less than a minute of perusal before the application program software or harried HR person decides to keep them or toss them. So, look the job description over carefully, and then weave some of the prominent keywords into your résumé, preferably near the top (perhaps in your summary or overview) so they quickly catch the eye. If you can throw a keyword into your list of skills or even part of a job duty, you’ll seem like a better match.
- Prune information. Update your resume once you’ve been at a job for six months or more, and look at it every six months after that. You may think you’ll remember all your duties and accomplishments, but it’s far easier to add them when they’re fresh in your mind. Plus, you can always streamline it later as needed.
- Proofread it. Again. Carefully proofread everything, especially after editing. Any typos will put a résumé in the reject pile without a second glance. You never know when your perfectly formatted section on “Past Experience” suddenly needs revising because it’s now rolling over to the next page. And have someone whose eyes you trust read it. Your brain is trained to automatically skip over errors, and they might catch something you overlooked.
Keeping your résumé updated means you’ll always give a potential employer the most accurate version of yourself. To partner in your job search, reach out to the staffing team at Medical Professionals.
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