Giving Your Resume A Makeover

In the wake of recession, opportunities for employment have been scarce but are starting to become more available with time. The mark of a new season often means a shift in the work place, whether it’s switching jobs or seeing new people join your team. Spring also means that high school and college students are ending their semesters and are fresh on the scene in search of work.

Where there are a lot of windows of opportunity, there is also a lot of pressure to stand out. How do you boost your profile so that your credentials are at the top of the boss’ list? Impress them with a stellar resume.

Here are five easy steps to give your out-dated resume a makeover:  

Revamp your format
If you’ve had the same style and layout for a while, consider giving it a fresh new look. Most word applications have a variety of templates to choose from. You don’t have to get too fancy but you can upgrade to a classy, contemporary layout that still maintains the professionalism you’re aiming for. Straying from the standard resume style can be advantageous in that it will make you stand out to your potential employer in a pile of similar looking papers.  

Revise your objective
Depending on when you last submitted a round of resumes, you may need to rephrase or completely change your objective statement for what you’re looking for in a job. You don’t want to be handing out information that suggests you’re on the hunt for a position in part-time retail at the mall when you are now looking to move up in the world of business. Be clear and concise about where you want to be so that there is no room for misunderstanding and your phone isn’t ringing off the hook with calls from places you’re not interested in.

Update your accomplishments
If you’re recently unemployed and scouring the job market, you’ve likely accumulated a wealth of experience that you can now use to your benefit for the next opportunity. Go back into your resume file and update your work information to current accomplishments, eliminating any that are no longer recent. Your resume should always reflect your professional history within the past 1-2 years.

Sell yourself
When trying to grab the attention of an employer, resume writing is not the time to be humble. Highlight your strengths, skills, and work related accomplishments with a positive tone, using active verbs to assert confidence in your ability. Be persuasive in summarizing how you would be a successful asset to the company and give specific examples to illustrate your point. Make an effort to accentuate the areas in which you know you shine best.  

Tailor your resume to desired job
In our youth we got away with mass distributing copies of basic, generic resumes all around town in hopes of hearing from anybody who had anything to offer. As we make the transition into the real world of career life, it’s not so easy. It’s important to customize your resume according to the job you’re applying for, specifying your qualifications and how well suited they are to the company’s requirements. The time and effort it takes to accommodate your profile for a job, especially multiple jobs at once, will seem tedious but ultimately it will be worth it. The more detail oriented you are, the better your chances are of making a positive impression and, more importantly, being granted a job interview.     

Image from MorgueFile

Courtney Gilmour
		About the author:
		Courtney is a published writer, stand-up comic, and shameless Internet enthusiast. She holds a double bachelors degree in English Literature and Communication Media Studies, specializing in semiotic theory, however she doesn't get Shakespeare and has never won a game of Scrabble. Currently she lives in Toronto and works as a writer for WOMAN.CA.
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