Get Your Resume Ready for a New Job Search in 2020!

If you are planning on looking for a new job in 2020, the first thing you need to do is get your resume in order.

Admittedly, even taking that first step can be a tall order, especially if you’re currently working a full-time job. Getting your resume ready for a job hunt involves reviewing your most recent job duties, accomplishment, and skill acquisitions. If a lot of time has passed since your last resume update, it makes the task even harder – and more daunting.

That being said, the task is not impossible. Below are a few quick and dirty tips to get your resume ready to start the new decade off with a job search.

Define Your Search

Before you start hammering away at the text of your resume, you need to define your upcoming job search. If you would like to stand out, you ought to figure out where you want to go and why the job you want is a great fit both for you and a prospective employer. Knowing your capabilities and objective can help you create a targeted resume and jump on the right opportunities because you know both what job you’re after and why you’re a good fit. Hiring managers want to see candidates who have a genuine personal stake in the open position and the company.

Put Your Biggest Achievements in Your Summary Section

According to research, hiring managers review the typically submitted resume resumes for less than 30 seconds. This isn’t much time to make an impression.

Make sure you list your most impressive qualifications upfront in your Summary section to give yourself the best chance of making an impression. When listing these qualifications, give context and quantify results using hard numbers, if possible. Good examples show how you can help provide value and growth to a company, like dollar amounts saved or revenue gained, you’ll put yourself in position to move on to the next stage of the hiring process.

Take Your Time with It

As appealing as it might be to speed through a resume refresh, it is better to invest some time, weigh decisions, and do it properly. It’s easy to hurry your process and include all kinds of mistakes, from spelling errors to alignment issues. These kinds of basic mistakes can be major warning signs for possible employers.

In addition to taking your time, ask trusted friends or co-workers to review your work, and provide you with feedback.

Use the Most Current Keywords and Phrases

When you submit your resume electronically, automated software is often used to scans it for keywords and phrases that are relevant to the open position and the industry. Therefore, your resume needs to include current and relevant terms.

One useful approach to figuring out which words and phrases are important is to look at job descriptions in your field and see which terms keep appearing.

We Can Help You Refresh Your Resume

At Career Concepts, we often help job seekers fine-tune their resume ahead of a big job search. Please contact us today to find out how we can help you find a new job in 2020.