7 reasons to keep your resume ready and LinkedIn updated

Is your resume ready for your next role? 2018 was a spectacular year for job seekers. The job market is robust with opportunity in healthcare, information technology, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and finance.

This may make you think that you just have to apply online with your resume and you will get that next role. Sadly, that isn’t how it works especially at the upper levels of your career. There are plenty of jobs for people who are looking for “a” job. But for people who are seeking “the” job, people who care about where they work and what they do, they need more than just applying online.

Is your resume ready for “the” job?

There are key ingredients that make a successful resume. You don’t want to use a high school or college version of your resume to land the next CIO or Vice President of Sales role. Instead, when you are seeking “the” job, you want to capture the outstanding initiatives that set you apart from others.

Identify your target

When you get your resume ready, you need to be targeting it toward a specific job. You can’t use a one-fits-all strategy to find those special opportunities. You need to target it to a specific area and specific job target.

Capture your accomplishments

Many people write job description resumes. Don’t stop by telling someone what your duties or functions were in the job. Add the results.

• What happened when you launched the new product?
• Did it rise to the top of the charts?
• Were new vendors lining up to put this product on the shelves?
• Did you find thought leaders who were so excited about the product that they couldn’t stop talking about your product?
• What about early sales, were you able to generate early sales with social media influencers who built excitement for the product?

Choose keywords to represent your industry

Be sure you incorporate the right keywords throughout your resume. Too often people fail to find out what is critical to hiring managers. One good way to research keywords is to read job descriptions posted on LinkedIn. The LinkedIn search engine will help you identify the right jobs and you can mix and match keywords from those jobs that fit your target.

Integrate the keywords in the narrative as well as splash some in key areas as attention getters.

Why have a resume ready?

1. A quality resume takes time to write. You don’t want to be caught with an old version when your dream job comes along.
2. If you are networking regularly, there will be people looking at you when they have a need for your talent.
3. The resume is the foundation of your job search. Even with LinkedIn’s popularity, the resume creates the story that you can translate to LinkedIn and other platforms.
4. You forget your accomplishments over time.
5. Do you struggle with remembering where you worked when so you can update your resume or LinkedIn? Keeping your resume up-to-date ensures that your information is correct.
6. Resume styles and strategies change. I just rewrote a CIO resume that I wrote in 2010 and I changed the entire look and feel to be current with today’s resumes.
7. Your focus changes. In the beginning of your career, you may want to focus in one area but as your life evolves and trends change, you may want to go in a different direction. Your resume should reflect your talent in those areas.

Is your resume ready? Did you update your LinkedIn profile recently? Are you networking to keep your name and face in front of key decision makers. I write your story, capture your accomplishments, and coach you on the best strategic job search moves for you today.

Are you ready to work with me? Top executives choose me every day to be their partner in their career journey. Learn more.