Are you resisting change in your resume?

Are you resisting change? A client who last worked with me in 2006 called last week to get her resume up-to-date.

She just wanted me to stuff the new things into her old resume and call it good. But I gave in last time in 2006 and let her keep things as they were.

In 2013, things changed too much to keep an old style resume with poor organization and design just because she is resisting change.

Resisting change even if you hire a pro

Then I told her she had to trust me if she insisted on working with me. With colleagues and resume resources from all over the world, I keep a close eye on changing resume strategies and make sure my clients have the best possible design, resume strategy, and job search plan.

Perhaps 15 years ago I was isolated as a resume writer living in Wausau, Wisconsin but now I talk to top resume writers every day via the telephone, Facebook, Twitter, email, and LinkedIn.

In the end, I said yes. But I told her she needed to listen and understand that resumes changed since we worked together.

What changed in resumes since 2006?

Perhaps you are wondering what could have changed so much?

1. Her old resume had a very self-serving objective statement. We don’t use objective statements at all any more.
2. Rather you can indicate the target with a banner headline and / or a tightly written branding statement that showcases your value. Jason Alba and I collaborated on this post for the JibberJobber blog back in 2010.
3.  You can’t focus on your needs in the resume. It is all about what you bring to the company.
4. Speaking of what you bring to the company, old resumes incorporates a list of duties making them weak resumes.
5. Today’s resume is all about the accomplishments. I re-interviewed the client stressing the accomplishment focus and soon she was coming up with better-focused success stories.
6. There was no design. I didn’t hold my ground and insist on updating her style at the last appointment. She had an over-bulleted black and white resume reminiscent of the early 2000’s. She left the office with a cutting-edge design that had enough color to create interest but wasn’t overdone.
7. Older resumes put no value on key words.
8. With today’s systems, professional resume writers make sure that keywords are woven into the resume and often set off in a Professional Strengths or Value Offered section if it fits the layout.
9. I injected quotes into her resume but they were clumped into an endorsement section. Now they are inter-spaced throughout the resume in shaded text boxes.

If you are thinking you can submit an old resume and call it good, think again. Are you resisting change because it worked 10 years ago, think again. Your resume is a marketing tool. Treat it like one!