Updating Your Resume
Are you applying for jobs but struggling to get interview invitations? Improving your chances to get those interviews might be as simple as giving your resume a few updates!
Your resume is your first impression with a potential employer, so it’s crucial to make it look its best!
Here are a few ideas and tips to help give your resume a fresh, professional look:
Update Your Fonts:
Avoid outdated fonts and large typefaces; try to keep the font size 11, or 12pts. For font styles, try to choose easy-to-read fonts like Calibri or Arial, which are clean and modern. Stay away from older fonts, such as Times New Roman, to give your resume a sleek and contemporary appearance.
Want to know what other font options are out there for resumes? You can read this article on the “10 Best Resume Fonts for 2024”.
Simplify Your Job History:
Include only roles and responsibilities that are relevant to the job(s) that you are applying for. For example, if you worked a high school job such as a server in a restaurant that’s unrelated to your career goal of obtaining an accounting role, then it’s time to remove it. Focus on experiences that align with the job that you’re seeking! If you are applying for a couple of different jobs, create copies of your resume with different work histories that are relevant to their respective applications.
Now what if you have a lot of job experience for a certain role, and your resume is getting real long? Well, most sources say to try and stick to the most recent work experiences that are within 10-15 years; the article “How Do I List 20 Years of Experience on My Resume” from TopResume has some great additional tips, tricks and details on how to condense down your job history section. (It’s only about a 7-minute read!)
If you are a high-school student, and don’t have as much relevant experience to the job you are applying for as you’d like, here’s KES’s article on “Creating a Resume as a High-School Student”, where we provide you with a template, and some ideas on how to fill out your resume!
Leave Out Salary Expectations:
Never include your salary expectations on your resume (save this conversation for the interview, or the job offer).
Why?
This can send the wrong message to the potential employer, or you may end up with a lower salary than what the business was originally going to offer.
Instead, your resume should highlight your skills and experience. Salary discussions will come later in the application process!
Keep It Concise:
Limit your resume to 1-2 pages, if possible. Employers often have many resumes to review, so they appreciate brevity. Make sure to present your most important information clearly and concisely within this length! An author on LinkedIn provides an additional 5 ideas of what may not need to be on a resume, and most of them will help with simplifying your resume and condensing it down.
Check for Typos:
Attention to detail is crucial! Excessive typos and grammatical errors can prevent you from getting an interview and can come across as messy. If you’re not confident in your proofreading skills, no worries! Ask your employment counsellor, friend, or family member to review your resume.
Or if you feel more comfortable using an online typo-checker, you could use a free resources such as LanguageTool (an open source website), or GrammarCheck (a simple, free, online spelling, punctuation and grammar checker), or an AI powered grammar, plagiarism checker and summarizer called QuillBot. (Yes, QuillBot is AI powered, but it is a popular, and well-loved tool).
Want a copy of all the above resources to come back to? Not a problem! We’ve made them all into a handy-dandy list that is available to download in the resources section below!
By following these tips, you can ensure that your resume is more appealing to employers and increase your chances of landing that next interview. Best of luck to you and your job applications!
Here are additional resources to help you get started with updating your resume!
Kootenay Employment Services offers several online tools, one of which is our resume and cover letter builders. Get started on your resume today!
Here is the list of resources from this article, it will download as a PDF file for you to use and refer back to, anytime! Complete with links, and descriptions!
Kootenay Employment Services has a collection of articles on various career advice topics, one of which may give you a hand with why and how you can add tech-ie skills to your resume!
Kootenay Employment Services has a collection of articles on various career advice topics, one of which may give you a hand with creating your resume as a high-school student!
