Why Is It Essential To Keep An Updated Resume

All of you must have read a lot about ‘creating’ an effective resume. Well, that is indeed very important in order to start a professional life and also to excel in your career. However, the most crucial  step after creating a resume is to ‘maintain’ and ‘update’ it. Whether you are on the hunt for a new job or already enjoying a professional career, keeping your resume up-to-date is of great significance.

Be Organized Beforehand

Coming up with an accurate and interesting resume in a very limited time can be very disorderly. In the professional world you never know when you might need to submit it, so you should regularly update your resume with relevant accomplishments, new job duties, recently achieved certifications, contact information and other similar achievements. This is especially true for smaller but equally important achievements that may fade in memory as time passes.

How To Update The Resume

There is a common perception that updating the CV means to add in your professional experiences (name, designation and time period), if you have any. In reality, when we talk about maintaining or updating the resume, it means that one should update every single detail about one’s professional profile. Following are some important things that should be kept in mind while updating your resume:

Accomplishments and Achievements

Your professional and academic accomplishments and achievements distinguish you from the rest of the pod of applicants and add value to your profile. Include your accomplishments in your CV as soon as you achieve any. Do remember that an accomplishment does not always have to be monumental in order to be effective. Many of the things that you do on regular basis can be regarded as accomplishments, particularly if you phrase them the right way.

Examples of accomplishments might include increasing your company’s bottom line, promotions, special projects, decreasing costs or company-sponsored awards. Quantifiable representations are best way to explain your achievements. Prove what you have done through the use of dollar/rupee amounts, numbers, quotas, percentages, etc.

There are also some less quantifiable accomplishments that may also be mentioned. For example, major accounts you landed, customer service satisfaction ratings, mergers and acquisitions, positive publicity, promotions and anything else you can think of that is appropriate to list under one’s accomplishments.

Awards and Certifications

Either you are a working professional or looking for a job, the licenses, degrees, awards and certificates are very important to be maintained in your resume. List only those which are most relevant to your career field. Include titles, dates, locations, and the sponsors of any training you completed to receive certificates or licensure. An employee only wants to see what is relevant to the position you are applying for.

Technical Skills

Technical skills should be included in the list of things which are to be regularly updated in the resume. Tech skills can range from the knowledge of MS Word to being a whiz of certain software that you used at a specific job. If you are a well-experienced professional and applying for a managerial position, only in that case technical skills do not have much significance in your CV.

Resume Format

Resume formats and CV writing styles are changing rapidly. What seemed apropos format-wise in 2003 might look antiquated today. If you do not have much idea as how to put your resume in the right format, peruse the Internet for samples of CVs from fields similar to your own.

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Conferences and Additional Education

Conferences and seminars can be important to enhance your professional profile; particularly if they helped you earn continuing education credits or are substantial enough to have given you a unique skill. Any in-services training you may have conducted with others as a result of attending conferences should also be mentioned, as these are notable accomplishments that highlight certain skill sets, such as leadership and public speaking abilities.

When To Update The Resume

It is a question asked by many professionals that when should I update my resume and how often do I need to update it? There are some definite considerations to decide when it is best to dust off your Curriculum Vitae.

Whenever You Change Your Personal Information

Update your resume as soon as you make any changes in your personal information. Any change in address, contact number or email addresses should be immediately modified in your CV. The sooner you note such items on your resume, the better. If you fail do so, you may wind up sending out a CV with the wrong contact information and that could be potentially disastrous for you.

New And Improved Skills Set

Whenever a professional goes through an employment for sometime he tends to learn some particular skills which was not known to him before entering that profession. Document those skills set in your resume as soon as you learn any. This will add alot to your professional profile and leaves an impressive effect on the one who reads it.

Update Your CV Even If You Do Not Plan Job Switch

Even if you are perfectly happy at your current position, do try to look at your CV every four to six months, just in case. Your resume should be ready and properly maintained beforehand. Then, if you need to send it to prospective employers, you will be able to do it without any fuss.

With Each New Award/Honour

You received a special award or honour from an organization, you earned a promotion based on your abilities or you have been given special responsibilities from your manager based on your past performance and acumen. Each time you are given such an award or honour, make sure you add it to your CV as soon as possible. Many people assume that they will remember when it’s needed, but often they forget to do so and a marvelous addition to any CV is forgotten.

An Annual Review

It is prudent to look over your CV about once a year, just to see if the resume looks updated enough. Jot down any updated regarding your professional profile of the past year and see if your resume contains all that information too. This way, you can ensure that your CV remains modern and relevant to the current marketplace.

After Any Formal Training And/Or Courses

If you have attended a formal training or course conducted either by your own company or any other organization or institution, do add it in your resume. Even the most mundane conference can increase the value of your CV and can help you catch the eye of the employer.

Your CV is probably the most important tool in your professional life as well as during your job hunt, so getting it right is absolutely essential. It also dictates whether or not you will be invited to interview or a promotion in the current job. Your CV should not only summarize your qualifications, skills and experience but should also reflect key aspects of your personality that will help you to stand out from all other applicants. If your resume is more than six months old, update it today. Who knows, you may come across an unexpected layoff or a surprising opportunity sooner than you can imagine!