Here are 3 reasons why everyone needs an up-to-date resume even when you aren’t looking.
Here are 3 reasons why everyone needs an up-to-date resume even when you aren’t looking:
Updating your resume forces you to take stock of your career on regular basis. You will not let too much time lapse in the wrong area or industry or level. You will continually remind yourself of your achievements and what is truly important in your job. This will prevent you from getting stuck in the day-to-day minutiae of the job. You also will keep track of your accomplishments and the related details that you might otherwise forget without writing it down.
Having an up-to-date resume is a form of job insurance. If something unexpected happens (e.g., your company restructures and downsizes, your role changes for the worse), you can quickly get out into the market. While networking is the best way to land a job, rather than blindly sending out your resume, having the resume readily available shows that you are serious about marketing yourself and prepared to move. With a resume already available, you will have one less thing to do in times of turmoil.
Finally, an up-to-date resume signals to yourself and to the universe that you are prepared for an opportunity should it come your way. Being prepared often creates luck. You are able to capitalize on opportunities because you have done the ground work in advance. If it happens to be the right time or right place for you, you have your resume ready to go. Putting regular effort into maintaining an up-to-date resume enables you to “effortlessly” catch those lucky breaks.
Bonus tip: update your LinkedIn profile whenever you update your resume. When I was a recruiter, I used LinkedIn to find those passive candidates for my searches. You can’t be found for the appropriate opportunities if you don’t put yourself out there with updated information.
Is Your Job Search Flexible or Just Unfocused?
As a recruiter, I’ve seen lack of flexibility on the recruiting side with employers clinging to every last detail in their ideal spec while perfectly good candidates get overlooked. As a career coach, I see jobseekers prematurely dismissing possible targets waiting for that perfect job. It’s true that you want to be focused in your job search (otherwise you dilute your efforts and come across as scattered and possibly desperate).
5 Questions to Test If Your Resume Is Recruiter-Proof
After recruiting in search and in-house for over ten years, I have read thousands of resumes. Due to sheer volume of resumes received and all the other things that vie for the recruiter’s attention in the hiring process – scheduling, interviewing, networking, reference checks, client debriefs, and more – the resume review process is ruthlessly quick.
Why Conventional Wisdom On Work Flexibility Is Always Wrong
In a previous post, I wrote about why employment statistics are always wrong. In a similar way, conventional wisdom on work flexibility is always wrong. It is impossible to generalize something that is inherently case-by-individual case. Therefore, any boilerplate advice or conventional wisdom is bound to omit a key consideration, underweight or overemphasize other considerations, or take too long-term or short-term of a view.
