How to Format Your Resume for a Modern Job Search

How to Format Your Resume for a Modern Job Search How to Update Your Outdated Resume The 7-Step Modern Resumebehauptung resume tips will keep your outdated resume from landing you in the rejection pile.If you havent sought a new employment opportunity for five, 10, 15, or even 20 years, you may be unsure of where to start when creating a resume for todays marketplace. Has that much changed since you brde applied for a new fleck in 1995 or even 2005? The answer is yes Here are some key resume tips youll want to implement when updating your outdated resume to ensure your application sees the light of day.Resume Tip 1 Lose the objectiveGone are the days of stating why you want to boost your skills, share your talents, and optimize your career path. The truth is, your objective is clear. If you are sending out your verrotten resume, your objective is to land an interview. An objective statement serves no purpose and should be eliminated from todays resumes. Rather than wasting this prim e real estate at the top of the resume, be sure to capitalize on it with other valuable information.Resume Tip 2 Use a professional summaryInstead of a resume objective statement, utilize that space in your modern resume to provide a high-level overview of your career thus far. This allows you to pinpoint those qualifications and skills that make you different than other candidates, along with discussing a bit of your employment history. This is also a great place to add keywords that are used in job advertisements.Related Its Time to Ditch Your Resume Objective StatementResume Tip 3 Identify keywords and use themSpeaking of keywords, what are they? These are the words that are repeated in a job listing, specifying the technical knowledge, soft skills, and abilities required to be successful in the position. Many companies utilize an applicant tracking system (ATS) to filter through incoming resumes. If you fail to incorporate these words into your document, your modern resume may b e out of contention before an HR professional ever reads it.Resume Tip 4 Dont date your educationIf you graduated from college 15 or more years ago, there is no reason to include your graduation date on your resume. A recent college graduate may choose to do so (and even place Education prior to Professional History) simply because he or she doesnt have any relevant professional experience at this point. However, for the rest of us, dating your education can cause age discrimination. Why open yourself to that possibility?Resume Tip 5 There is no need to include all jobsThe most frequent question I receive from clients is how far back to go on their resume. Should they include that first job from 1985? The answer is no. Typically, resume writers will recommend only including the relevant past positions within the last 15 years of employment.If you really have trouble killing some of your career darlings, you can include your older job positions in a Career Note at the end of your pro fessional history just be sure to omit any dates.Related How to Cut Your Resume Down to the Ideal Page LengthResume Tip 6 Its okay to split your job experiencesLets say youve been in ausverkauf and marketing for a while, but you also have IT experience. In this case, it is perfectly acceptable to have two sections of professional history. In fact, this works very well if youre specifically targeting only one of those areas. For example, if you want to focus on sales and marketing in your next role, then your sales and marketing experience belongs at the top of your modern resumes work history section. If you want to pursue a career in IT, then that information should be presented first in this section. This allows you to adjust the resume as needed for future opportunities.Resume Tip 7 Remove personal informationMany years ago, resumes potentially contained personal information such as marital status, number of children, and hobbies. Today, that type of information could become HRs worst nightmare. There is no place for personal information on todays modern resumes. Keep it professional at all times.When it comes to updating your outdated resume, the bottom line is this If you are ready to start your job search in the current marketplace, be sure that you are complying with all of the unwritten rules of modern resumes.Click the following link for more resume advice.Need help updating your resume for a modern-day job hunt? Hire a TopResume professional resume writer todayRecommended Reading10 Powerful Changes to Improve Your Senior-Level ResumeIts Time to Remove These Things From Your ResumeIs Your Resume is Making You Look Old?Related Articles