“Why Doesn’t My Old Resume Work Anymore?”
If your last job
search prior to 2001, you may be in for a rude awakening. You might be surprised to find that your old
resume, which worked well for you before, is no longer attracting employers,
headhunters and corporate recruiters. If
you wondered, “What am I doing wrong?” it might not be you—it’s probably your
resume.
There are three reasons your old resume
may not be working for you:
·
Drastic increase in
competition
·
Changes in technology
·
Changes in your
industry
1. Drastic
increase in competition
Increased candidate competition
is the #1 reason your resume is no longer working.
While current employment outlooks
are marginally brighter, competition is still so high that your resume must be
able to stand out against a mountain of candidates.
The best way to enhance your
competitive standing against other job seekers is through strong accomplishment
statements. Accomplishments are most
effective when:
·
They illustrate your
transferable skills
·
They show your
contribution to corporate bottom-line objectives
·
They are stated
quantitatively
If you are confused about how to state
your accomplishments effectively, consider hiring a professional resume
writer. Correctly written statements
will make your accomplishments shine—and you’ll be more likely to land those
critical interviews.
2. Changes in technology
Is your resume ready for the
high-tech world? Probably not, if you
are still snail-mailing or faxing your resume to potential employers. Are you willing to take a chance on your
resume being tossed, just because you didn’t take the time to prepare your
resume for an electronic audience?
With dramatic increases in the
number of resumes received, many employers have invested in software to manage
resumes and candidate responses. It is
entirely possible that a computer, not a person, will be the first one to
screen your resume. The electronic eye
is much more objective than the human eye; it scans only for industry-specific
terminology and keywords in qualifications and responsibilities.
Here are some critical questions
to ask about your resume:
·
Does it contain the
right keywords to put you in the “interview” pile?
·
Will new resume
software be able to read its formatting correctly?
·
Will your tables,
fonts, and graphics transmit properly in an online resume form—or will they
disintegrate into unreadable symbols?
You can give your old resume a real
boost by investing in the services of a professional resume writer who
understands the pitfalls of our electronic job market. Whether your resume needs a brush-up or a
complete rewrite, it’s well worth the investment to
make sure your name makes it to the top of all candidate lists.
3. Changes
in your industry
If you are still just tacking your most
current job onto the same old resume, then your resume probably contains a lot
of old terminology and buzz words. If
so, it will make you look outdated—even over the hill. It may also fail to be recognized by software
that uses keywords to retrieve the best resumes.
If you’re feeling out-of-step with your
industry, it may be time for a checkup with a career coach who can help prepare
you and your resume to stand up to the challenges of your industry’s changing
trends.
Bottom line: if your old resume that no
isn’t winning the attention of employers, then it’s time to ask yourself, “How
much is my old resume costing me in wasted time and effort?”
An investment in professional resume
help could mean the difference between months of fruitless effort—and landing
the perfect new job. A new, better
resume built on strategies that are suited to today’s job-search challenges may
be just the edge you need to get you noticed and get you hired.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deborah
Walker, CCMC
Resume
Writer ~ Career Coach
To
see resume samples and read more job-search tips visit www.AlphaAdvantage.com
Email:
Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~