Resumes used to be what you created only when you were looking for a new job. LinkedIn has changed all that. Today, every person can keep their resume polished by keeping their LinkedIn profile up-to-date.
Why Keep Your LinkedIn Profile Current?
There are many advantages to keeping your LinkedIn profile current instead of having your resume online somewhere else:
- LinkedIn profiles are not only for job seekers, so your current employer won’t be suspicious
- Opportunities you don’t expect can come your way because recruiters love LinkedIn
- Co-workers, peers and even your manager can find out more about your accomplishments
Not having a LinkedIn profile today is a serious misstep. LinkedIn is becoming more and more important. Even if you have no intention of every working again it is still wise to optimize that profile.
Keeping Your Resume Current
With the economy the way it is, it wouldn’t hurt to have both digital and written copies of an actual resume available. Writing it while you are employed and relaxed is likely to generate superior results to doing it when you are distraught over having been laid off or worse.
If you don’t have a resume when you need one, having all the details saved on LinkedIn will make the challenge easier. There are many reasons to keep your resume up-to-date:
- Refer to it just before your annual review
- Use it to apply to speak at a conference
- Details can be used to nominate you for an award
- Share it with collaborators
Fewer top paying positions are available in most industries. You may need to look outside the field you’ve been working in or even outside your industry. Consider creating a custom resume for each opportunity to highlight accomplishments that are most relevant.
Make Yourself More Impressive
The stronger your resume, the better you can compete for any openings that do exist. Consider simplifying what is on your resume to make the first cut. Then have a really impressive LinkedIn profile so you stand out.
Check out these tips in Why Smart People Don’t Get Hired:
“Most people don’t understand that hiring managers aren’t looking at CVs to find the right candidate. They use them to eliminate the, “wrong,” ones. When faced with a stack to read through, they will often eliminate the longer CVs as a matter of course.
Most people only do their job just exactly as well as they have to. Most hiring managers are looking to solve a problem. If your CV happens to show that you are a person with the skills to solve that particular problem, you’re in. If not, you’re screwed.
That’s why a lot of “experts,” tell you to tailor your CV to the job you’re applying for. In effect, dumb it down.” ~ Clifford VanMeter, Marketing Manager at Express Auto
“You would be surprised. A couple of years ago when I was on the job search, I made myself a very polished two-page resume which I tried to make as elegant as possible. Really, I tried my hardest to make sure it was well-written and “flowed” like an article. Did an email blast (maybe 20-30 emails), got maybe 1 response and even that was a recruiter.
Then, I ask a good friend of mine to look at it. His response was “dude, tear all this crap out – it doesn’t belong here! First, a resume can never be more than 1 page. Second, pretend you barely speak any English at all (no bullet point should be longer than one, or in exceptional cases, two sentences, and all sentences should have no more than 5-10 words of boilerplate (any word that isn’t a technology name or keyword)), and in many cases you should just downright resort to listing bare technologies separated by commas. Trust me.” (This is not, by any means, an exaggeration!)
I was so shocked at the feedback that I laughed at first, but then figured – why not try it? So I dumbed down my resume to literally the level of someone with a couple of years of English taken in high school in their native country, who just arrived into the US. And, to my (COMPLETE) shock, about half of the emails I sent received replies (including from companies directly; one small financial company’s reply stood out to me as particularly straightforward: “When can you come in for an interview?”).
I actually ended up landing something very close to (at that time) my dream job from that email blast. That’s when I learned my lesson. These days, when I work on my resume, I first write it how I’d like it to look, and then iterate over it multiple times until it is at a point that it can be understood by a 3rd-grader (barring acronyms and buzzwords).
However, I will mention that I could not understand this system and thought it was unfair, only until I found myself on the other side of the interviewing table. When I had to review resumes, anything longer than 2 pages really does become very frustrating.” ~ Ruslan Smirnov, Systems Architect
Are you ready to edit your resume? There is no time like the present.
Gail Gardner
From a recruiter point of view, these resume tips are quite helpful.
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Very informative blog!
thanks for sharing these useful tips about resume. Resume is just like first impression for any recruiter. as resume is perfectly represent you in 1 or 2 page. Then recruiter decide whether he call you for second round.
Do, to get dream job, make perfect resume. Us these tips very weel.
Hi,
I really like your post.
A resume is very important in getting a job as it showcases all your information and previous achievements. Create your own resume with the help of these basic inns and outs of resume tips also you can get some career tips and information. It is the first step towards a successful professional life.
Appearance of resume is very important as it is the first impression of yours in front of the employer. Just appearance of a resume can make or break your chances of getting the job. Check for any typos or grammatical error in your resume. Proof read your resume as at times spell checker fail to detect wrong usage of words.
Thanks for being sharing…
Regards
Shawn E. Yeager
Nowadays Resume Must be very Impressive. It is very important to include your personal details and your Experiences in life. Great Tips here.. Appreciate the Work 🙂
resume writing is the thing is think so, it makes our first impression on the interviewer, Keep sharing such tips!!
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Resume writing is an art !! Great tips! In making resume all you need to include is your important details !!
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Very nice and useful tips for Every job seekers.
Your first impression is create by your resume, interviewer have only 5 to 6 sec to view your resume, so your resume should be in such way that interviewer get more interest to interview in positive way.
LinkedIn does create impression on companies. But i think we should maintain allour social media account upto date. interview does check your social media profile to know you little more.
Very nice and informative post thank you for posting 🙂
Priya N would love you to read ..MMHAPU Patna Recruitment 2014 – 40 Vacancies for Various Post
Great tips! In making resume all you need to include is your important details and specialties. Be sure to impress the one that will be reading your resume and never forget to study your resume.
Resume writing is an art, and you have mentioned some amazing tips and tricks to beautifully optimize Resume. A lot of people are looking for the Resume Writing Tips, and they should follow your tips and secrets.
Zareen would love you to read ..Trainee Accountant Jobs at eThekwini Municipality
my resume is 1 page and its very short..point to point but relevant as i am a graphic designer so its kinda designer CV! i always get compliments on it as it looks different from others.Great Post
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Thanks for this great work.
We all know how important role linkedin is playing these day in hiring process but let me tell you that these days hiring managers are using facebook and twitter too to see your social behavior 🙂
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I have a friend who got a job because a manager saw they had viewed their profile and followed up with them. Really like your post Gail.Get some important tips to make a attractive Resume.Like your all tips .Thanks for sharing your views>:-)
Great stuff .I use LinkedIn daily .This is good social network sites .I Like it.Thanks for sharing
Resumes are one of those things that people tend to not even think about if your not looking for a job. Its a great idea to always have one ready. You never know what opportunity you will have today or tomorrow 🙂
Tanya would love you to read ..The Importance of Branding In Hiring
Great article Gail, this article solved my many problems. I didn’t pay much attention to LinkedIn but after reading this I am surely gonna pay greater attention to it..
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I really like your post. One point that you made that really got my attention is that a LinkedIn account can actually help an individual get new opportunities. You might not be a strong supporter of the power of social media, but its a fact that almost everyone make use of social media nowadays. So, it can prove to be a real decisive factor.