New Trends For Old Resumes
If your resume simply presents your working life in the form of a historical document, it may be time to update your thinking and restyle your resume. With the vast numbers of resumes crossing employers’ desks these days, studies show that you have less than 30 seconds to grab their attention. Resumes today stress achievements and monetary savings to accentuate the positive, while playing down the age factor.
Selling yourself to a business is what it is all about and in today’s market, employers relate to value proposition. That’s a term that job seekers would be wise to incorporate into their resume to help sell themselves. It relates directly to tangible results the employer can expect from you, whether from cost cutting measures, or sales promotions you’ve led, bosses today want to see more money on their bottom line.
Another change is the now common resume summary statement, which replaces the old fashioned one-line objective statement. The newer style takes a more direct approach to the employer, expressing how you can use your goals and values to increase their bottom line and make their company better.
Play up your experience and down play your age. You don’t want your old style resume to present you as too old for the job. Older applicants sometimes aren’t given fair opportunities, though probably not often on purpose. If the boss is 20 years younger than you, then he may shy away from hiring someone who he considers old. Despite age discrimination laws, this still does go on and you can’t afford to draw unwanted attention to your age if you are older.
So, how do you overcome that? You can begin by omitting the date that you graduated, and by including the jobs that you’ve held over the past 5 to 10 years ~ rather than the past 30. Use a vibrant, energetic tone, with words like “progressive”, “results-oriented”, and “savvy”. Perhaps, one of the best ways to convey your value is to keep your skills (i.e. computer, and software skills) updated to a current level. Be sure to let your potential employer know that you are willing and capable of learning new technologies and skills quickly. Finally, skip the dreary rundown of your past employment listing your duties and responsibilities. Employers want you to highlight achievements you made while you at past jobs.
Filed under: Careers