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Career Tips to Revamp Your Resume and Kick Start Your New Career

Guest post by: Cecile Peterkin

Article Overview: Whether you have decided to switch careers to fulfill your life’s goals or you’ve been forced to do so to maintain an income, here are some career tips you should keep in mind as you attempt to get acclimated to your new life, along with ways of presenting your resume that will accentuate your skills and get employers’ attention.

Career Tips to Revamp Your Resume and Kick Start Your New Career

Over the last few decades, there has been an ever-increasing trend of people switching careers at least once rather than staying with one company for their entire working life. Recently, this trend appears to have accelerated dramatically. Whether you have decided to switch careers to fulfill your life's goals or you've been forced to do so to maintain an income, here are some career tips you should keep in mind as you attempt to get acclimated to your new life, along with ways of presenting your resume that will accentuate your skills and get employers' attention.

Ideas to Kick Start Your New Career

• Set manageable goals, be realistic in your career search expectations
• Re-assess your skills to ensure they are in line with the job you are looking for
• Remind your network you are still looking for work
• Make time to volunteer to keep your skills updated and fresh
• Take courses to upgrade your skills
• Market yourself more
• Take a break, re-charge, re-focus
• If you've recently been laid off, take the time to recognize your success and don't take being let go personally
• Take care of yourself - use your time to do something you've always wanted to
• And, don't forget to have fun!

Revamping Your Resume for 2010

With the economic downturn and resulting lay-offs, there is a larger number of people than ever applying for a shrinking pool of jobs. Although no one gets hired solely on the basis of their resume, many job seekers miss the opportunity of an interview because there resume was inadequate to the task. In 2010, more than ever before, it will be critical that your resume has a distinct personality.

Formatting Your Resume

Before you begin, consider whether you are going to write a resume that is Skills Based or Chronological.

Chronological resumes are most popular, providing a job-by-job listing of all of your work experience.

This resume will only work if your work history is consistent and your job titles support your objective. If you are looking to make a career change and your title and work history does not match your objective, a Skills Based resume will be more effective.

A good resume, whether it's Chronological or Skills Based, will include only information that is useful to the job for which you are applying. Too often, people list any and every job they have ever held when a more focused resume is more likely to catch a potential employer's attention.

If you are applying for a variety of positions, write more than one resume. To make this process easier, start with a general resume as a template, and cut and paste the most relevant information for the different positions into more focused resumes.

Keep in mind that in every resume, the first 10-15 lines are the most important. They will motivate a recruiter to read on or cause them to stop.

Length

When it comes to length, there is no rule that says a resume should be one or two pages. Keep in mind that your resume is your marketing tool. Can you market yourself on a one page resume or will you need two or three pages to include your best skills, accomplishments and experiences?

Working with a professional resume writer

The majority of resumes that are written - even those based on spectacular examples or templates - tend to have weaknesses with phrasing and even layout. If you have been sending out your resume without getting a response; if you have been posting your resume for positions that you know you are qualified for but are still not being called in for an interview, working with a professional resume writer will, if nothing else, help you to identify the weaknesses of your resume.

Simple Resume Writing Tips

• Know your audience before you begin writing your resume. Your resume must be consistent with the position you are pursuing.
• Choose your language carefully and proofread. Your resume must be free of spelling, grammar, punctuation and typographical errors.
• Tailor your resume to your prospective employer's needs - highlight the skills and abilities that will make you an attractive candidate.
• Your resume should answer the potential employer's question: "Why should I hire you?" in 20 seconds or less.
• Focus on your expertise, abilities and accomplishments.
• Use bullets. They make a resume more reader-friendly if used consistently.
• Describe your roles and accomplishments with strong action words and key terms that will grab attention.
• Keep all descriptions short. Descriptions should generally take up no more than three to four lines on the page. Full sentences are not necessary, but be consistent with punctuation.

Mastering these resume writing tips will help ensure that your resume floats to the top of the pile rather than languishing at the bottom. Combined with the above career tips, this should give you a jumpstart on your new career and help you to stay on track in the future.

Copyright, Cecile Peterkin. All rights reserved.

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Article Tags: career tips, resume



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