June 11, 2015
By Aja Frost for BioSpace.com
It’s easy to read resume articles and feel like you already know all the advice. Proofread your resume for errors? Check. Highlight your strengths and professional accomplishments? Check. Leave enough white space so that your resume is readable, not overwhelming? Check.
But here are three ways to revamp your resume we bet you’ve never read before. Take a look.
1. Switch your resume with a colleague.
Your colleagues are actually one of your best resources when it comes to putting together an amazing resume—after all, they’re familiar with your skills, experiences, qualifications, work-place, and field in a way that no one else (not even your best friend or spouse) can come close to.
So getting their feedback is a no-brainer. To make it mutually beneficial, ask if you can swap resumes; you can tell them what’s working and what’s not, and vice versa.
You can either ask a current or former coworker. Whether you’re searching for jobs or just want to keep your resume up-to-date, we suggest you ask like this:
“Would you be willing to exchange resumes and give each other feedback? Although I’m not currently on the job hunt, I’d love to keep my resume current!”
This will protect you from rumors you could be leaving—whether those rumors would be true or not.
2. Explain your resume to a five year old.
Pretending you’re talking to a child is a classic way of turning convoluted, overly complex statements into simple, easy-to-understand ones.
This technique comes in handy for resumes, since most people use 10 words where five would be perfect (and more impactful!)
To use it, go through each resume bullet and re-state it as though you were talking to a five year old. Take this line: “Represented program to governance committees and elicited governance support for resources necessary for the implementation of recommended plans.”
If talking to a kid, you might say, “I told a committee how my team’s plan was going. When my team needed tools, I explained why.”
Obviously, that’s way too simplistic for a resume, but it helps you cut the wordiness. Your end result should be something in between the five year old version and the original, like: “Kept governance committee up-to-date on the program’s progress and necessary resources.”
3. Have your resume professionally edited.
Many job seekers have no idea there are professional services that will completely overhaul your resume: its design and layout, its content, or both. These services can be a great option if you haven’t touched your resume for five plus years and you have no idea what employers love to see, would like to see, or hate to see.
Resume services do not come cheap. For a good job, you’ll probably be looking at a $150 to $200 price tag. But this investment would pay for itself many times over if it helped you get hired.
To find an editing professional or business, do a quick Google search for “resume editing service.” Many are purely online; however, if you want to do an in-person consultation, add your location in the search bar.
Some signs you’ve found a legitimate service: the website looks good, the resume editors are certified, and they’re not making claims they can’t support (like “We guarantee we’ll land you the position!”)
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