Refresh Your Resume

When’s the last time you updated your resume? If it’s been awhile, you probably want to pull it out of your files and dust it off. It’s always a good idea to continually update your resume so it’s ready to go when you need it. Here are a few tips for cleaning up that resume.

1. No more than one page. 

No matter how many amazing experiences you have had over the years, make sure your resume is to the point and only one page. Your resume is your quick summary. It should not be multiple pages long- trust us, no one is going to read past the first page.

2. DO list your sports experience! 

Many athletes we talk to feel that they should keep their sports experience to a short bullet under their education or as a brief highlight. No! Make this a highlight of your resume. It’s an experience that makes you unique and shows your skill sets.

Think back to your experiences as an athlete. Have you served as a captain for your team? Mentor for your younger teammates? Did you improve in an area on the field or court? Quantify that success, and communicate that impact. These experiences matter, and remember that these skills you’ve learned from sports are transferable to that next job. So don’t bury them on your resume. 

3. Focus on your skills and impact. 

As we talked about with your sports experience, instead of focusing on the company you worked for, focus on what YOU did and what skills you used or learned. So many times we see resumes that read “contributed to the company's mission of XXX”. That statement doesn’t tell us anything about the work you did or what skills you used.

Instead, focus on your work and the impact that made. “Researched and compiled a spreadsheet on Excel of relevant contacts to reach out to about our event series and saw a 10% increase in registrations.” “Created and managed a social media calendar for the company Twitter account on Hootsuite, where we saw a 50% engagement increase.” These things tell those who are reading your resume what you’ve done, the skills you used and the impact you made. 

4. Remove irrelevant experience.

Many times we feel conflicted about removing experiences that we’ve had because it may be relevant again down the road. Remember, your resume is not a fixed document. It should highlight the RELEVANT experience for the position you are seeking. If you are applying for a marketing position, your resume should highlight your marketing experiences first and foremost. If you have room, then you can add in additional experiences outside of marketing. 

You should absolutely have different resumes for different positions you apply to. Create a master resume that you have all your relevant experience listed and then create a one page version that is relevant for the specific position. 

5. Proofread your resume and share with a friend. 

This is such a simple step, but so many people miss it. Carefully review your resume for spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. Before you submit it, send it to a friend or family member for their second pair of eyes. Ask them to review for spelling and grammar, and even better, ask them to make a note of the skills they take away from reading that resume. If they can’t tell you, you aren’t being specific enough - go back and edit. 

6. Shameless Plug - Enlist our team for resume review! 

Our team is here to help you create that knock out resume to help you get your foot in the door. Through our TWN Training Room, we offer a resume and LinkedIn analysis. We’ll review your resume and LinkedIn profile and provide feedback on where you can make important changes to improve your professional appearance. Sign up here and let us help you get that resume in good shape.