It’s About Time Everyone Updated Their Resume

INDIANAPOLIS—Next month, individuals throughout the world will be encouraged to bring their resume up-to-date as part of “International Update Your Resume Month,” an annual campaign led exclusively by Career Directors International (CDI).

This initiative isn’t just for individuals thinking about changing jobs in the near future. It’s for everyone, including professionals who need to document the skills, achievements and experience they’ve developed over the past year; people who are interested in obtaining a side gig or promotion; and anyone who wants to be prepared in the event of a layoff or industry collapse.

Resume expert David F. Noble, Ph.D., shares a wealth of advice in the new fifth edition of his book Gallery of Best Resumes that would greatly benefit people of all ages and experience levels needing to modernize and strengthen their resume. 

Here are a few of Noble’s tips:

• Include a Profile section that is focused, interesting and unique. A Profile section can be your first opportunity to sell yourself.
• When your skills and abilities are varied, group them according to categories for easier comprehension.
• Consider including a Highlights section to draw attention to special accomplishments or achievements.
• Summarize your qualifications and work experiences to avoid having to repeat yourself in the job descriptions.
• Create a prominent Expertise section that draws together the skills and abilities you have gained in previous work experience.
• Incorporate testimonials in your resume. These can be quotes from performance reviews or comments from clients, for instance. Devoting a whole column to the positive opinions of “external authorities” helps make a resume convincing as well as impressive.
• Instead of just listing your achievements, present them as challenges or problems solved, indicating what you did when something went wrong or needed fixing.

Additional resume tips and hundreds of resume samples can be found in Gallery of Best Resumes, Fifth Edition, which published this month. The book is available at Amazon.com, in all major bookstores and from the publisher (www.jist.com or 1.800.648.JIST).

About David F. Noble, Ph.D.

Hundreds of thousands of people know David F. Noble, Ph.D., as the author of the resume book that helped them find jobs. His many books include Gallery of Best Resumes for People Without a Four-Year Degree and Gallery of Best Cover Letters. He has 30 years of experience teaching English, writing, American Literature, business communications, technical writing and professional editing at the university level. To schedule an interview with him, contact Selena Dehne.

JIST, America’s Career Publisher, is a division of EMC/Paradigm Publishing. As the leading publisher of job search, career and occupational information, JIST empowers today’s workforce and students to achieve long-lasting rewards in their careers.