How to smartly update your resume: 5 tips by HR professionals

Are you planning to apply for a new job or have already switched to a new one? If you have, then you know the struggle it takes to update your resume. If you haven’t, even then updating resume can be a dilemma-what to add and what to remove? 

Updating a resume is more than just removing old skills to replace with new ones. It is about skillfully writing your resume that is exhibiting exactly what the job description demands. The one thing every HR professional wants from a resume is- relevance. Stating your expertise in Microsoft Word may not be as appealing as expertise in python coding.  Here is what an HR professional told us- 

A crisp but detailed resume, it can be fancy and pictorial but should highlight the relevant credentials so we can identify if it meets the requirements.

After a conversation with HR professionals from a reputed firm, this is what we discovered. 

5 tips by HR professionals on updating your resume

#1 Dignify your expertise by rating

#2 Keep it short and crisp

#3 Use keywords for skills

#4 Mention time periods specifically

#5 Be particular about grammar and spellings

1. Dignify your expertise by ratings 

While most of us are quick to jot down our skills and experience in the resume, it is an added bonus if you showcase your prowess over that skill. When HR professionals scan your copies, they have a huge number of applications that are mentioning the same skills as you. They filter these applications based on how people have rated themselves on particular skills. 

For example, if you are adding .net coding to your resume, you can be specific of your level of expertise on it by rating yourself. An experience for 3-4 years could be a contributing factor to your 5- star rating for that skill. 

If you haven’t worked as much on WordPress but are aware of the basics, you could give yourself a 3-star rating on it to let the employer know you have worked on it at least. 

Also Read: LinkedIn Is More Useful Than You Think, 7 Reasons Prove How

2. Keep it short and crisp

This may seem like a redundant point but it is the most effective one when you update your resume. Most HR professionals expect your resume to be short i.e 1-2 pages or 3 pages maximum. This is because your resume is a stepping stone to qualify for an interview where you can elaborate on the points. Your resume is just a glimpse into your work and by keeping it crisp you should be able to generate interest in the employer. How do you do that? 

If you want to speak about your job role in an organization, instead of writing long paragraphs you could just highlight it in bullet points. 

3. Use keywords for updating skills

What do we mean by keywords? The words that an HR professional or even you searching for a job would look for. For example, if you are looking for a business analyst role, skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, analytics, etc should be highlighted in your resume. These are the same words that an HR person would be seeking to fit the job requirement. 

By including these keywords in your resume, you show up on job portals when an HR filters the search based on these skills. 

4. Update time periods specifically

This is an important point when updating resume. One of the factors that heavily contribute to the final decision is the time periods you mention in your resume. There are two parts to time periods- the amount of time you worked at an organisation and the recency of when you worked on a particular software. 

Mentioning specific time periods of your experience help HRs chart out your career graph and understand your loyalty towards an organisation. When they chart out your career graph they also realize when you worked on a particular software and for how long. 

For example- If you are applying to an eCommerce website and you have experience working on Shopify, they will check how recently have you worked on it. Since there is a constant update in Softwares and applications, they would need you to be all updated on it. 

5. When updating, be particular about grammar and spellings

Even though language may not be your foray and can definitely not be a deciding factor for IT firms, it is still important. Regular communication skills are required at any organisation because every employee will be communicating with other teams as well. Internal and external communication is inevitable and hence, communication skills are important. 

When you are updating your resume, you are dependent on it to represent you. By ensuring your grammar and spellings are correct, your communication is perfect. Incorrect grammar and spellings can also be considered as sloppy work. Review your resume before sending it out. 

Read: AI Powered Talent Management For Competitive Advantage

Wrapping up…

Updating your resume shouldn’t be just an activity you do when applying for a job. In fact, your LinkedIn profile and profiles created on job portals should be updated every 3 months. Why? It will help you understand where you stand in the job market. 

With this information, you can propel actions that lead you where you want to be and understand if your career decisions are correct. You can assess your growth by checking what skills have added, increase in network and monetary growth. 

There you go. Everything you need to remember before updating your resume and more. All the best for your lookout!