7 Quick Changes In Your Resume Format You Can Do Right Away!

As time passes by, things change, you change. The resume is an image of your personality and competency and with time, it becomes outdated. Skills may become irrelevant, undertakings may lose value, and a lot of additions become overdue. So, while you will have to update it, here are a few tweaks you can make quickly:

Alter the Font

This is similar to a quick makeover. Drift away from the common Times New Roman and Verdana to a different font like Calibri, Cambria, Georgia, Arial, etc. to name a few. But remember not to lose the readability. Make sure that the resume format is readable, legible and clear. Just press Ctrl+A and change the font of your entire document.

Quick Tip: Printed materials use sans-serif fonts (Helvetica, Arial, Calibri) for headlines and serif fonts (Times New Roman) in the body, for best presentation.

Objective Statement

For one, drop the headline 'Objective,' 'Aim' altogether. And start with your statement directly, making it the headline. Make a few good, simple, and understandable statements for different needs. Use active and positive words and bring some strength to it.

Address Not Required

Remove the address from the personal details section if you haven't already. It is one of the most common information that is redundant to a professional profile (resume). Also, with current digital scanning, it is not recognized by bots and may generate unnecessary errors. Although, academic resume formats may require an address, in which case it is advised to check first.

Add Your LinkedIn URL

Important as it is, giving your LinkedIn profile URL is a wise move in today's world. Since the resume is going to be in print as well, it is advised to simplify the URL with either generating shortened link or editing it in your profile, or both.

Take Care of Skills' Section

As is the case with skills, they may become redundant to the profile or level up to a more desirable one. New skills are acquired with time and experience. And much more can happen. Check your skills section and update as required.

Pack Action

Take a close look at the roles and responsibilities part of your resume format. You will surely find some passive and unenthusiastic verbs such as ‘taking care of’, ‘acting as’, ‘responsible for’ to name a few. Instead, charge up your profile by using active words like, ‘led’, ‘managed’, ‘chaired’, ‘controlled’, ‘executed’, ‘headed’, if they go well with your kind of profile. And add the new experiences as well.

Show Your Growth

You might be working for a company for a longer time, but probably ignored to show the promotion and growth which you have received. So, clearly show your promotions, multiple roles, and positions of responsibilities clearly in the profile. Growth is the most important part any resume format is crafted to represent, it may even point towards changing the resume format to a more targeted one.

Using this seven-step approach to make quick changes will help your resume with a fresh look. The introspection required for a few points will also help you get your own bearings regarding your career. Also, when the time will arrive, it would be easier to update the resume with new information and fewer complications.