The Resume – A Key Career Management Tool

My message to all my clients is always to have an updated resume. And in this marketplace, with the upheavals in employment, including many unexpected layoffs and shifts in the employment economy, it is even more critical. 

I constantly coach my clients to have an updated resume on file. I encourage my clients to maintain an accomplishment log and keep a written list of accomplishments, projects, wins, challenges, promotions, new work, and goals at work. I also encourage my clients to list duties that are not within their normal scope; I ask them to write down everything they do in a day to compare to their duty description. For example, a plumber in the military ended up as an administrative manager. Even though his title was plumber, he never worked as a plumber, and later his military occupational specialty was changed to administration. He sent me his official plumber job description; however, when I asked him about his skill sets, he replied, “executive administration, scheduling, planning, report writing, light human resources, and event planning.” Nothing in his list referred to plumbing.

This list will make it easy for my clients to either update their resumes or provide the information to me for easy updates. This accomplishment log is also handy for LinkedIn optimization. This list also makes it easy for my clients to create a list of accomplishments to present to their employer/manager at performance review time.

The accomplishments log can be a simple spreadsheet or other document. It may also be a small notebook that lives in the employee’s desk drawer, night table, or glove box. This notebook or spreadsheet promotes inspiration to gather accomplishments.

Perceptions

Some of my clients believe they do not actually accomplish anything – they just do their jobs. In that case, I coach them to journal their work and focus on results. For example, during the week or month, they may have completed a new training, managed more clients or money than in the past, gained a new responsibility, or received kudos from a customer. These seemingly “non-accomplishments” as perceived by my clients can be turned into strong accomplishment bullets on a resume. 

To help with gathering accomplishments, I coach my clients to maintain an “I love me” file that includes awards with the award justifications; performance reviews; kudos from colleagues, management, or customers; training, education, and credentials; and the accomplishments journal. 

I coach my clients to update their resumes frequently – at least annually; however, twice a year is better. Job seekers never know when someone will ask for their resume, when they will attend a job fair, get laid off, or decide to seek a new opportunity or promotion. 

An outdated resume means that the client will spend a lot of time updating it. I have worked with some clients who have not updated their resumes in five or 10+ years. In this case, it is often a completely new resume to build, and that takes time – a few days at best if a client has maintained an accomplishment journal, which does help reduce the time required to create a new resume. 

Timing is Important

I find many potential clients contact me with an “express” request – they need a resume by tomorrow. The perfect job vacancy just posted, or a friend or colleague told them about an opportunity, and they need to pass along their resume – NOW. This becomes problematic.

I tell my potential clients that it is better to write a solid, well-formatted resume with many accomplishment story bullets and metrics than to submit an old resume that is not well-formatted and not well-written. 

Some will tell me – I need a “jack of all trades” resume – the job is in the bag. What they do not realize is that the resume may pass through many hands, e.g., human resources, the hiring manager, a recruiter, an interview panel, and others. In this case, a poorly written resume could cause the candidate to lose the opportunity for the interview. 

An old resume will need to be pared down and most likely lose information from before 10 years ago. I have to explain to some of my clients that high school is no longer necessary on a mid-management resume, for example. Also, any training that is dated must be deleted. I then coach them to build a new resume focused on current, fresh skill sets and accomplishments. 

There are many reasons to keep a resume updated. Planning is essential when it comes to career management. Being caught off guard without an updated resume can be a severe liability for job seekers. 

For Career Coaches & Resume Writers

National Resume Update Month is an excellent opportunity to reach out to your past clients and remind and encourage them of the need to update their resumes. An email campaign may include simple tips about the importance of retaining a current resume, job statistics, tips for managing unemployment, information on fresh resume formatting, understanding how a resume is used as a career management tool, LinkedIn optimization, the importance of maintaining an accomplishment log, and more (how to manage an interview, onboard, negotiate a salary, dress appropriately for success, navigate a job fair).  

This email campaign keeps you within reach of your clients, as you remind them of the importance of updating a resume in today’s challenging job market. It is also an opportunity to coach clients to obtain positive performance reviews, and may lead to salary negotiations and coaching for promotions. 

Leverage National Resume Update Month to coach and encourage your clients to be prepared, and never be without an updated resume – a critical career management tool.