3 Easy Steps to a Healthier Resume
By Margaret Hansen, JobsInMA.com
With the unemployment rate continuing to climb, it only makes sense to keep up with the competition (your fellow job seekers). Giving your resume a fresh update is a practical move. Old standards still apply, but today’s resume “kit” also includes an online search-friendly version. Follow these steps to improve your résumé’s health for today’s job market.
Step #1: Proofread
Reading your resume aloud is a great way to catch typos, inconsistent tense and unclear language. You can do this yourself or enlist a friend. But don't forget to do it.
Although your resume is more of a list than an essay, someone still has to read it and understand it. Give yourself a day or two after updating it for a fresh perspective. The employer will notice if you have skipped the proofread.
Pick a tense and stick with it. Under each job, stay consistent with tense, using past tense for past jobs and present tense for your current situation.
Keep items in a series parallel. Don’t say "Managed 12 associates, created new employee manual, company recognized my work with awards and chaired cross-functional team." Instead, move the 3rd item out of the series to its own sentence and get specific: “Recipient of Leadership Teamwork Award, 2007.” The past tense verbs of "managed," "created," and "chaired" are parallel.
Consistency allows your resume to speak for itself without distracting the reader. Let them remember your skills, not your resume blunders.
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