Driving Your Career - The Value of a Well-Written, Up-to-Date Resume

Last week I had an interesting conversation with a business contact; a conversation about resumes. He had contacted me because he saw a new job posting on my website and thought it might be an interesting option for him to explore.

I asked him if he had an up-to-date resume. His response was, "No, not really.  I didn't think I'd need that until now."

I hear that response a lot more often than I should.

If you're working in any professional domain, and have not taken the time to keep your resume clean, crisp, well written, and up-to-date ... it's sort of like driving your automobile and never taking the time to check your oil level, your tire pressure, or  whether you even have enough gas to get you where you're going.

Waiting until there's a job you're interested in - and it's likely a job that many others are interested in as well -  before deciding to work on your resume is a bit like waiting until your oil light comes on and you're in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night ... or waiting until your tires sound like someone dragging an empty rubber hose over an old washboard before you look for that vanishing commodity - a gas station with an air hose!  

That's when anxiety starts to get in the way of action.  And that usually doesn't lead to great results.

Think of your professional resume as your career 'vehicle'  -  it's the piece of equipment that you absolutely have to have when you need to get onto the racetrack to accelerate your career. 

If you wait until the race has already begun before you start to tune up your vehicle,  you're already well behind the leaders.

Now, this doesn't mean that you spend incessant hours tweaking and tuning your resume for every position you hear about, or in response to every task you complete at your current job.

However, it does mean that if you want to be prepared when that next great career move comes up on your radar screen, you should update your resume at least once a year.  Perhaps the best time to do that is immediately after your performance assessment or review takes place at your current job.  That's when the year's accomplishments: completed projects, a recently attended seminar, or a new skill acquisition, are on your mind and on the table.

One caution, however.  When you add some new information, it's usually best to go back and remove some of the oldest and least relevant information.  If you don't, suddenly your resume has gone past 3 pages and you don't know what to keep or what to throw out.  It's a bit like weeding the garden; it's a nuisance but it has to be done.

If you are in doubt as to whether your resume creates the impression that you desire, or how to display your key information in the most engaging manner, talk to a trusted professional advisor, locate a quality resume writing service -  hopefully, one that's been recommended by someone you trust - or engage a professional recruiter who is thoroughly familiar with your particular work area and expertise.

Because - when that next great job appears; when it's time to get your career 'vehicle' on the track and join in the race - you need to have the confidence that you're tuned up and ready to roll.

Brian M. Hoffman the President and Principal Partner at Aidan Herman Partners, Inc., of North Easton.  He is an experienced professional recruiter and search consultant with more than 35 years of success as a business partner  working with hundreds of corporate clients in metro-Boston and on the South Coast-South Shore.   You can reach him at:  brian@aidanhermanpartners.com