So You Love Your Job? Time To Get Your Resume Redone!
Kent R.
If you are happily employed, you have probably let your resume languish in the dark, cold recesses of your computer’s "documents" folder. That’s understandable – being employed means you don’t have to worry about your resume, right? Wrong. Here are just a few reasons why it is a great idea to refresh your resume while you are working:
The resume-updating process can make you even more successful in your current job. Taking the time to examine and quantify your impact while you are still in a position has wide-scale positive effects. For one, it puts you in an “achiever” state-of-mind. This means you are primed to see – and measure – your contribution.
It makes performance evaluations much more productive. Coming to the table with a solid cache of quantifiable achievements helps to put you in the power position. It shapes the conversation.
You are primed to act on opportunities that come your way. As with so many areas of life, good things come when you are not looking for them. Many of my clients reach out in a panic because they were approached for an amazing position, but they have not updated their resume in years. Having an up-to-date, achievement focused resume will allow you to quickly respond when those “too-good-to-pass-up” opportunities present themselves.
You are not acting out of desperation. Acting out of a place of power and not desperation makes a huge difference in the process. It is much easier to be positive and engaged when you are not worried about finding a job, which means the entire process will feel more rewarding.
It puts you in the habit of updating your “win file.” What do you mean you don’t have a “win-file?” This is a place where you log all of your accomplishments as they happen – kudos, great results, performance evaluations, commendations. Updating your resume makes you very aware of the need to track things like this.
In addition to working on your resume, always be focused on building your brand. Continually build your professional network and shape your “social resume” – your professional online presence.