One of the reasons it’s difficult to update your resume is because as time passes, your memory of accomplishments and day-to-day responsibilities can fade. If you struggle to remember your plans from last Friday, how will you recall the highlights from your year-end performance review?
The trick is to write things down now, so that making updates to job descriptions on your resume is easy later on. Here’s what you need to know.
Making resume updates easier is just one reason to keep track of what you do, learn, and accomplish at work. Other reasons include acing your performance reviews and making powerful arguments for promotions and raises. It can also be helpful if you have to write a bio of yourself, whether for an event you’re attending or another professional moment.
Finally, these notes may make it easier to prepare for interviews, and ace common questions, such as “What are your biggest accomplishments?” and “Describe a difficult work situation and how you overcame it.” Hence, try creating your resume on a smart Online Resume Builder or a CV Maker where you can manage multiple resumes.
Since you are not directly updating your resume, be expansive in what you log, however you choose to do so (more on that later). Here are some things to track:
This task is deceptively difficult. When you receive a compliment, you might think at the moment, “I’ll never forget this!” But if you don’t write it down, you might. Here are some ideas for where to write down information:
Wherever you track your work, make sure it’ll be accessible even if you lose your ability to log-in to your work computer. So, if it’s a draft email, save it in your personal email account, not your work one. And put your digital folder in the cloud, not on your work computer desktop.
Timing is also critical here.
While it’s good to track events when they happen, that may not always be feasible. Consider setting a quarterly (or monthly or weekly) reminder to jot down some notes.
Get down notes as often as you can, with as much detail as you can. A typo-ridden sentence that doesn’t contain the full picture (but will jog your brain later when you’re updating your resume) is better than nothing. Even if your notes are fragmented or sporadic, they’ll be helpful down the line.
Now if you’re ready to find out what to ADD to your resume to impress hiring managers, go through our free guide, The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect Resume. You’ll get a step-by-step guide on exactly what to add and delete from your resume, how to format it to get the most traction from hiring managers, and tips for getting your resume noticed by the hiring managers.
If you have been facing a hard time in creating a perfect resume for yourself, you can now use the help of online resume builder or a CV Maker to create a basic resume or you can avail professional resume writing services for a recruiter preferred resume. Most people find it difficult to sell themselves through their resumes. While you shouldn’t be including stories about your skills and achievements in your resume, you must make sure it also covers a true picture of what you have achieved in your career so far. By using the help of a professional, or online resume builder / CV Maker, or even simply going through resumes of your friends, you will get a basic idea on how to build a resume which is up to date with the current requirements of organizations.