Have you ever felt like your resume was holding you back? Like it was getting in the way of your career and preventing you from getting that next big job? If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably felt this way a few times in your working life.
After all, whose impression of you is being formed every time your potential new employer looks at your resume? Are they seeing you as a competent professional? Or are they seeing you as a problem you need to solve? If your answer to either of those questions is anything other than an emphatic “yes”, you’ll want to read this post.
Resumes Are Incredibly Powerful
One of the most important things to realize when it comes to resumes, and the hiring process in general, is the power of your resume. No matter how hard you try, no matter how much effort you put into making your resume more effective, you’re not going to change the fact that it’s only one small piece of the puzzle. The truth is that resumes are incredibly powerful.
They’re a marketing piece. An advertising piece. A sales piece. If you’re not getting interviews because your resume is holding you back, then there’s almost definitely something wrong with the way your resume is being used.
Using Resume Builder Online
If you want to learn more about how a prospective employer is using your resume, you can do a few things to get a better sense of how your resume is being received. One quick way to get a better sense of how your resume is being received is to use an online resume builder.
These tools let you create a PDF of your resume and then send it out to a small number of people. Then, you can ask them to fill you in on their general thoughts and impressions of your resume. Once you’ve done this a few times, you’ll start to get a much better idea of how your resume is working for you and against you. If your online resume builder is set up for you to share with your hiring manager, you can use this same feature to share your feedback with your manager.
Resumes Are Tools
Once you know what you can do with a resume, the real work begins. You need to be constantly tuning the efficiency of your resume, and the effectiveness of your job application materials. And one of the biggest things you can do to make adjustments to make your resume more effective is to make sure it follows the 7/7 rule. If your current resume is more than seven years old, it’s time to update it.
If you’re currently working with a job search coach, this is a great time to get some help updating your resume. Your job search coach is likely a great resource for learning how to make your resume more effective.
Hopefully now you have a better idea of what’s happening when your potential new employer looks at your resume, and how you can make improvements to the way your resume is being used. And now you know that your resume is only as powerful as the person behind it, so be ready to put your best foot forward when it comes to making your resume as effective as possible.