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The 40 Factor is launching a new feature — Ask The Coach.
We’re experiencing life like never before. Our challenges and opportunities are much different
than our parents or even those from a decade ago.
Ask The Coach is your opportunity to ask whatever’s
on your mind and hear back from Coach Lisa-Michelle, who shares her expertise — a unique combination of career and life
coaching, human resources, marketing, business management, personal branding, and so much more.
A certified coach and
founder and president of Ace The Race, LLC, Lisa-Michelle is a member of the International Coach Federation and International Association of Business Communicators.
She served on the Executive Board of the International Coach Federation’s Long Island Chapter and volunteers as a career
and life coach.
Dear Coach,
I recently was asked
for a copy of my resume and realized I hadn’t updated it in three years. How often do people usually update them? Do
you have any good advice for resumes that work?
—Missed A Good Opportunity, 46 Dear Missed Opportunity,
I usually tell people they should always
have an updated resume till the day they retire. You never want to be in a situation where your dream opportunity comes knocking,
and you don’t have something on hand. You’ll either miss the boat or lose a night’s sleep editing old versions.
You
don’t have to change it weekly or even monthly, but you should certainly review it at least every three months and update
it as necessary.
Your experience will hopefully show career growth over time but, even if it doesn’t, you should
outline new responsibilities and areas of expertise.
The best resumes today focus on results, so try
to present as many relevant ones as possible. Some examples are: Achieved annual increases of 65 percent or greater in editorial
media exposure; decreased operational expenses by 17 percent; and reduced employee turnover from 60 percent to less than 15
percent within the first year.
Most companies and organizations are looking for well-rounded and personable
individuals to fit into their cultures, so make sure your resume illustrates this as best as possible.
You
should be on LinkedIn with a current profile, because potential employers can easily check it. If you have a public profile name, include
it to facilitate finding you.
If you are active on Twitter, consider including your user name. If you’ve tweeted disparaging remarks about your current or any previous employer,
do not include your user name – and mark “Only let people whom I approve follow my tweets.” in the Tweet
Privacy section. This will block your tweets from the public. That said, this is usually a red flag to potential employers.
If
you have a blog, even if it’s not connected with your profession, share the URL to highlight your abilities with this
media. Include interesting volunteer and community-service involvement, as well as any leadership roles.
As
always, your resume should appear professional and well-organized. Ask a few friends or family members to review it,
make suggestions, and catch mistakes.
Don’t put off updating your resume. There aren’t an unlimited
amount of dream jobs. Make sure you don’t miss out the next time opportunity knocks at your door.
Good
luck! Lisa-Michelle
Ask The Coach originally appeared in Blog @ The 40 Factor.
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