Well, kind of like your underwear…
This morning before I started my workday, I updated my resume. I do this about once a month too (no I do not change my underwear only once a month!).
Here’s the thing though.
I am not in the job market and am, in fact, in a great position. My team and I are growing and my hope is to be doing this same job for years to come! The resume that I updated isn’t even posted anywhere for people to see.
So why do I update my resume on a monthly basis?
The 3 reasons are really quite simple and I suggest that everyone make this one of their habits, whether monthly, annually or somewhere in between.
First off, it is job security!
Have you ever left a job or been fired just to realize that you have no idea where to begin on your resume?
It’s a terrible feeling and it is 100% avoidable. I personally have multiple resumes saved and ready to go for multiple positions that I could potentially pursue. If something drastic were to happen and I am left jobless, I have ammo for the next opportunity!
If there is anything we have learned during the pandemic, it is that even the most secure-looking jobs can be at risk of disappearing at the drop of a hat. There were 100+ year old companies closing there doors almost immediately!
With that, updating your resume is a confidence booster!
When you update your resume, you are typically improving it rather than making it look weaker. It is pretty cool to make those changes, take a step back, and just go “oh boy, I’ve done some quality work!”
You should be proud too. Even bad jobs provide you valuable experience that can be used to excel wherever the road takes you next.
On top of those improvements, updating your resume can make you just feel better about your current job.
At one of my previous jobs, we went through a change of ownership and things got rough. We caught ownership in multiple lies, people were getting short paid and we were being told to basically just get over it. During that same timeframe, I took my already updated resume and posted it up on Indeed.
I got several interview requests shortly after. I didn’t take any of those opportunities, but it gave me the confidence to get through the rough times. If things didn’t get better, I knew that I could transition elsewhere without losing money.
Lastly, you don’t want a good resume. You want a great resume!
Updating your resume periodically allows you to add things while they are fresh in your mind. When you wait until you actually need your resume, it ends up looking very generic and not too much better than the 50 other resumes that the company may be looking at.
Whether I had a valuable experience on the job or read something that I think would look good, I want to apply it while it is still fresh in my mind.
I’ve personally read 100s of resumes over the years and I can tell you that 90% of the resumes I receive say all the same things but in different ways. Out of that 90%, I throw almost all of them out because I worry that they will apply that same ethic to the job.
Now the resumes that don’t look the prettiest but have a uniqueness to them, I want to at least talk to the person. You can teach procedures and structures but you can’t teach work ethic. That is something that comes from within.
So remember, just like underwear, you want to regularly change and wash your resume.
Nobody likes a resume that stinks!
Feature Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
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