Note from ERIN:
Hi there! I know…I haven’t written a blog in awhile…but I think of topics all the time and just wish I sat down and wrote more. Life has been whipping me around like a record, baby.
{Saucy comment to open this blog post}:
Welcome to the #girlboss era where it’s just another way for MLMs to get your money. Just kidding, that sounds mean. And we aren’t mean.
WELL, we are not doing that fake MLM stuff here at Cafe Con Resume. I (Erin) am working with amazing women who are building their resume business and promoting each other because we can and want to 🙂. This was a choice I made early in the summer that I would like to lend any help I can to those who want to grow their freelance business…it’s in the baby stages so don’t judge, K?
Please meet my first guest blog Resume Consultant, Hilary, who is based in California (I am in Texas) and has an incredible background in content marketing!!! You can see more about her and her business here: https://cafeconresume.com/resumehelp2
She sent me the below insights to share with y’all and I have to agree - wonderful nuggets here.
If this topic interests you, I also have a couple articles/videos on Indeed that I authored, edited or wrote the scripts.
Please reach out to her if you’d like to set up a coaching call or follow us both for future collaborations & workshops!
Additional Resume Consultants: https://cafeconresume.com/resumehelp2
TIP ARTICLE: Seven powerful steps to dusting off your resume by Hilary Scheppers, FledgeUp Marketing & Consulting
If you’re looking to dust off your resume, here are Hilary’s top 7 tips.
Get clarity as to the reason WHY.
Why do you want to revise your resume? There are many different reasons and each reason will propel you in what steps to take next when it comes to resume revision. Here are some reasons that I have seen with my clients that you may be feeling:
You want to open yourself up to new opportunities and new possibilities.
You want to apply for a promotion.
You want to make a lateral move to a new company because your current work culture isn’t serving you.
You want leverage to ask for a raise.
You are venturing into a new industry.
Your recent position/job dissolved or you’ve been let go and you’re actively applying for new roles.
You're unhappy with your current job and need to shift.
Whatever your situation is, get clear with yourself on what you need. This will determine how to go about restructuring, re-writing, and revamping your resume.
2. Approach your resume with a ‘personal branding’ lens.
Your resume is your ultimate sell-sheet for yourself, so tell the narrative of your work experience in such a way that hypes you up and threads all your work experiences together! What are you great at? What are you good at solving? What do you always contribute to your employer? What makes you desirable? I love hearing people quickly and readily express their true talent, what they like to do best, and it always leaves an impression. One time, a colleague shared with me “I work the hardest at finding a way to work less, meaning I am the best at bringing efficiency to any process we do internally.” That’s a pretty great summary! Do a little discovery on your own of what you bring to the table, what you obsess over, and what soft skills you bring to the table in addition to the hard skills.
3. Implement a visual hierarchy.
Readers will be attracted to read first whatever is the largest text. Make sure you’re being deliberate about text size for section headers, job titles, and employer brand names. The smaller the text size, the less important. Essentially, you need to decide where to attract attention. Color, spacing, and alignment can also help create a visual hierarchy to direct the reader’s eye. When you’re done your resume should look more like a garden with a path, rather than a brick wall of text.
4. Make design choices that are authentic to YOU – and that don’t distract.
Be weary of too much glitz and glam and not enough substance. The substance is still primary, the design and color can be secondary. I recommend designing the resume to your own preferences (note again the visual hierarchy) and style with a pop of color to highlight certain keywords or categories and lead the reader’s eye. You can use resume templates from Canva, however, I find they are harder to edit quickly and can be time-consuming. If you choose to be basic like me with black text on a white document, then you must incorporate varied formatting, and white spacing, to create an elegant reading experience.
Erin has “creative” resume recommendations on her FAQ page.
5. Treat your resume like limited real estate.
Nobody likes to walk into a cluttered house. With your one page (or two) be efficient, concise, specific, and without redundancy. Oh, and share your entire work history while leaving room for white space. Sounds impossible right? Wrong! That’s why you must be decisive on what information is unnecessary, what information to omit, or how to edit your descriptors and accomplishments down into more digestible bullet points. If you are not sure how to do this, you can always work with an editor like myself!
6. Get a couple pairs of eyes to look at it!
Before sending out your resume, always get a fresh pair of eyes to ensure you have no errors. You can ask an editor, a friend, a peer or colleague in your industry to take a look and just double check. They can also provide feedback on how to better represent yourself on the page. Ask yourself, does this accurately represent who I am in the workplace and the direction I am heading in?
7. Last of all. Be consistent.
Whatever style choices you make should remain consistent across each section. Find a pattern that is effective and stick with it. Let’s make it happen. Let’s get that next level job!