3 Things Every Resume Needs in 2019

January 10th, 2019BlogNo Comments »

1. A complementary LinkedIn profile.

No alt text provided for this image

You might be wondering why, in an article about resumes, are we talking about LinkedIn profiles? Well, there’s no way around it, it’s 2019. Your resume and LinkedIn profile go hand-in-hand. When you’re applying for a job, I can almost guarantee whoever you applied with is going to check you out on LinkedIn before they decide whether or not to call you for an interview. And, if you’re not actively looking, your profile is the best way for a recruiter to find you.

“Your LinkedIn profile needs to be a complementary document–you can’t just copy-and-paste from your resume.”

It should be written like it’s viewed–as a complementary branding tool. There’s simply not enough space to put everything on a resume but your profile can include everything from publications to awards and beautifully-written endorsements from colleagues and higher-ups.

2. A core skills section.

No alt text provided for this image

A core skills section should include a list of 12-20 skills that are relevant to your targeted position, level and industry. If you’re not sure what to include, spend 20-30 minutes looking at what’s available on the job market. And, as you go through the listings, make note of all the skills you see repeated–and include those on your list.

Another added bonus of the Core Skills section–it is SEO gold. Including all the relevant keywords on your resume and your LinkedIn profile, will go a long way in getting your resume past Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) as well as in the hands of recruiters.

3. Results-based experiences.

No alt text provided for this image

You’d think this would go without saying. Including your achievements and results on your resume, seems like a no-brainer. But 95% of resumes I see have fewer than 1-2 results-based experiences listed on the entire resume. Most people spend an inordinate amount of resume space on their job duties.

“What’s more impactful to a future employer–a list of all the quarterly reports you file, or how you increased revenue?”

Further, when listing your achievements, it makes a bigger impact to begin with the result and follow it up with how you did it. For example, instead of saying you “Increased revenue 25% and campaign delivery 5x,” you’d write, “Increased revenue 25% and campaign delivery 5x by establishing a new consumer shared service strategy and consumer operating model.

Leave a Reply