Episode Transcript
Think for a moment about your resume. You have one – somewhere. Is it ready to go if you need it? Have you updated it recently? Have you looked at it since you got this job? Do you even know where to find it?
Today we’re gonna talk about your resume. Why you need to keep it current. And tips for doing just that.
Your resume was pretty important to you when you were job hunting. When you were interviewing for the engineering job you’re in now.
Then, once you got past that stage, your resume probably went AWOL. It’s probably been out-of-sight, out-of-mind. It did its job, and now you’re done with it.
But the problem is you’re not done with it. You need to have it at the ready. And the way to do that is to simply keep it up to date.
We’re not gonna talk about how to create your resume, but how to keep it current. There are lots of reasons why you may need it. And you don’t always know ahead of time.
If you keep your resume current you won’t lose out on opportunities that pop up. And, let’s face it, most new job opportunities just pop up. You don’t typically get a lot of lead time.
If you keep your resume current you won’t lose time trying to rewrite it after a long stretch. You won’t get bogged down trying to go back and remember important skills and experiences that need to be added.
Why You Need to Have a Current Resume
The obvious reason you need to have a current resume is to apply for new positions. But there are a bunch of other uses for your resume, like:
- Introducing yourself to a new manager.
- Sharing your background with a new team.
- Providing your background when you submit publications and presentations.
- Providing required information for award nominations and volunteer positions.
- And even just having a current record for your own reference. Which comes in handy when figuring out your experience gaps and writing up short bios, for example.
Something else to consider is that there’ll be times when you shift your goals around and adjust your career vision. You want to make sure your current resume reflects that.
Or you may have a couple career track options in mind. In this case you might want to have a couple versions of your resume so you can explore each track.
Your resume will come in handy in many ways. So think about a strategy for how you can keep it current. I have 5 tips here to help you out.
5 Tips for Keeping Your Resume Up to Date
- Make updating your resume a part of the care and feeding of your engineering career.
- Set aside time about twice per year to add to your resume and clean it up.
- Do this more frequently if there’s a lot of change going on in your career, if this is a fast-paced time for you, or if you are making adjustments to your goals and vision.
- Assess when you might need your resume in the near future – and for what purposes – so you can plan to have it ready.
- Optimize the content of your resume to match your current goals.
- You’ll want to highlight skills and contributions that support your career vision.
- And purge any information from your resume if it is too dated, no longer relevant, or detracts from your current goal.
- Screen your resume for impact.
- Impact should increase with experience. Make sure your actions are descriptive and the impact of your work stands out.
- Use powerful words to emphasize your contributions and influence.
- Pay attention to the resume format required, which can vary from organization to organization.
- For example, the resume I kept for my government career had a very different format than an industry resume, which was different again from an academic CV.
Here’s a quick tip for how to make this easy:
You can save a lot of time by jotting down bullets as memory joggers. Bullets that summarize new experiences or skills that you want to make sure get added to your resume. Put these with your resume file whenever you think of it.
Then every 6 months or whatever you have scheduled, it’s easier to remember those items and incorporate them into your resume.
I’ll be glad to help you with any aspect of your resume. It’s such an essential career tool, whether or not you’re interviewing for jobs.
This is a great topic for a Strategy Session with me. This is a one-time, one-on-one session. Together we can ensure your resume is in good working order and is ready for action. Book A Strategy Session here.
Your resume will support you as a woman engineer, as you’re learning how to stand out and showcase your potential. It’ll help you become known for the impact of your accomplishments.
I encourage you to keep up your resume. You can do this. It’s a simple task with tremendous payback.
It prepares you better for new job opportunities, of course. But also gives you a professional edge for networking, self-advocacy, visibility, and forward motion in your engineering career.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast we’ll ponder the topic of engineering expertise and thought leadership. Be sure to tune in for Episode 65.
