Is your resume lagging behind your career

Is your resume lagging behind your career If you’ve been ascending the career ladder, your executive resume has probably  seen many changes throughout  the years. During this time, the real story of your brand and qualifications can get lost throughout job changes and new responsibilities. This isn’t a problem, of course, until you‘re looking for a new job. Thats when  employers wont be able to  see the meaning behind your achievements or figure out what you’re really offering. If your resume doesnt capture your current status, youll need to  give it a fresh look and personality that reflects today’s trends, using these 3 steps as a start: 1 â€" Clarify your achievements and brandâ€"past the point of keywords. Skills and buzzwords are great for those in the early and mid-stages of their careers. You can quickly add these to your resume and get others to grasp the breadth of your experience. However, this isn’t so easy once you’ve arrived (at a management or executive level, that is). This is the point at which your overall brand message needs to bubble up through the individual accomplishments that you’re using on the resume. Sifting through your successes and what they mean to your next employer is an important step, and one that I’ve covered here in more detail. 2 Take a look at your resume presentation style. Chances are good that, if you’ve just piled on your last few jobs, the format is outdated and won’t represent you at the correct level. I frequently advise executive job hunters to surf for professional resume samples, not as a copying exercise, but to get a feel for what your competition is offering. Of course, since your goal is to stand out, you’ll want to avoid just plopping your content into that minimalist Microsoft Word resume template (which isn’t made for executives). Avoid taking the easy way outâ€"like 90% of all job huntersâ€"especially if your field demands innovation and energy. Instead, build an executive message by formatting your resume to reflect the stature that you’re earned. 3 â€" Keep up with the trends. Resume formats, practices, and principles change constantly, whether you’re aware of it or not. What worked well for you a few years back (or what your college career center told you) is passé today. Even what your friends tell you is outdated, unless they have a finger on the pulse of the hiring industryâ€"and they rarely do. Take the functional resume, for example (please). A few years back, these were all the rage. Now try it, and you’ll quickly find out that HR is on to you and will reject your application. You’re better off writing your executive resume to show transferable skills AND job titles now, plus networking to make an impression before the resume is seen. One of the best ways to see what’s new in executive resume writing is to view global competition award entries and winners. Here, you’ll see some striking differences in layout, font, color, and treatment of special situations.