- Your resume isn't a history of every job you've ever had.
- Tailor your resume to the specific job.
- Use key words from the job description that match your qualifications.
- Don't get too fancy with the formatting.
The latest jobs report from the federal government shows the labor market is strong.
In December, U.S. employers added 223,000 jobs and unemployment fell to 3.5%. That means there are a lot of opportunities available to find a new career in 2023.
"Think about your value and the contribution you make to the workplace," Juliet Murphy, an executive career coach told the I-Team.
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"I always encourage people to definitely keep an inventory of the skills and accomplishments that you have fresh at hand as you’re approaching your job search. Because let’s face it, you may meet someone just walking down the street and they may ask, 'What do you do?' and you want to be ready."
Murphy says the best way to get ready is to refresh your resume, and there's one mistake many people make.
"A resume does not need to include everything you’ve ever done in your working life. A resume really needs to be specific to the position that you’re going for. It’s not a history of everything that you’ve done," said Murphy.
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Santa Barbara based career and executive coach Daisy Swan agrees.
"I see so many resumes people have written just a download of what they’ve done, but it’s not really speaking to the employer who wants to hire them," said Swan.
Experts say you should tailor your resume to the specific job you're applying for. Another good idea is to use key words from the job posting that match your qualifications. And don't get too fancy with the formatting, thus creating a huge file.
"Recruiters aren’t that crazy about them. They get jammed in their systems because there’s a lot of AI doing the screening now. So to keep it simple, really clean," Swan told the I-Team.
Another tip: don't overlook temporary work.
"You get your foot in the door and sometimes it’s a new skill that you’re learning. So it’s something new that you can use for your career portfolio and getting in on a temporary basis keeps you going while you’re doing the job search," said Murphy.
