Monday, November 29, 2004
Society of Broadcast Engineers, inc.
Newsletter Article Submittal
Hello
:
If your local or
national members of, Society of Broadcast Engineers, inc., would benefit from the following
career-related article, please feel free to publish in your association’s news
letter, or website.
Permission to print
intact including ending attribution box.
Category: career and
job-search tips
Title: Baby Boomers,
Beware! Don’t Let Your Resume Date You!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baby Boomers, Beware! Don’t Let Your Resume Date You!
If you’re a job
seeker of the Baby Boom generation, you may be feeling a little left out by the
job market. You’re certainly not ready
to retire, but the young recruiters you send resumes to don’t seem to respond
to your skills and experience. If you’re
feeling symptoms of age discrimination, you should know that your resume could
be the culprit, categorizing you as out of date and over the hill.
There are three ways
your resume can put you in the over the hill category. Your resume is due for an update if it
contains:
1.
Outdated technology skills
2.
Outdated industry or occupational terminology
3.
Outdated resume trends
Don’t despair if your
resume is out of date. You can perform
an extreme resume makeover by using the tips below.
1.
Make sure you are up to date on your industry’s technology.
Check
multiple job descriptions within your industry to see what technologies
employers really want. Determine which
technologies are missing from your resume.
Then decide what you need to learn or do in order to fill that
technology gap. Consider adult education
classes, college classes, or even online learning.
You
should be aware that technology terms are often used as keywords to filter the
best resumes from electronic databases.
If your resume doesn’t have them, it may never be seen. Make sure your technology skills aren’t
leaving you behind.
2.
Make sure your resume is using current terminology.
If you have just been
adding to the same old resume over the years, then your early entries may be
using outdated terms. One way to bring
your resume up to date is through publications from your industry’s professional
associations. If you don’t belong to any
professional associations, you might be missing out on the latest
industry-speak.
Another good resource
is job descriptions. Search job
descriptions in your field for recurring terms.
Learn to use the current terminology for your industry correctly and
effectively.
3. Make
sure your resume reflects today’s trends in resume format and style.
Ten
or fifteen years ago, the old-fashioned reverse-chronological format may have
worked for you. But now that you have
more experience, it may not be the best choice.
The more advanced hybrid format may be much better at promoting your
skills and expertise, providing you with a more professional presentation. With the hybrid resume, potential employers
will form an impression of you based on your best accomplishments, not just
your most recent job description.
You should also
realize that some of the old resume rules just don’t apply any more. For example:
·
“Limit your resume to one page.” This is a really old
idea that limits your ability to show all of your skills and expertise.
·
“End your resume with References
Available Upon Request.” You don’t need to say that; it’s assumed.
·
“You should show every job you have ever held and give each
equal importance.” Your employment history should only go back
as far as it related to your current employment objectives. Think of your resume as a marketing piece
that highlights the best parts rather than as a tell-all.
·
“Your resume should go back no more than ten years.” Don’t use an
arbitrary number to determine how much to include on your resume. Use the rule of relevancy to decide how many
of your jobs to include.
·
“One resume should handle everything.” Not anymore! In addition to tailoring your resume to
different fields or industries, you’ll also need to tailor the way that you
save it.
You’ll
want to have (1) a standard Word format (for printouts and as email
attachments), and (2) a Plain Text version for online forms. This will save you a lot of time in repairing
lost formatting, which often occurs when cutting and pasting a Word document
into a text-only form.
Let your experience
work for you rather than against you.
Using these tips to update your resume can make a noticeable difference
in interest from employers. And your new
resume will be a better reflection of your hard-earned skills, talents, and
expertise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deborah Walker, CCMC
Resume Writer ~
Career Coach
To see resume samples
and read more job-search tips visit www.AlphaAdvantage.com
Email: Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you
Deborah Walker, CCMC
888-828-0814
Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com