Looking for a new job? These modern resume tips could boost your odds and help you stand out

3 years ago 508

A FlexJobs typical provides a fig of resume penning tips to trim the hazard of ageism during the exertion process, assistance flex the distant enactment skills and more.

On Monday, FlexJobs published a study highlighting the ways searching for a occupation has changed successful the past 10 years. We spoke with Cidnye Work, a vocation manager astatine FlexJobs, to place tips to see erstwhile searching for a occupation owed to these changes. As employers look to summation hiring successful the months ahead, present could beryllium a coagulated clip to update the resume with a refresh crafted for the work-from-anywhere era.

Limit the occupation past

The FlexJobs station suggests listing lone the past 10 to 15 years of occupational acquisition connected a resume. However, if a idiosyncratic has a past presumption they'd similar to item that is beyond the 10 oregon 15-year mark, determination are formatting options to support successful mind. For example, Work suggested creating a conception connected the resume dedicated to "Additional Related Experience," which she described arsenic a "shorter conception aft your 'Professional Experience' conception that lists older positions without dates."

There are 2 ways to trade this section, Work explained: One involves listing the position, institution and determination without bullets. If an applicant has "big accomplishments, metrics, oregon highlights that are truly applicable and important to the role," Work suggested adding up to 3 abbreviated slug points to screen their "biggest impacts."

"But retrieve each azygous happening you did does not request to beryllium included successful your resume and tin ever beryllium included successful a screen missive oregon interrogation conversation," Work said.

Avoid ageist setbacks

The FlexJobs station besides suggests keeping resumes "modern" and removing "old schoolhouse elements." Work discussed the imaginable for ageism with definite age-identifying resume elements.

"While your property specifically isn't a problem, the assumptions radical marque astir your age, referred to arsenic 'ageism,' tin beryllium a problem. It's unfortunate, but it tin beryllium a portion of the occupation hunt process and sometimes it's retired of our control," she said.

Beyond limiting occupational past to 10 oregon 15 years, Work besides suggested omitting graduation dates and utilizing existent resume formats without objectives listed oregon noting that references are disposable upon request. Additionally, Work said candidates should support "their tech skills current" and database existent connection platforms connected their resumes successful a "Technology" section.

SEE: The champion programming languages to learn--and the worst (TechRepublic Premium)

Interestingly, the station suggests dropping AOL, Hotmail and Yahoo email addresses successful favour of a "more existent email provider" a la Gmail. Work reiterated this sentiment, adding that "AOL, Hotmail and net work supplier email addresses are the much outdated providers we urge shifting distant from," portion explaining the rationale down these suggestions; the rationale again pointed toward ageism risks during the exertion process.

"Older email work providers specified arsenic AOL, Hotmail, and Yahoo could signify your property and pb recruiters oregon hiring managers to marque assumptions based connected that," Work said. "Using a newer, much modern supplier specified arsenic Gmail helps destruct immoderate imaginable ageism that could travel into play."

Beyond these risks, Work said Hotmail and Yahoo "have had issues filtering important job-related emails to the spam folder" starring to occupation seekers missing "important occupation hunt updates from employers."

SEE: Juggling distant enactment with kids' acquisition is simply a mammoth task. Here's however employers tin assistance (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Flex the distant skills

In the past year, companies worldwide person adopted distant enactment policies to mitigate the dispersed of COVID-19. While immoderate organizations person started to bring employees backmost to the accepted office, different companies person made semipermanent commitments to distant and hybrid enactment arrangements. The FlexJob study suggests playing up a person's distant skills, but adjacent if a idiosyncratic does not needfully person acquisition moving remotely determination are different transferable experiences to highlight.

"A batch of radical don't deliberation they person had distant enactment acquisition if they haven't had an authoritative full-time distant job, however, much radical person distant enactment acquisition than they think," Work said. "If you person ever worked astatine a region from your coworkers, crossed clip zones oregon carnal distances, that counts."

Work said moving from location occasionally oregon regularly, earning an online grade oregon certification counts are distant enactment experiences.

"If you volunteered connected a task wherever you did astir of the enactment from your location office, that counts," she said.

To denote circumstantial telecommuter positions connected your resume, Work suggested intelligibly stating "remote work" adjacent to the occupation title, listing this accusation successful past occupation descriptions oregon gathering this into the 'Skills' section.

Timing is everything

TechRepublic has antecedently reported connected the speculated Great Resignation of 2021 arsenic employees look to power positions astir the U.S. Amid accrued hiring, signing bonuses and a job-searchers market, present could beryllium a peculiarly bully clip to refresh the resume and commencement looking for a caller position.

"Right present determination is simply a displacement successful where, erstwhile and however enactment is taking place. As much companies commencement to find their flexibility and willingness to let employees to enactment remote, flexible oregon hybrid schedules, occupation seekers tin beryllium pickier successful seeking retired companies that acceptable their circumstantial needs," Work said.

Beyond radical switching positions wrong their industry, the existent occupation marketplace could besides supply prospective occupation seekers with the quality to trial caller vocation paths altogether.

"The pandemic besides highlighted much companies are consenting to see transferable skills and skills-based hiring arsenic a mode to prosecute caller talent, truthful it is simply a large clip for radical who are considering switching careers to marque the modulation portion this is top-of-mind for employers," Work said.