When was the last time you had your candidates update their resume? Ever?
It’s not a job anyone relishes, but as every recruiter knows only too well, when that job order pops up, there’s not time enough to coach your MPC through the resume revise. Having a fresh resume on-hand can help make the difference between a sendout and a no-sale.
So even though there’s only a few days left in September, take advantage of Update Your Resume Month to urge your candidates to freshen theirs.
“Keeping your resume up-to-date is a lot like networking — it’s something you should always be doing whether or not you’re hunting for a new job,’ says author and noted career coach Fred Myers.
It’s for that reason Career Directors International first came up with the idea of getting every career-minded person to regularly update their resume. CDI, the trade group for resume writers, career coaches, and other career professionals, picked September because job searching and recruiting pick up the pace this month after summer’s slowdown.
Besides getting fresh resumes, this is also an opportunity to connect in a helpful way with your candidates. The simplest way is to post an update to your LinkedIn and Facebook pages. Or Tweet out a reminder. Email also works, especially for certain niches where that’s still the gold standard of communication.
Whatever method you use, you can point to CDI’s Update Your Resume page, which explains a bit about the purpose. The group also had a free worksheet that covers the essentials and prompts to jog a candidate’s memory about important projects, new skills, and other achievements. Download it here.
Depending on your niche, you may want to create your own worksheet. Use the CDI version as a template, altering it to ensure your candidates don’t overlook something critical. An added benefit of a worksheet is that it serves as a reality check. Didn’t learn a new skill this year? Oops. Can’t think of an achievement worthy of listing? Uh-oh. That should be wake up call to your candidate, and a tip-off to you about their ambition and placeability.
