3 Tips on Updating Your Resume for 2021
2020 has been a year of big changes for most people. If you’ve been lucky enough to keep the same job you had at the beginning of the year, there’s no doubt that many aspects of the role have likely changed since the pandemic started. If you’re one of the many that lost their jobs throughout the course of the year, there’s a possibility that you had to take on contract work or a role that perhaps wasn’t exactly what you’d been doing before.
No matter what the next step in your career is, or what your goals for 2021 are, it’s always good to have an up-to-date resume handy that properly represents your achievements as a professional.
So whether your 2021 goals are to find a new job, finally get that promotion or change career paths completely, we’ve put together our top 3 tips to make sure that your resume is ready for whatever 2021 holds.
Personalise it to your future goals
A lot of people spent the forced downtime in 2020 completely reassessing what they wanted from a company, team, manager and ultimately where they wanted their career to go in the future. This could be within an existing industry or field, or a completely new one altogether.
When writing a resume it’s always important to make sure it’s tailored to the job that you’re applying for. If you’ve had a change in role or industry, or intend on changing it in 2021, start personalising your resume to make sure that it fits the exact type of roles that you’ll be applying for.
Add any new technologies you’ve worked with
I’m sure by now that everyone has seen the jokes about how the best leader of technological innovation in 2020 was COVID-19. There is no doubt that despite how awful the pandemic was/is, that one of the best positives to come from it was the forced shift to remote work, smart technology and companies having to learn how to effectively communicate and run online.
If you’ve become a webinar expert, video conference pro, learnt how to use a new program, technology or popular software throughout the pandemic, be sure to add it in the relevant skills section of your resume or LinkedIn profile. You may think that it’s just a piece of software or tech, but your ability to use a particular program or technology may be what separates you apart from the competition when going for other jobs or promotions.
Include any new certifications or qualifications
A lot of educational and learning organisations have been quite generous throughout the pandemic, offering free courses and certifications to up-skill your resume throughout lockdown. From Google to LinkedIn, Apple and TAFE there are a significant amount of companies offering free, or very cheap resources to become certified in a new area.
Many of these free or reduced price courses are still available for you to take advantage of now. So, if you haven’t quite made the jump yet and picked up a new skill in 2020, have no fear as there’s still a month until 2021 starts. Have a look at the list we prepared here and see how you can easily up-skill to improve your resume and impresses recruiters.
Looking for your next role now? Get in touch with the Discovered People team here for a confidential chat.
Written by Ebony McCabe for Discovered People