Your Resume’s Growth

We all learn and grow, every year, without fail. So should your resume. As you experience and grow more, your resume should slowly fill up, leaving less blank space on the paper. For example, as a high-school student, there’s a big chance you’ve had fewer jobs than a college student. As a first-year, you’re going to have (probably) less to put on your resume than a senior. Here are some rules as it relates to improving your resume… over time.

  1. Play around with different formats!
    1. When you have fewer things to add to a resume and have a lot of empty space, it can make sense to add another category like “Skills” to demonstrate any computer skills or languages that could make your resume look more full!
    2. The structure of your resume can change over time, as well, and you can have fun seeing what categories are best to put where, what experiences you want to highlight and spend the most time on, and more! Make resume building an activity! PRO TIP: save your different resumes at the time with different names/dates to look back on how yours have improved and changed!
  2. Think about what must-haves are and what can-haves are.
    1. When you, again, don’t have a lot to add to a resume, you can have a lot more can-haves. As your space and resume real estate become tighter and also valuable, you must start separating and prioritizing your most impressive accomplishments.
  3. You don’t always have to change experiences, just update them!
    1. As you progress in some of your roles, it can be tempting to just replace the bullet with your new title and responsibilities. In fact, showing how you’ve spent time at the same organization, whether on campus or at work, is just as important! Check out this blog for some ways to show progression on a resume.

Remember to never be embarrassed by what your resume used to look like, just focus on moving forward and presenting your experiences in the best light that you can at that time. Resumes are a difficult document to ace and everybody needs a starting point. It can and will only get better.

By Alina Minkova
Alina Minkova Creative Blog Curator