How to Modernize an Outdated Resume
Over time, resume standards evolve. Whether you’ve been working for five or 50 years, you are bound to have witnessed changes as you’ve applied for jobs. So, when you decide to apply yet again, don’t just stick with the resume that worked for you the last time around—update and change it accordingly. Not only do you now have more experience and skills to add, but you should also update your resume to reflect the latest conventions. Do you need a resume overhaul? If so, consult our resume experts.
Whether you’re updating your old resume or creating a brand-new one, check out how things differ from the past and learn how you can turn your resume into a superb modern document.
The outdated resume
If you haven’t touched your resume in a couple of years, it’s most likely outdated. Go through it and check whether it follows any of these outdated conventions.
Contact information
In resumes from yesteryear, the contact information usually contained the person’s name, their full street address, and details such as marital status and birth date. This information just takes up precious space and doesn’t need to be in your resume.
Objective statement
It used to be common practice to include an objective statement, but this custom has flown out the window. The objective statement simply stated the candidate’s career goals, and that was it. Yes, it's good to have goals, but the real question is whether you’ve accomplished any goals.
Skills
In the skills section of an old resume, you would often find overused, ineffective buzzwords, such as enthusiastic, passionate, motivated, and detail-oriented. These are all words that should describe you, but they take up space on a resume. Of course, hiring managers love these qualities in a candidate, but they’re more like unspoken attributes.
Work experience
In the past, people would list every job they’d ever worked, including jobs that had nothing to do with the one they were applying for. The resume was simply a place to chronicle one’s employment history. It had no deeper purpose than to show where you’d worked, which is of little concern to modern-day hiring managers.
Education
In the education section of an old resume, you would list all the classes you took at school and your GPA. You may also have included your graduation dates, no matter how long it had been since you finished school.
References
Resumes of the past listed the applicant’s references and their contact information. If you ran out of space, you may have said something like, “References available upon request.” This was nothing but another space waster.
The modern resume
Modern resumes look vastly different from those of old, and they should! As times and trends change, so does everything else—resumes are no exception. If your resume doesn’t follow modern standards, you’re automatically disqualifying yourself from many jobs. Let’s see what a modern resume looks like.
Contact information
Modern resumes no longer need a full home address or all that other personal information. Instead, include a professional email address and your phone number. A professional email address should consist of some form of your real name and perhaps your job title. Also, provide a link to your LinkedIn page or profiles on other online platforms that showcase your professional development.
Professional summary
People no longer write objective statements that simply state their career goals. That’s strictly about you—why should the company care? Instead, write a professional summary that succinctly explains your accomplishments and lists your qualifications, which you prove later on the resume. This is information a recruiter actually cares about. This summary sets the tone for the rest of your resume. It is the first thing a hiring manager sees, and they’ll often decide whether to read the entire document based on this one little paragraph, so spare no effort to make it good.
Skills
Your resume shouldn’t include tired buzzwords that do nothing but waste space. So, what do you list? Scrutinize the job description, find keywords and requirements, and use the ones that apply to you. Using keywords from the job description helps you catch the eye of the hiring manager. Not only that, but using the right keywords—and enough of them—will also get you past the applicant tracking systems (ATSs) that most companies nowadays use to filter the resumes they receive. These programs tend to automatically disqualify any resume with inadequate keyword usage.
Work experience
Instead of listing every job you’ve ever had, stick to the last 10-15 years and only list those relevant to the job you’re applying for. Also, include any volunteer work, internships, and clubs you’ve participated in as long as they relate to the position you’re after. Then list your achievements in each job to prove your qualifications and show the hiring manager you do possess the skills you claim to have.
Education
Your education section should no longer be filled with GPA details and graduation dates, but it should contain the schools you attended. Additionally, include any certifications or outside courses that have furthered your professional development. Learning outside the classroom is something hiring managers want to see. It shows your enthusiasm, passion, and ability to gain knowledge on your own, all of which are admirable traits.
References
Don’t waste your time even mentioning references on your resume. If the hiring manager needs to confirm your work habits, they’ll request your references. So, simply make a separate list of references and be ready to hand it to them if asked. It’s assumed that you have people willing to vouch for you.
It’s easy to keep submitting your old resume—it has worked before, after all. However, times have changed, and you need to change with them. If you want a shot at that job, update your resume to bring it up to speed. Don’t get stuck in the past—modernize your resume to guarantee your future professional success! Need help keeping your resume abreast with modern trends? Hire a resume expert to make sure you’re firmly in step with the times.
