4 Reasons to STOP Freaking Out About Your Resume

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Yes, I know I’m a career coach. I should be super concerned with your resume! Here’s the thing people: It’s 2015. You can find out the goods digitally about someone in three seconds and in a much more condensed way than just five years ago.

You’ve got to train your mind out of the “I have to have the most perfect resume.” Does this mean don’t have a great one? NO. It doesn’t.

In some professions, such as education, which procures much of their candidates through a traditional process, it might matter more than in other industries. Schools (particularly private or charter schools) are also getting with the times and starting to use LinkedIn and other online employment tools as well.

My point is this: The energy you spent toiling over every bullet is energy you need to divide into other avenues. Do you need to have everything spelled correctly and try to get it on 1-2 pages? YES. It’s just not the ONLY thing you should be focusing on. You’ve got to divide your time between preparing, searching, and networking. For more on that check out my networking guide here.

So take some advice from a person who has been on BOTH sides of the job hunt as a hungry applicant and as a recruiting professional pouring over resumes to find the perfect fit for clients.

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You love a list. Admit it.

1. LinkedIn does it for you! Yes those clever devils over at LinkedIn have a way to export your resume into a fancy template and you are good to go! I know, I know you need to customize it to certain jobs. Want to try it out? Find out more here.
2. Templates made easy. STOP trying to organize everything on your own! Depending on the industry, a more artistic or dynamic trendy resume might be in order. You don’t have to try to do this yourself. Creative Market is a GREAT site where I’ve purchased some already made templates very inexpensively. These templates are sleek, fresh and can highlight skill sets, awards, achievements in ways you never thought of. They will differentiate you from THE PILE!
3. Time to go back to #1. As a recruiter, I almost always searched someone on LinkedIn before I even looked at their resume. It was just easier. When I had 50 people to look through, the people that applied through LinkedIn always were a the top of the pile. I could click and immediately see everything I needed to. It helped to dramatically decrease my resume review time. Get moving on your Linked In…NOW. Not sure which type of profile you should craft? Check out my friend Karen’s quick guide to finding out which one is for you!
4. Articles like this are not always 100% right and we never say they are! Some professions will require you to go through an arduous online application process where a resume truly matters more. Learn to take everything you read online with a grain of salt. It is always providing ONE piece of information that may be helpful for a large amount of people, but not for others. Bottom line: the world is a giant shade of gray.