Monday, October 28, 2013

Have Your Resume Updated Even if You Are Employed

Most people who are gainfully employed tend to neglect the fact that everybody should have a current resume.  Rule of thumb is to update it annually unless your job description changes dramatically at a shorter interval.  When I recommend this practice to employed individuals they frequently look at me like I am speaking in a language which they do not understand. 
Why do I need a resume if I am working?  I love my job and my company so writing a resume seems like a waste of time.  No one else at my company knows my job so I am there till I retire.  So many people in my industry know me that I would never have trouble landing a job by word of mouth if I needed to find a new one.
Let’s see if we can poke holes into each of these statements.  My objective is not to make fun of anyone who feels very secure but rather to prepare you for the right hook to your cheekbone when you least expect it to hit you.   I am going to attack the aforementioned points in reverse order just because I feel like doing it that way as they are all important.
Industries tend to go into large slumps in clusters.  By that I mean that if one company in a field begins to struggle, others will likely follow suit quickly.  Do you remember when our area was blessed to have B. Dalton, Barnes and Noble, Brentano’s, Borders and a plethora of lesser known book retailers.  Thanks to nooks, kindles, and other e-readers it is getting hard for booksellers to keep their doors open and I believe the only one left standing locally is Barnes and Noble.  Telecomm is another industry that has shed thousands of jobs in Central Jersey.  Even if you knew dozens of strong contacts in either of these fields locally, there is a pretty strong chance that many of them are now job hunting as well.
The theory that uniqueness in job description leads to long term job security no longer is terribly accurate.  Numerous companies have obviously merged or been purchased by huge multinational organizations who really do not give a crap about the individual worker.  They are all about numbers and bottom lines.  More than likely, your very unique role is being filled by others in a different part of the world making your role expendable when budgets are reviewed.

The first two points I made earlier blend together fairly well.  You might very well be gainfully employed today and absolutely love your job but, that is today.  The world is so volatile right now that we never know what tomorrow might look like.  Companies are shutting doors at amazing rates and management teams are being shifted around all the time which could take your status from having a job for life to filing for unemployment overnight.

After saying all this in a rather blunt and bleak way, I will soften it a bit by saying that if you are gainfully employed and happy where you are, do everything possible to stay gainfully employed and happy where you are.  The point I am striving to drive home is we should never close our minds to the eventuality that we may have to make a move and be prepared for it.

There are other reasons to have your resume current at all times.  You never know when you may be presented with an opportunity to apply for an internal promotion.  Promotions are not necessarily simply handed out.  Sometimes, you have to make a case to higher authorities to justify their decision making process.  The challenge is that the window of time for preparing yourself might be very short and to take a resume that has not been dusted off for several years is not as easy as it looks. 

My rule of thumb is to pick a date on which you will annually review and update your resume.  Some people pick their work anniversary whiles others might select their birthday or wedding anniversary.  It really does not matter as long as you remain consistent.  There is no need for a complete overhaul but be sure to add any new skills or responsibilities you have  acquired in the past year as well as any new certifications, degrees, seminars attended or special accomplishments.  Make sure that you read the finished product and ensure that it still flows nicely and is easy to read.  Ask a friend or family member to review it as well.  This way, if opportunity knocks, internally or externally, or if a situation arises where you must begin searching for a job, you will be ready to go!