How are you doing with your career development goals so far this year? As we head into summer, it’s a good time to check in and review your progress. One of the biggest career development goals people have this year is to build or update their resume and LinkedIn profile. Whether you are job searching due to layoffs or just want to enhance your professional reputation for career growth, your personal marketing materials are essential to reaching your goals.
We truly care about your career development goals, so we want to share some tips to help you, whether you are starting from scratch or wanting to evaluate what you already have:
Professional contact information. When listing your contact information on your resume and LinkedIn profile, ensure that is sounds professional. For example, “xxxislandgirl222” is not a professional email address or LinkedIn profile link. If needed, create a separate email just for your job search or professional networking. If possible, it should only contain your name, such as janesmith@email.com.
Your LinkedIn profile link should also be personalized and should only include your name or a professional degree or title that you hold. This will contribute to your professional image right away. For example: https://www.linkedin.com/in/halliecrawford/.
Use professional language. Avoid using slang or writing in an overly-casual style. While you do want your personality to shine through, it’s important to maintain a professional tone in what you write in your resume and LinkedIn profile. Also, we caution against overly using industry jargon that only those in your field will understand. Keep in mind that recruiters and new network connections may not be specific to your industry, so make sure that the language you choose is easily understood by people in any industry.
Spell check. This is an easy thing to overlook, but it can detract from your professional image. We recommend asking a friend or family member review your resume and LinkedIn profile for any spelling errors. You can also use free software like Grammarly on your computer that can help you catch simple mistakes.
Ensure your content is professional. It’s also important to ensure that the content of your resume and LinkedIn profile is professional. For example, make sure that you include measurable results. Measurable results add weight to your personal marketing materials and demonstrate that you are successful at what you do.
We also recommend highlighting your soft skills. Employers are focusing more than ever on finding employees with well-developed soft skills. Many hiring managers feel that they can’t easily teach someone soft skills, so if you are able to help them identify your soft skills, this makes you a more valuable job candidate or employee.
Ask for recommendations. Asking for recommendations from your LinkedIn profile contributes to your professionalism. Recommendations demonstrate that you have a good reputation with others in your field and in your organization. We recommend trying to get at least five recommendations from your network.
Need more help? Schedule a free consult with us today.
