You have a new resume and/or cover letter! Exciting! Here are some ways to get the most out of your documents.
Use your documents to prepare potential interview answers.
You may not have the interview (yet) or know what questions you might be asked, but you know a little bit about what the employer is looking for based on the job posting and research you did about the organization to write your cover letter. Review your resume and spend some time reviewing the situations that led to those bullet points. Make sure you can remember the details, timeline of events, who was involved, how processes worked, etc. Practice explaining the details behind your bullet points in concise and cohesive 1-2-minute stories. No matter what questions you’re asked in an interview, having a specific relevant example from your past at the ready will make your answers stronger.
Use what you know about the company and position to brainstorm questions to ask the interviewer.
When looking for jobs and writing cover letters, you will learn more about an employer. A great cover letter weaves into it details about the company that stood out or aspects of a job that are especially interesting. When reviewing information about the employer, what caught your attention? What is most important to you in a job and what does your research tell you (or not) about those things? What information did you expect to find but didn’t? These questions can help guide you in forming questions you may want to ask your interviewer(s) to learn more about the organization and if working there would be a good fit for you.
Create a “master resume” and make future updates easy.
Update your resume regularly as you work on new projects and have additional accomplishments to add. If you make a habit of updating on a monthly or quarterly basis, your resume will stay up to date. Create a “master resume” document that is a record of everything you’ve done. Don’t worry about perfect formatting or page limits on this document. Then, when applying to new jobs in the future, save a copy of that master resume and edit it down to the most relevant information for that particular job. Create a curated, tailored resume specific to that job without having to spend a significant amount of time trying to recall things that have happened since your last resume update.
Turn your resume into a tool.
If you’re updating your resume regularly, it might be helpful when preparing for a performance review. Look at what you’ve added in the last year or so to be more prepared to talk about your achievements with your supervisor.
Your resume can also be a tool for career planning. Think about where you want to be three, five, or ten years from now. If you have a specific dream job or other career goal in mind, what do you need to add to your resume between now and then to get there? Look at some job postings for positions you may want in the future. Add a dream job to your resume with necessary skills for that role and future dates. This can serve as a visual reminder of what you’re working toward. Look for opportunities that will allow you to build the necessary skills to move in that direction.
Save your resume in your “smile file”
Your resume is a reminder of all that you’ve accomplished! When you’ve had a rough day or week or have made a mistake (we all do!) sometimes it’s nice to look at what you’ve accomplished, how far you’ve come, and that you are capable of doing great work!
Paper Kite Career Consulting 