University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

CSUN Professor Says Keeping Your Resume Updated Makes You Job Ready

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Sept. 25, 2006) -- September, International Update Your Resume Month, may be drawing to a close, but California State University, Northridge, management professor Jay Christensen says it’s never too late to review your professional achievements and make sure they’re presented in the right format.

Christensen, a member of Career Directors International and its research committee, said International Update Your Resume Month should serve as a reminder that everyone should keep their resumes current.

"You’ll never know when you will need it, and it pays to have a good one," he said.

Christensen said that as you draw up a resume, keep in mind the key question: "What am I going to use this for?" Once you figure that, he said, the rest falls into place.

He had five tips on how to keep your resume current:

• Update your resume to include more results or accomplishments and better "power verbs."

By using "power verbs" that reflect your knowledge of the industry you are in, or going into, you show you understand the field, Christensen said. He pointed to the example of a graduating finance student who "balanced, managed, reviewed, adjusted and created" all kinds of financial documents.

"Even his volunteer or related experiences reflected financial involvement," Christensen said. "That’s what his prospective employer wants to read: contribution."

• Place everything in its proper resume location for maximum exposure.

"When one prepares or updates a resume, consider where you have placed the summary of qualifications. Or do you have a summary of qualifications?" he said.

The summary of qualifications should follow after the job objective or take the place of the objective. It should be a series of four bullets of how the work experience, described with "power verbs," has been summarized for the applicant, he said.

Another thing to keep in mind, he said: "Did you take away the usual laundry list of duties and responsibilities and replace them with results and accomplishments?"

• Avoid resume fraud or using false or exaggerated information.

Christensen said more and more employers are checking up on applicants’ resumes—confirming schools attended, degrees received, courses completed and other such information.

"Resume-wise employers believe applicants will cheat, if given the chance," he said. "Therefore, in updating your resume, notice any fraud that might be inadvertently committed. Check everything thrice."

• Prepare a Web resume portfolio as a backup to a traditional one.

Christensen said that as more applicants prepare resumes for online services such as Monster.com, a Web portfolio resume may be "the ticket" for increasing exposure.

"Find someone who knows how to create a Web page and ask them to help you prepare your portfolio," he said. "Link all of your qualifications and give the prospective employer a professional presentation. Then your traditional resume will not stand as the only document in a technical age."

• Explore creating a "federal" resume, with its strong emphasis on knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs).

Christensen said while you may not be interested in working for the federal government, the application process can hone an applicant’s resume into a prime example of what employers are looking for, with its emphasis on knowledge, skills and abilities.

"The federal government also offers more opportunities than the private sector and sometimes better security than the private sector," he said. "Who knows? You may even find the job that you want."

And while people are working on their resumes, Christensen advises them not to forget to network. "Networking is one sure way of expanding your opportunities to distribute your resume, and possibly find that new job you were looking for," he said.

California State University, Northridge has 33,000 full- and part-time students and offers 62 bachelor’s and 50 master’s degrees as well as 28 teaching credential programs. Founded in 1958, CSUN is among the largest single-campus universities in the nation and the only four-year public university in the San Fernando Valley. The university serves as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley and beyond.