5 Tips for the 21st Century Resume

A resume is a resume right? Although the number and type of jobs that your parents held may differ from your own, the format and style of your resume should look about the same as theirs. At least that’s what most people think. But most people are wrong. The 21^st century resume is different from resumes of the past because the technology that we use to review resumes is different now. It is important to make sure that you know how to bring your resume into the 21^st century if you want to be successful in quickly finding a job.

Here are five tips that you’ll need to know if you want a 21^st century resume:

1.     Take your resume online. You will still want to have a paper copy of your resume but you need to make sure that you have an online version of your resume as well. And no, this isn’t the same as having a Word doc or PDF file that you can attach via email. It’s about having a separate resume that actually exists online and can be accessed there. You can do this by setting up your own website with a resume on it or you can use resume hosting. Either way, you should have an online resume and the URL for that resume should be on your business cards, email signature and anywhere else and employer might see your name.

2.     Emphasize real tech skills on your resume. Employers today want to know what tech, social media and Web 2.0 skills you have. However, you shouldn’t bother to include the basics. Almost everyone knows how to use Microsoft Office, email and Facebook so you just look silly if you include those things on your resume (unless for some reason the job you’re applying for specifically wants to you know about experience with those things).

3.     Be smart with white space. Interview Mastermind points out that white space is very important on resumes today. It is better to have a two page resume with a lot of white space than a one page resume with crammed together font. This wasn’t always the case. In the past, resumes were always limited to one page. However, white space reigns supreme today and you should reformat your resume to reflect that.

4.     Use bullet points. This tip is part of the whole white space thing but it deserves some separate attention since you can theoretically create a resume with a lot of white space that doesn’t have bullet points. Bullet points are popular today. Employers are used to seeing them everywhere from emails to professional documents. They use them to scan the most important information in whatever it is that they are reading. That’s why you want to use bullet points on your 21^st century resume to

5.     Start a business. It seems like almost everyone has a business today. Many employers find it odd if you don’t mention some sort of entrepreneurial endeavor on your resume. The business that you start doesn’t have to be anything major, costly or time consuming. It could be your own small consulting company for your industry or even just freelance writing work in your field. Whatever it is, it’s something that employers are seeking on a 21^st century resume.

What do you think might be the most outdated thing about your current resume?