COVID radically changed the nation’s job market. The Great Resignation has people on the move and some companies need for help than ever before. While we hope you’re all blissfully happy at your current gig, many of you may be on the move, or thinking of changing jobs.
If that’s the case, an update to the old resume is in order.
If it’s been awhile since you’ve changed jobs, you will want that resume to stand out. Give it a fresh, modern feel by focusing on current job skills and not on things that might not be relevant to what you did a decade or more ago.
What a lot of workers — especially those of middle age or older — need to understand is that some of the job skills they’re so proud of, no longer exist and need to be removed from a current resume.
MSN Money recently did a story about job skills and identified 11 of the skills that companies no longer need. We thought their research is important to share.
Here is the list.
Microsoft Word: Word is so common in companies these days that listing it as a skill is just not necessary. It’s assumed you already know how Word works. Also apply that advice to other Microsoft programs like Excel and Powerpoint.
Data entry: Employers expect you to already know basic data entry. Unless the job requires you to enter copious amounts of data, leave that skill off of the resume.
Packaging and shipping: Another skill that is more common these days. With the increase of better technology, the Internet and an industry that has grown from firms like Amazon, those skills are very easy to master.
Phone support: Company telephones are almost a thing of the past. With the advent of email, smartphones and texting, businesses communicate in much different ways than in the past and phones just aren’t as important.
Typing: If you work at a desk you have a computer or something that passes as one. That is if you even have a desk. Mentioning that you type 80 words per minute isn’t going to mean much on a resume. You are expected to be fairly competent at keyboarding.
Online research: How to find things via the Internet used to be a skill. Today, young children can navigate the web and find information. So listing online research as a skill might be important in some industries but most companies expect you to be somewhat proficient if an online search is needed.
Filing: Most computers have folders to hold files. Paper filing isn’t as common as it used to be. And since you have easy to access folders on that computer, you are pretty much expected to be able to keep accurate files and keep them in those folders.
Listing that you know how is a huge no-no.
Computer languages: Unless you’re a programmer, no one cares what computer language you know and understand, or can write. Plus, some of the languages learned a decade or more ago are no longer relevant.
Email: Understanding how to write, send and receive email is expected. Don’t put it on the resume.
College degree: Unless it completely relates to a specific field, listing a degree in art history — for example — when applying for a job where you work specifically with computers doesn’t do you much good.
What might be more important is listing recent certifications or continuing education classes that relate to the field.
By the way, the pros at MSN say if you’re an older worker you might want to leave the graduation date off of the diploma listed.
Web browser use: Unless you’re going to design a website, understanding website use isn’t all that important.
Source link: MSN Money — http://bit.ly/3ZiWeVg
