Resumes are often, perhaps, one of those things that a lot of people do not think about with too much regularity–until they are all of a sudden needed. They may suddenly be needed when applying for a new job; applying to college; or even just anything application-based in nature. This article, then, is all about the reasons for regularly updating your resume–irrespective of the reason(s) for doing so.

With that in mind, let’s look at the top four reasons why you should consider updating your resume on a regular, consistent basis.

1. Save Time:

Let’s face it: We live in a time-scarce world, with many duties, roles, responsibilities, and deadlines to meet–at work; within our families; and in any other areas that get pieces of our time, attention, and focus. So, you may ask, “who even has time to regularly update their resume?” The answer: People who want to save time. Yes, you read that correctly. Let me provide an example: I like to update my resume once every six months. Because I do this every six months, there is quite little to actually have to update. It’s typically adding-in one or two things; it’s maybe taking something out. But, all told, this can be done–oftentimes–in 30 minutes or less. Even if you are only looking to update your resume once a year, it still may only take as little as one hour a year to do so. This sure beats having to spend hours, days, and weeks at a time updating a resume that may have last been touched five or ten years ago (if you are maybe someone who has remained in your current job position for any extended period of time).

Bonus tip: Additionally, I like to do this same thing for my website (the About section) and also for my LinkedIn profile (and much of this information can be replicated in a copy/paste manner). I like to do these resume and online updates over the Christmas holiday break (late December) and also again in the summer (late June or July)–which are two times in the calendar year when I have a couple weeks or more of a break from work.

2. Less Prone to Forget Important Things:

Before doing regular bi-annual updates of my resume, I always worried that when it came time to have to update my resume again that I would be prone to forgetting a fair amount of the new skills learned; responsibilities or roles assumed; initiatives undertaken; or awards or recognitions that I received. After all, sometimes, it’s hard to go back more than a year or more to remember a lot of those sorts of things. So that was always a constant worry with me. Now, with a bi-annual update of my resume, I found that I am much less likely to forget key resume components that I want to have added into the original resume, and that is because those things still may be fairly fresh in my mind or memory. If you are prone to worry or anxiety over omitting key things from your resume (that you are either proud of or want to highlight), consider the bi-annual–or annual–method of updating your resume. This will also help guard against the worries of having an incomplete resume, because, unfortunately,  it is much easier to under-sell ourselves on applications–and in interviews– if resume-worthy items are left off entirely.

3. Pivot Quickly (If Needed): Similar to the idea of being less prone to forget important (or new) things (with having a regularly-updated resume), keeping things current will allow you to move quickly on any new opportunities that may arise–or present themselves–to you, often times in short order (or with little time to act or respond). Sometimes, it could be an opportunity to be a part of a new internal position at work; a job outside of your current employment; or any number of different opportunities–work-related or otherwise. I had this happen to me a few times in the past year. Here are some examples: As the 2020-2021 school year was concluding, I was able to apply for a summer-months position–similar to my current role–and was able to successfully pivot quickly on this particular opportunity that I was very much interested in pursuing. I also had to submit a current resume to apply to be a breakout session presenter at the Michigan School Counselor Association’s Fall Conference; I also had to have a current resume, in tow, and uploaded, in order to take a post-Master’s course at my alma mater university during the Winter 2022 semester; and, again, just this past month, applying to be a part of a planning committee for a state-level high school and college counseling organization. I was able to apply for each of these opportunities with little to no stress because I knew my resume was ready to go–especially after fine-turning everything over this past holiday break (remember: the bi-annual or annual update). Simply keeping your resume current and up-to-date may allow you to feel more comfortable and confident as you apply for new opportunities–and that is always a good thing and a great feeling, isn’t it?

4. Reflect on Professional Growth:

Finally, sometimes, it just feels good to look at your resume and to be proud for all that you have already done and accomplished–vocationally; scholastically; awards-wise; skills honed-wise; and with any number of other resume-worthy items that you currently are proud to put on paper. While maybe not a perfect analogy, the resume is sort of like the U.S. Constitution (maybe more so in theory, perhaps, than in application, however), because it’s like a living, breathing document that is meant to be amended and updated as time goes along; as life evolves and changes; and as experience(s) dictate(s). While editing and making updates to your resume certainly gives you a chance to reflect back on your vocational and educational journeys with certain level of pride, it can also give you the opportunity to see if there are areas that you think might be under-developed or missing on paper. Updating your resume once or twice a year can allow you to reflect back upon the last six or twelve months and to see which direction(s) you may want to pivot or move yourself towards. Do you want to “beef-up” your academic profile by adding in a new credential? Do you want to apply for new internal or external positions that may give you invaluable experience and marketability? How about applying to be a part of certain committees or leadership or service-based initiatives? Or maybe you want ramp-up your networking or technology-based skills and proficiencies. Keeping a current resume means that there are nearly limitless opportunities to grow personally and professional, and to be able to be confident–and proud–to share that growth and steadily-accumulating experience with key others.

–The Blue-Collar Counselor