Resumes & Cover Letters: 4 Updates to Make Now

Career AdviceHiring Hub
Written By Marie Raperto

Marie Raperto,The Hiring Hub

Resumes and cover letters need to be updated to remain relevant. Keeping them tweaked will help in your job search. You want to adjust them to best meet the requested requirements. Here are a few things to review now:

  1. Remote skills: Add any remote working skills or computer skills that you gained during the pandemic.

  2. Keywords: You want both your resume and cover letters to have plenty of keywords.  This will help recruiters find you and make your information more ATS friendly. Remember, keywords should be customized for each application and you should use the keywords mentioned in the ad or job description.

  3. Resume/Cover Letter/LinkedIn: Make sure all three complement each other.  One message with each adding more information.

  4. Length: Recruiters and hiring managers are spending less time reading resumes and they are doing it on various equipment.  So be concise. Cover letters should take up one-half to three quarters of a page and resumes should be two pages in length.

As summer approaches, try updating your cover letter and resume when enjoying the sunshine!

Marie Raperto

Marie Raperto is a leading recruiter in the integrated marketing and communications sectors, and is President/Owner of Cantor Integrated Marketing Staffing, Inc. In 1990, she joined The Cantor Concern, Inc. as Vice President and then was made President. Previously, she was a principal and vice president with Jim Cotton Communications, Inc., an advertising/public relations/design firm. Her clients included numerous Fortune 500 industrial and services companies, as well as leading hotels and consumer products companies. She is a member of PRSA, The Healthcare and Marketing PR Society and SHRM. She serves on the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York’s Board of Directors. She is currently the treasurer of the Women of Distinction Breakfast committee and is an author and lecturer on topics dealing with Public Relations Staffing and finding employment. Her company is involved with full and part-time recruitment, organizational development, communications audits, mergers and acquisitions of PR agencies and HR consulting.

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