#2013alive: Freshen Up (Your Resumé and Portfolio, That Is)

It’s week 3 of September’s 12 Months of Wellness journey. This week, we’re giving our resumés and portfolios an overhaul.

Last week for our 12 Months of Wellness journey, we reviewed our work goals and set new ones. This week, we’re going one step further and updating our resumés and portfolios.

If you’re thinking about a career shift, it’s definitely important, and if you’re actively looking for a new job, this is priority number one! But if you’re perfectly happy where you are—guess what?—it’s still a useful activity.

Why? For starters, it’s a great record of your accomplishments at your current job. You have a running tab of all that you’ve done, improved, and achieved. That way, not only is it a reminder to yourself of how fantastic you—and your job—are, but you can also always be ready with a great sample of evidence to draw from if you’re ever vying for a promotion or raise.

For me, I find this especially useful at year-end review time, when we discuss with our employer what we’ve done in the past year, and what we wish to accomplish the next year. In the moment, it can be tricky to remember all of the new tasks you’ve taken on since the beginning of the year, but if you keep track of them, it’s a walk in the park.

What to do

1. Collect all of your important documents, such as certificates, awards, and samples.
2. Go through your current resumé and highlight what could be scrapped if necessary.
3. Update your current achievements and then purge what is no longer relevant.

To go above and beyond, make use of these suggestions.

• Think of yourself as a brand, and market your “brand” through social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
• Create a website or blog, if applicable.
• Network, by attending industry events.

Follow us!

How will you be revamping your portfolio or resumé? Share your comments on our Facebook page or via Twitter using the hashtag #2013alive. Remember to use our September goal tracking sheet to monitor your progress.  

Plus, tune in to find out how we’re doing by checking our ongoing Twitter, Facebook, and blog posts.