New year, new resume?

Author

Lauren Curtis
January 07, 2025

Hey Health Techies!

Happy New Year. I hope you had a wonderul holiday and got to relax and spend some time with family and loved ones.

The new year is often a great time to land a job in tech. Budgets are reset. Projects are being pitched. And companies need people to help them hit their big lofty goals. Which makes it the perfect time to revisit your resume.

So here are my top tips for reflecting on your previous year and using those reflections to help update your resume and set you up for success. I recommend going through this process whether or not you are in the market for a new role right now. Keeping your resume up to date ensures that you remain ready for anything from a simple networking conversation to applying to your dream job.

Start with the quick and easy updates:

✅ Contact information
✅ Dates related to roles or certifications
✅ New skills that you obtained since last update
✅ Hyperlink your LinkedIn profile (a recent newsletter by job search strategist Austin Belcak cited a study that found that resumes that included a link to a robust LinkedIn profile had a callback rate over 70% higher than those without)

Think about any new skills, projects, or accomplishments from the past year that can strengthen your resume.

💡Look back at company-wide communications. Do you work somewhere that sends out an end of year wrap up or celebrates the wins for the year? Use this to jog your memory about things that happened.

💡Take a look at any metrics that have been shared out for the company. Did you play a part in ensuring that those goals were hit? How can you use this on a resume to help quantify your impact on the business?

Example:
If you'll recall I used to work in retail pharmacy. I'd look to disctrict customer satisfaction scores -- say the district was at an 87 for the year, but the store that I worked in was at a 92.

I'd use this to quantify my impact by stating something like: "Managed a pharmacy team of 10 technicians and pharmacists, prioritizing customer service and quality in daily operations, and achieving a 92% customer satisfaction score—exceeding the district average of 87%."

💡Highlight recent professional development. Have you taken a course or earned a certification? Include it if it's relevant to your target role.

See? Pretty easy right? This should be a 15 to 20 minute activity tops. Then make sure to save your changes and mark your calendar to take a look at things again in a quarter or two. I’ll be there to help you then too 😊

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Don’t miss these open roles 👀

Until next time,

Lauren

P. S. If your resume is feeling like it needs a bit more work than just a few beginning of the year brush ups, there are three ways that I can help:

  1. Resume Templates: If you need to fresh start

  2. Resume Review: If you want to get my eyes on your resume to help you optimize it for your target role

  3. The Resume Lab: If you know you need a complete overhaul to land that target role