Why Update Your Résumé?

• Your role changes (e.g., through promotion).

• Your duties change (e.g., through addition of new equipment, changes in patient population).

• You earn another degree, certification, or qualification.

• You add a new publication, presentation, etc., to your list.

• You are given a work-related award.

• Your contact details change.

• You begin to feel dissatisfied your work or some other circumstance is causing you to consider quitting.

• You are considering changing careers.

• There are rumors of downsizing, unit closures, hospital mergers, or something else that could mean that your position will be eliminated or will be changed in a way that you do not want.

• You hear about a position of interest soon to be opening up.

• In the event that downsizing does happen, or the rumor about an interesting new position opening up is true, you can be ahead of the competition with your well-crafted, current résumé.

• As time goes by, if you don't update your résumé regularly, you may forget things such as the date on which your role changed, or your work focus changed. You never know when that type of detail is important, e.g., for positions that require a certain number of years of charge/supervisory experience, for employers that require detailed month/date information concerning all of your jobs, etc.

• If you don't do it regularly, you may forget to do it when you actually apply for a job. Yes, this really happens! We would often receive out-of-date résumés when I worked in recruitment. For example, one applicant wanted to apply for a job that required a degree – the résumé showed that the person didn't have one. The person called to ask about the status of his application and was told the position required a degree, and therefore he couldn't be considered. Turns out the he had a degree, but hadn't updated his résumé. Another example is of a person in a clinical area who sent in a résumé that made it look as if she had been out of work for more than five years, which meant she could not be considered for the job, since it required current clinical experience. But it turns out that she was working, and that her résumé hadn't been updated since she left her last job more than five years ago. Also, for those who use objectives, as your objectives change, make sure the objective on your résumé changes as well. I remember seeing a résumé with an objective stating that the person wanted a staff nurse role, but when contacted to discuss these jobs, the person was only interested in more senior positions.

• And finally, in these days of job boards posting jobs from around the world, and expanded social networking, who knows when you will see your dream job or when someone will say, "I've just heard about the perfect job for you! Do you have a current résumé?" If you're interested, and you don't have a current résumé, you'll have to update your résumé quickly to submit it as soon as possible. And with speed comes a greater risk for inadvertent omissions and factual, grammatical, and typographical errors. More importantly, you risk creating a résumé that doesn't accurately show why your work experience, achievements, and education make you the perfect person for that perfect job.

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