Job Action Day is the first Monday in November and empowers those who dream of having a job they love to take every step necessary to reach that goal. Before applying to any open position, you must create and update your resume. In addition, you must ensure that your resume is tailored to the job to which you are applying.

SUNY Empire’s Collegewide Career Development Coordinator, Anita DeCianni-Brown, will provide valuable tips for updating your resume.

Do your research

• Explore SUNY Empire’s job search resources.
• Connect with your network to find out about job opportunities in their organization.
• Take advantage of LinkedIn as a job-search resource.

Update your resume

• Information, keywords, and experiences should align with the positions to which you are applying.
• Ensure that your resume sounds genuine and authentic. Avoid repeating the job description listed on the job site.
• After completing your resume, have someone review it to make sure there are no mistakes.
• Ensure your contact information is accurate.
• Be sure to make your experience and skill section easy to skim.
• Include action words such as: managed, coordinated, and executed. Make sure your verb tense is correct; previous positions should be referred to in the past tense.
• Remove outdated phrases or positions that may make your skills look a bit dusty

It’s the quality of your information, not the quantity

• Don’t sell yourself short by trying to cram relevant experience and content into one page.
• Don’t go into lengthy detail for experiences and skills that are not relevant to the job to which you are applying.
• Your resume should not be more than two pages long. Employers like to see a clean and concise resume.

Include metrics

• When possible, provide concrete numbers to back up your accomplishments. For example, instead of saying that you “supervise staff,” say, “supervise staff of 10 customer-service representatives,” or instead of “grant writer,” say, “grant writer successfully awarded three grants amounting to $100,000.”

Tap into your network

• If you have a connection within an organization to which you are applying, reach out and ask questions (informational interview). If you do not have an established connection, we don’t recommend reaching out for an informational interview with that organization.
• Attend virtual or in-person networking events.
• Join professional organizations related to your desired career field. 

SUNY Empire is here for you throughout your job search journey. For any additional information, contact Anita at anita.brown@esc.edu.