When Do You Review your CV?
By: Lara Yeku
I recently met a lady by the name Juliet (not real name) who came to me for career counselling. I thought to share her story because I believe someone will learn a lesson or two............
Juliet got hired by a company for an internship program after her OND degree about 13 years ago. Her role in the company was records management and basic administration/documentation tasks which included filing, photocopying etc. She was excited about the role back then because it met her immediate needs which included clothing, transportation and feeding. After her OND internship program, she was offered the opportunity to continue her employment. She gladly accepted and she refused to return to school to further her education as she believed keeping her employment was a better option for her to meet her immediate needs - job/income/earning. She never went back to school, nor did she take a part time course.
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The years rolled by and she got caught in the trap of daily grind; refusing to update/upgrade her skills or brush up her knowledge of the changing environment. Eventually; her company automated its processes and you can guess what happened next……. she became redundant as her skills were no longer relevant, she didn't learn any new skills and she had lost time which she should have used to develop herself. She became a DINOSAUR in her career comfort zone. I asked her when last did she review her CV, she said she has never created a CV because she was not job-hunting until now.......She admitted her never reviewed her CV periodically over the years to assess her skills & abilities. So sad!!A lot of times, we do not take some time to review our personal CV/RESUME. We wait until we are job-hunting or when there is a request for our CVs by a prospective employer or business offering before we remember to review/update our professional life (our CV). A CV is expected to reflect your career aspirations/objectives, business skills, knowledge, exposures, experiences, areas of interest, trainings etc.
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With the high rate of changes in the workplace and business environment; it is imperative to take some time periodically to review, update or plan your personal CV – i.e your professional life. Ask yourself, do you have a clear career objective and a thought through plan to achieving them? Are your current skills in demand/relevant in today’s market? Regarding your experiences – what activities/jobs/businesses have you garnered? Trainings – what new knowledge/information have you acquired lately?
The economy is moving from a Resourced based to Ideas-centric/ Technology based economy and it’s time to update your personal CV. Do not wait until someone asks you for it in exchange of a salary. Be proactive and plan your career.
Lara is a seasoned Human Resources senior executive with local and global best practices spanning across various industries. She is a certified coach with expertise cutting across HR Transformation, Talent & Career Management, HR Strategy, HR Metrics & Data Analytics, Organizational Development, Training, Performance Management, Talent Acquisition & Retention, Workforce planning, HR Coaching, Succession Planning, etc.
You can reach her on LinkedIn here.
