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It’s 2022, a new year. I know many of us want to move forward and forget the past couple of years. But a friend of mine always says, “never let a crisis go to waste.” Even in the midst of something bad, there’s always a redemptive perspective, something good emerging out of the bad.
It’s likely one of those good things is you gained some new skills and experience during the past two years of the pandemic. And it’s these new skills that will make you relevant and attractive in a 2022 job market.
But first, you have to learn how to market them on your resume. And since the new year is always a great time to update your resume, I’ve provided some tips below on ways to refresh your resume for a 2022 job search.
1. Make the most of past employment gaps
Most people who have any kind of employment gaps on their resume automatically assume this will hurt them. While this was typically the case prior to the pandemic, employers are now more understanding of such gaps. Especially of those which occurred during the pandemic.
Hiring managers know it was a time of uncertainty. Therefore, they’re more forgiving of employment gaps.
But if you can show you spent your gap developing new skills, either through online courses or a personal project or side hustle, you’ll have an advantage.
Don’t forget to list in the education section of your resume any online courses you took. Also, add any new skills you developed to your skills section.
2. List new pandemic-related skills
If you were fortunate to keep your job during the pandemic, you likely developed new skills such as:
- Crisis management
- Process building
- Digital collaboration
- Remote teamwork
- And ability to work from home with self-discipline and good time management skills
You’ll want to update your skills section on your resume with these.
3. Update your results and keywords for 2022
In fact, you’ll also want to highlight in your professional summary, and your job descriptions, anything you did to help your company not only survive, but thrive during the pandemic. When doing so, always provide results.
In addition, include pandemic-related keywords such as “remote teams,” “virtual teams,” and “crisis management,” throughout your resume. This will help get your resume through the application tracking systems. And it will help make your LinkedIn profile show up in more recruiters’ search results.
4. Highlight your contributions during the pandemic
Depending on the nature of your job or how you’d like to highlight your pandemic-related experience, you may want to even consider having a separate section called “COVID Response Efforts,” or “Successful COVID Adaptations.”
This will make sense to include if you had a heavy hand in your company’s response to the pandemic, or if you’re seeking a job requiring the skills you used in response.
5. Indicate your willingness to work remotely in 2022
Since more employers will continue to offer remote work opportunities in 2022, you may want to include a line on your resume worded as, “willing to work remotely.” Do this when applying for remote jobs. Remove it when applying for on-site opportunities. And consider leaving it on if the job description doesn’t specify location, especially if you’re interested in continuing to work remotely.
Don’t forget to also indicate in your cover letter if you’re willing and technically able to work remotely.
Coming up next in 2022
Stay tuned for more tips on how to stay relevant in a 2022 job market. In next week’s post, I’ll cover:
- Changes in interview practices for 2022
- New interview questions to expect and prepare for
- New questions you should ask the employer in your 2022 interviews
In the meantime, if you need personalized assistance tailored to your unique career situation, please complete the paNASH intake form to schedule a complimentary initial consultation.
