5 Musts for Successful Résumés in 2023
With the labor market in flux, successful résumés—those that land a candidate an interview—ought to respond to the current state of the job search. This includes five trends.
Trend 1: The need for a market-driven résumé. Tailor your skills to the requirements of the current job market instead of simply listing your qualifications. For example, today’s leaders want new-hires who can keep up with the digital transformation.
Trend 2: The use of impact statements. Rather than relying on an experience statement, spell out how one of your achievements affected an organization.
Trend 3: Proof of stated skills. Listing skills is not enough. Instead, weave proof of the requisite skills throughout the résumé.
Trend 4: Pared-down résumés. Avoid adjectives, adverbs, charts, and unnecessary design elements.
Trend 5: The use of new tools for résumé prep. Bard can answer questions about the state of an industry. LinkedIn Career Explorer provides lists of skills needed for specific job titles. Rewordify allows you to check for key word use that reflects both your résumé and the job description.
Source: Svei, D. (2022, December 28). 5 résumé trends that will take hold in 2023–and how to use them yourself. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com
Students Clock Best Teaching Practices
Creating a sense of belonging was the top theme students mentioned when asked to evaluate their best college instructors’ teaching practices. Published by the non-profit Every Learner Everywhere, What Our Best College Instructors Do quizzed 22 students in detail about their learning experiences. The results showed that students value active learning, formative practice, and metacognition in the college classroom.
Students also noted characteristics of best instructors, including:
- gives clear instructions
- explains why answers are correct as well as why they are incorrect
- helps students navigate online learning systems
- provides constructive feedback and opportunities to practice.
Source: What our best college instructors do. Every Learner Everywhere. (2022, September). https://everylearnereverywhere.org
Is a College Degree Worth the Cost?
The short answer is a resounding yes, according to Dr. Anthony Carnevale, director at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Despite some politicians talking about a return to manufacturing in the United States, landing high-paying jobs in that sector is “like spotting a four-leaf clover.” Blue-collar jobs in construction and iron-working may be a short-term fix but they rarely last.
Therefore, the advice to skip college is shortsighted. Even in the manufacturing sector, over half of the jobs require at least some postsecondary education; the shop supervisor of old who rose through the ranks is now a college-educated manufacturing engineer.
Long-term data show that a four-year degree will net college graduates $1.2 million more than high school graduates over the life of their careers. Only 37 percent of Americans between the ages of 25-64 have that degree, which is causing a supply-and-demand problem because the cost of a college education deters qualified students from attending.
Dr. Carnevale states that the benefits of possessing a college degree are not just monetary; the impact graduates can make as professionals in their fields benefits society, too.
Source: Carnevale, A. (2023, May 23). Beware the advice to skip college. Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce Newsletter.
