Canadian Finance Blog

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 02:00 AM PST

You might be employed full-time, and even in the same job for several years. It might not even be on your radar to change jobs. Still, you might like to earn a little more.

Upgrade your resume. Yes, by upgrading your resume, you have the opportunity to increase your income in a number of ways.

But what does it mean to upgrade your resume? Two things:

1. Add in the highlights of your last few years. No, you might not have any new jobs to add (unless you never added your current position once you landed it), but surely there have been challenges you have mastered, achievements you can mention, skills you have learned.

2. Have the resume rewritten by a professional resume writer. You’ll be amazed how much more impressive a resume looks when written by someone who knows just what impresses the bigwigs.

Four ways to leverage your upgraded resume

GO FOR A RAISE: An upgraded resume helps define your value. It is not as important as job appraisals or other internal measurements, but it does contribute. Take a moment to show the upgraded resume to your supervisor. An impressive resume will do two things. First, it will help you explain why you think your value to the company has increased since you were hired. Second, it will help your boss understand what value another company might see in you (and with an up-to-date resume, you would appear poised to use it), and why he should consider more carefully your request for a raise.

GO FOR A PROMOTION: An upgraded resume helps position you as a person ready to move up in the company. It not only shows succinctly how you have grown since you first arrived, but it demonstrates that you are aware of your growth, of your value, of your readiness to take on new challenges. You will be taken more seriously in any consideration of a promotion.

GO FOR A NEW JOB: Perhaps the most obvious way an upgraded resume can help you earn more money is by applying for new job vacancies that appear on the market. The new, more impressive resume could be sent to recruiters and headhunters, as well as to companies in response to job openings posted in the newspaper or online.

GO FOR SECONDS: Even if there is no chance to better your income from your current employer (there are situations that not even the best resume can fix), many people take on second jobs. This might also be an option – a part-time job that pays better than many part-time jobs, based on your upgraded resume.

Getting your resume upgraded is not very difficult; it takes very little time or money. But it can help your career move forward and earn you a higher income.

Author Bio: This is a guest post by Gerry Sandis, one of the bloggers at Resume Mag.

Earn More By Upgrading Your Resume originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on March 7, 2011.

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