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Spring Cleaning Tips For Updating Your Resume

by Lee Hayes, Volunteer and
Judi Malter, CFA, Career Management Chair

On the early evening of May 12, a great turnout of over 50 people collected some "Spring Cleaning Tips for Updating your Resume." This Career Management event featured one hour of presentations followed by a question/answer period, with time before and after for networking.

Panelists Kathy Graham from HQ Search, Angela Rudin and Jennifer Schreck from UBS Global Asset Management gave highly motivating talks from the executive recruiter and the corporate human resources perspectives. Their discussion focused on the development of an effective resume, the importance of keeping it up to date and maneuvering it through the electronic resume submission process. Their encouraging news was the job market for CFA charterholders is improving. Positions in compliance, money management, financial analysis, private equity and investment banking are all stepping up hiring. Key issues covered were:

  1. What makes a resume stand out?
  2. How can CFA Charter holders distinguish themselves from other job applicants?
  3. Common mistakes?
  4. Current trends in the hiring process?
  5. Why should you keep your resume up to date even if you are not now looking for a job?
  6. What is the proper way to follow up after sending a resume?

The expert advice offered included:

  • Your network is the key to your next job opportunity, with approximately 80% of openings filled via referrals. Becoming active in CFA Chicago is a great way to expand your network.
  • If you are making a career shift, focus on a specific direction and do research. Use informational interviews to understand the new field.
  • Apply for a specific position, as seeking multiple positions within a company shows a lack of focus. Be selective.
  • Use your resume to assess your career progress and update achievements as they occur. Your resume can also aid as a guideline for raises, salary reviews and performance reviews, etc.

Please watch for new career management events this fall. Suggestions for future event topics or speakers can be submitted to Judi Malter, the Career Management Advisory Group chair, at careermgmt@cfachicago.org.