Five Reasons to Keep Your CV Up to Date

You have so many things to do that are a lot more interesting than updating your CV. So, why should you regularly take time to keep your CV up to date? There are more good reasons than you probably realize.

Your CV as a Record of Your Accomplishments

If you are happy with your work, you probably have had your CV filed away for months or years. However, the longer your CV has been filed away, the more you are likely to have accomplished at your job, and the more likely you are to forget or minimize the importance of some of your accomplishments. Those lesser accomplishments are the ones that lead to raises and promotions, however. Lesser accomplishment also show that you regularly invested time in learning new skills and in serving as a leader or a team player on major and minor but necessary projects throughout your career. Updating your CV preserves a record of all of those accomplishments and of their significance at the time they were completed.

For example, imagine that there are vacancies and a position becomes available among the finance jobs, but that is not the area in which you currently work. Imagine, however, that you are interested in the position because you once did similar work among the accountancy jobs and enjoyed it. If you have continuously updated your CV, you will have the record you need to tailor your CV to show your experience, contributions, and accomplishments in that area.

Your CV as a Bridge from Your Past to Your Future

You may have worked at a variety of different jobs before beginning an “official” career with a career path. In large companies, it is also possible to work in many different areas doing very different kinds of work requiring very different skill sets. You probably remember some of these work experiences as the most enjoyable of dreams and others as the worst of nightmares. When you find yourself in the midst of another nightmare, or you are simply bored with work that offers no stimulation or challenges, an updated CV can be a guide to another dream job. Review your CV for jobs you enjoyed, and then begin your escape from your latest nightmare by tailoring a version of your CV that highlights the experience and the skills you gained from your dream jobs and your achievements while doing those jobs.

Your CV as a Treasure Trove of Opportunities

You may work in a smaller company that doesn’t have lots of departments where you can learn new skill sets and establish working relationships with people doing different kinds of work. However, that kind of experience can help you if you take a job with a larger company. Having variety at work may also help fend off boredom with your regular job. Your CV can help you seek that kind of experience and opportunity outside of your normal job.

Tailor your CV to highlight the skills you possess in the area you want to pursue. Use this new version of your CV to find independent projects. For example, if you have web design or marketing skills, you could build Web sites or design marketing plans for small businesses. Whatever projects you pursue, make sure to add them to your CV.

Your CV as a Presentation of Your Expertise

One way to demonstrate expertise in your field is to write and publish articles either in professional magazines and journals or in popular, consumer-oriented ones. Editors will want to see proof of your expertise before accepting you as a contributing expert, however. An up-to-date CV is proof of the expertise you have gained on the job and through side projects.

Once you are established as an expert, people may begin to nominate you and your work for awards. They will need a copy of your CV to present to the awards selection committee. An up-to-date CV provides a more thorough and better-organized presentation of your accomplishments than one you prepared hurriedly to meet the application deadline.

Your CV as a Representation of Current Style

If your CV uses an outdated style, some recruiters and employers will not bother to read it, but the style used for a CV is more than just cosmetic. For example, Internet spiders crawl the Web and scan posted CVs for keywords that indicate desired experience, skills, and personality traits. If your CV does not include the keywords sought by employers, recruiters, and job sites, you miss opportunities for interviews, LinkedIn contacts, and repostings of your CV on job search sites.

In addition to updating its style, you should update your CV when:

You receive a promotion.
You successfully complete a significant project.
You add a relevant new skill or qualification.
You want to change your career focus.
You are seeking a raise or promotion.
You are dissatisfied with your job.
You are concerned that your company may layoff employees.
You are concerned that your employer may be dissatisfied with you.
You also do not want outdated or irrelevant information in your CV.

So, keep a record of your full list of work experiences, education, qualifications, and professional skills and strengths as a reference for new versions of your CV targeted toward opportunities you may pursue in the future. However, when it comes to the CV that you currently use, omit any professional skills or strengths that are not relevant to the opportunity you are currently seeking. Also, omit any work history more than 15 years-old if you are not using it to highlight experience and skills relevant to the opportunity you are pursuing.

Whatever your reasons, when you begin to look for a new job or for a project outside of your regular job, Bikroy.comhas the information you need, whether it is lists of jobs in Dhaka or lists of jobs in Bangladesh.