For most individuals, the work they do for their employer is not just a job, but a career. The majority of white-collar jobs are filled by individuals who desire to build a successful career within their field. This takes significant time and investment on behalf of the career builders.
Most career seekers will find that career advancement requires gaining valuable new skills. In this article, we dive into the latest career advancement trend: upskilling.
Those who are motivated to advance within their current career (or different career path) understand that it is not an easy process. It often requires more than just time and motivation, course certifications and degrees are often required for some career advancements. Once you have achieved these skills, it is important that you do what is needed to put them to work for your resume.
Fortunately, the resume-writing professionals at Capstone are experts in assisting individuals looking to advance their careers and showcase their recently acquired skills. Here are our professional resume writing tips when it comes to advancing your career and upskilling.
First, What Is Upskilling?
This term is one of the latest new career trends. Upskilling describes the continuous development of skills and education throughout your professional career. Often, upskilling takes the form of workplace training programs and continuing education, though it can also be completed on your own. It focuses on improving and expanding your specific skill set to increase your capabilities and career opportunities.
Upskilling benefits employees and employers alike. By taking advantage of upskilling opportunities, employees can improve their skill set, become eligible for higher pay, and be more satisfied in their work. For employers, training and increasing the skills of employees expands their organization’s capabilities without having to hire someone new.
Examples of upskilling include:
- Workplace training programs
- Professional development
- Bootcamp courses that focus on specific technological skills
- College courses
- Online or virtual programs
- Certification programs
- Volunteering
- Mentoring
- Job shadowing
- Learning from professionals within your network
Each of these various examples can have a significant impact on your career options and should be considered important if you are looking to build a better career.
Why Is Upskilling Important to Career Advancements?
Upskilling is important for professionals seeking to advance their positions, understand new technology, find a different job, switch careers, or become better qualified for their current responsibilities.
For example, someone may seek continuing education if they wish to switch to another section of their industry, or an employer might provide a training program for a newly promoted employee that covers their new duties.
With the current state of the job market, our professional resume writers cannot stress enough how upskilling is crucial for applicants looking to stand out. Most industries are significantly impacted by the skills gap, the difference between the average candidate’s qualifications, and what employers seek.
Executive resumes, technical resumes, and board resumes are all great examples of current career fields that could benefit from more applicants with upskilling on their resumes. These highly competitive positions need individuals who have an array of skills and accreditations.
With a certified resume writer’s help, these upskilling efforts can easily be translated to help your resume stand out. Training programs, educational courses, volunteer experience, and other forms of upskilling can bridge the skills gap on your resume, CV, and cover letter.
Upskilling is also critical for keeping yourself relevant in your field. Amid layoffs and industry shifts, some positions deemed redundant are being filled less, such as administrative and finance-related jobs. While it’s a worst-case scenario that most people don’t want to consider, almost anyone is at risk of getting laid off and being unable to find employers hiring for their position. Upskilling and gaining new experiences will keep you ahead of the curve so if something ever happens to your position, you’ll be able to find another area of your industry to explore.
If you were recently affected by the massive technology layoffs, be sure to check out the following resources:
- How to Align Yourself for Job Opportunities in the 2023 Technology Market
- Navigating the Current Technology Job Market as a Technology Leader, Engineer, or Developer
- 5 Secrets to a Standout Technical Resume
How Can Upskilling Be Applied To My Resume?
By now you understand how important upskilling is to your resume, so how do you make sure to include it in the right way? Here are some of our top tips for applying upskilling to a resume.
Include relevant experience: Be sure that you include all your newly gained relevant skills and experiences on your resume. It will help you stand out to employers, the ATS system, and hiring managers. Even if the skills you’ve gained don’t meet exactly what the employer is looking for, they will demonstrate that you have both the ability and desire to gain new skills and experiences.
Use a keyword strategy: When including upskilling on your resume, be strategic with your word choices. Some employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS systems) that focus on individual keywords and semantics to determine the best candidates automatically. Knowing what specific words, phrases, and qualifications employers seek will help you stay ahead of the rest of the talent pool and take advantage of applicant-tracking algorithms.
Research recommended qualifications: Research what qualifications employers in your field are looking for, such as specific training and experiences. In doing so, you should quickly identify what to highlight within your resume. For example, if you’re an accountant and most employers require experience using Microsoft Excel, mention any training on spreadsheet software and include Excel in the job description of any positions you’ve used it for — even if usage was infrequent.
Almost every industry is changing in some way, which impacts what positions are open and what specific qualifications employers are looking for. Because of this, you should recheck what employers in your field are looking for monthly, weekly, or even daily. In doing so, you will stand out from the competition and demonstrate that you are up to date with industry changes.
Trust the Upskilling Professionals at the Award Winning Resume Writing Service Team
Constantly rechecking employers’ needs and industry shifts can get tedious, especially if you’re already employed full-time or applying for multiple jobs. Fortunately, experienced resume writers like those at Capstone Resume Services stay up to date with the changes in different industries and know how to reflect this on your resume in a way that’s attractive to employers. Capstone has emerged as a leader in the professional resume writing industry, being recognized with the 2023 Best Resume Writing Service Award.
Capstone Resume Services’ writers work with you one-on-one to comprehensively understand your goals, qualifications, training, and achievements so they can leverage these in your applications strategically. Additionally, speaking with a Capstone expert who understands the current needs of your industry will help you identify holes within your resume, such as missing skills that employers are looking for.
With this information, you should be able to seek out upskilling and training opportunities for your resume that employers won’t be able to ignore. Request a free resume consultation from Capstone Resume Services to learn how to highlight and expand your specific upskilling experiences to meet your career goals.
