Are you prepared for that job opportunity? Most people aren’t.

If a great job opportunity suddenly presented itself, would you be ready to take advantage of it? Most people aren’t.

If a great job opportunity suddenly presented itself, would you be ready to take advantage of it? Most people aren’t.

We all know that when we are applying for a job, our resume is one of the most important elements. So we drag out our last resume, which was updated when we applied for our current job — who knows how many years ago? Then we struggle to think of what we’ve been doing since then and get it down on paper. We haven’t kept track of our accomplishments, so we end up listing the processes we handle. For prospective new employers, this is boring and unlikely to help our cause.

Senior managers and executives don’t do this. They update their resumes regularly, usually at least twice a year. They keep track of what’s happening in their companies and the impact they have had on successes. So they structure their resumes to showcase their talents and achievements, rather than a boring recitation of functions.

You can do this too. Take some time now, whether you’re on the job hunt or not, to list your on-the-job accomplishments over the past year, and create an up-to-date resume. File it away carefully, and make a diary note to update it in six months. If an unexpected job opportunity comes up, you’ll be one major step ahead in preparing your application.