By Kathy Keshemberg, NCRW, NCOPE - NCRW Certification Chair
The NCRW Certification Commission works hard to ensure we are providing the most up-to-date information to our members. We are continually looking for new trends or information that can be presented more succinctly. Our goal is to publish updates twice a year in January and July.
Here are some of the topics we revamped in the most recent version:
Hyperlinked Table of Contents: One of the most convenient features we’ve added to this version is a hyperlinked table of contents. Scroll to the topic you want to learn more about and click on it – like magic; you’ll be whisked to that heading within the document.
Professional Summary Makeover: Within Section II: Professional Summary, we revamped the b) Summary content subsection. Previously we advised that a Headline is optional, but current trends point to including a Headline along with optional items such as Branding Statement, Tagline, or Skills line. We also included a descriptor of what information to include within the Summary body and an optional Core Competencies section.
ATS Clarifications: Another section with significant rewrites is Section VIII: Electronic Documents/ATS. The advice we include are best practices, as we’ve been able to ascertain. However, we know that no guidance on this topic is definitive. For example, what does the “S” in ATS stand for – “systems” or “software”? Internet research revealed that both are used, sometimes within the same article. For our Study Guide, we’ve chosen to simply use “ATS.”
Please understand that this section isn’t an in-depth guide on this topic. We’ve included advice that should allow you to prepare an ATS-friendly resume for your clients. Perhaps you have a different understanding of the “rules,” which is certainly up to you.
We needed to develop the best approaches as we understand them – at least for the next six months – to use when reviewing samples or grading exams. If you are pursuing the NCRW certification, please use our advice at least while taking part in our process.
Submit Your Sample! Speaking of pursuing the NCRW, is 2022 the year you will tackle this goal? I encourage you to give it a try! Submit a sample to find out if you are ready to sit for the exam or which areas you need to work on. Our graders will provide you with a lot of advice to improve your writing skills. Our goal is to educate and support resume writers to achieve excellence!
Want to learn more about the NCRW Process & Study Guide? Visit this link.
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Kathy Keshemberg, NCRW, NCOPE, is the NRWA Certification Commission Chair and served on the original NRWA board of directors. For several years, she has been an NCRW grader and collaborated with a team to revamp the NCRW Study Guide. Her company, A Career Advantage, serves job seekers in all industries and at all levels, primarily focusing on mid-management, blue-collar, and entry-level candidates. Find her online at LinkedIn.com/in/kathykeshemberg.
