Mary Worland Napier, NES Principal/Founder

June 2024

Updating your resume: Make it an annual activity

In higher education, we often are focused on others first, then pay attention to our own needs as an afterthought. Given the shifting sands of higher education and the changing responsibilities many professionals encounter within a year, NES suggests that as an enrollment professional, you should annually update your resume. Doing so gives you room to capture the nuances of growth from year to year.

While reviewing your resume, we suggest some of the following tips to enhance this important document.

1. View your resume as a narrative of your success. Record markers that display more than your responsibilities and lean into what you have accomplished and how you have reached your goals.
2. Ensure that your reporting line is specified, your place on the leadership team is noted, and your role in hiring and managing others is reflected.
3. When you can quantify data to show results, do so. Additionally, when you have expertise with systems and/or vendor partners, include that information in your narrative.
4. Think about ways that you richly collaborate with others. If those partnerships are external to campus, cite them. If they are internal collaborations, indicate who are your partners and add notes about your successful accomplishments as a team in a way that your contribution is clear.
5. Be sure and include strategic initiatives that you have taken on.
6. Use your resume (and accomplishments) this year to spur on further professional growth in the future. By looking at ads for positions to which you aspire, you can compare your body of work to what institutions have defined as ideal. Extend yourself by working with a new population of students, adding partnerships on campus, or reaching for more budget management.

By taking time to chronicle your journey and success, you actually provide yourself with an important road map to next steps.