The days of employees staying with the same company from the beginning of their career through their retirement are over. At Allovus, we cannot stress enough the importance of being ready to jump into the next contract, full-time position or project.

It is so unfortunate to watch a talented creative go into full-on panic mode when they suddenly find themselves in the position of looking for work. Therefore, having an updated resume, LinkedIn profile, and portfolio is absolutely crucial.

Here are some things you can do to keep on top of things, leaving you as cool as a cucumber when it’s time to find work. (And hopefully, excited to start something new!)

Update your LinkedIn profile

1. Read your bio description toward the top of your profile. Is it outdated? Are there typos or grammatical errors? Next, read it out loud. Is it too long? Too short? Remember, your bio should be like the blurb on the back of a book. It should be a “hook” that makes the reader want to know more. Don’t make it so long and technical that the reader loses the meaning of the words by the time they reach the end of the description–if they even get that far. Try to inject a little of your personality, so people have a sense of who you are in addition to your qualifications.
2. Next, make sure you have your most current job title and a description of what you do under the “Experiences” section.
3. Update your “Endorsements” section. Ask the people you work with to write a paragraph about your qualifications and why they like working with you. In return, you can do the same for them.

Update your resume

1. Make sure your resume reflects any new experience you’ve gained in your current position.
2. Double check to see if your references are current and viable.
3. Even if you’ve checked before, scan for errors and typos.

Online portfolio

1. This goes without saying, but update your portfolio. The tricky thing, though, is making sure that it’s okay to post new work. It may be under NDA, so be very careful what you show online. When in doubt, talk to your manager to ensure that you’re not breaking your contract and harming the company by showing work that isn’t public yet.
2. Show your design thinking! Clients love to see your thinking process and how you arrived at the beautiful finished product. Give visual examples and a brief description of each step.
3. When in doubt, have one of our recruiters review your work and ask them to give you feedback.

We recommend that you update what you can on an ongoing basis. Once your current contract ends, you’ll be ready for the next one! And the faster you’re ready, the faster we can send you out for interviews.