If you’ve been busy ascending the career ladder, your resume may have lost the true story of your brand and qualifications.

This isn’t a problem, of course, until you‘re looking for a new job. That's when employers won't be able to see the meaning behind your achievements or figure out what you’re really offering.

If your resume doesn't capture your current status, you'll need to give it a fresh look and personality that reflects today’s trends, using these 3 steps as a start:

1 – Clarify your achievements and brand—PAST the point of keywords.

Skills and buzzwords are great when you’re at the early or mid-stage of your career. You can quickly add these to your resume to convey the breadth of your experience.

However, this isn’t so easy once you’ve arrived (at a management or executive level, that is).

This is the point at which your overall brand message needs to bubble up through the individual accomplishments that you’re using on the resume.

Sifting through your successes and what they mean to your next employer is an important step, and one that I’ve covered here in more detail.

2 - Take a look at your resume presentation style.

Chances are good that, if you’ve just piled on your last few jobs, the format is outdated and won’t represent you at the correct level.

I frequently advise executive job hunters is to surf for professional resume samples, not as a copying exercise, but to get a feel for what your competition is offering.

Of course, since your goal is to stand out, you’ll want to avoid just plopping your content into that minimalist Microsoft Word resume template (which isn’t made for executives).

Avoid taking the easy way out—like 90% of all job hunters—especially if your field demands innovation and energy. Instead, build an executive message with a leadership format that reflects your stature.

3 – Keep up with the trends.

Resume formats, practices, and principles change constantly, whether YOU'RE aware of it or not. What worked well for you a few years back (or what your college career center told you) is passé today.

Even what your friends tell you is outdated, unless they have a finger on the pulse of the hiring industry—and they rarely do.

Take the functional resume, for example (please!). A few years back, these were all the rage. Now try it, and you’ll quickly find out that HR is on to you and will reject your application.

You’re better off writing your executive resume to show transferable skills AND job titles now, plus networking to make an impression before the resume is seen.

One of the best ways to see what’s new in executive resume writing is to view global resume award winners. Here, you’ll see some striking differences in layout, font, color, and treatment of special situations.

So, if you find that your resume is lagging behind your career, get it up-to-date, long before that call from a recruiter with a hot opportunity.