Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Recently, I spoke to an individual who wanted to use her resume for a position as an office manager, legal assistant, customer service rep and retail associate.
She had all the skills and experience required for each of the above positions, so that wasn’t the problem. However, to submit the same resume to hiring managers in different industries is inviting failure.
Why?
First – an applicant who is applying for everything looks scattered – the proverbial ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’. Secondly, a hiring manager will wonder about an individual who’s had so many career changes. Does the applicant get bored easily and move on with little notice? Is the candidate incapable of holding a job for very long?
Whenever you’re applying for a position, it’s best to stay on point with that industry’s requirements and leave all the other data for other industries. It’s never wise to use a ‘one size resume fits all industries’. Resumes need to be tailored and targeted for each field – preferably for each job opening.
If you’re going after a legal assistant’s job, why would the firm’s hiring manager care if you’re great in the retail trade? Although your people skills there and in a customer service position might serve you well in the legal arena, it still dilutes your impact if you’re talking about another industry.
Even worse is if your resume makes you look desperate. Trying to write a resume to fit more than one, perhaps multiple industries is simply stating: “I’ll take anything. Anything – please.”
That’s not the image you want to portray. Your resume needs to show that you are the single best candidate for the position in a field overloaded with other equally, qualified applicants. It needs to show your commitment to the position, the field, the employer and the industry. You can’t do that if you’re targeting several in the same document.
It needs to convey to the employer that you are interested in their opening and that you will do well at it.
Only a targeted and well-tailored resume will be able to do that.
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
Although this may seem like a simple question with an equally simple answer – my objective, work experience and academic history – it’s not really. It’s also the incorrect way to look at a resume.
What you want on your resume doesn’t matter at all. What the hiring manager or recruiter expects or hopes to see on the document is all that counts.
An effective, interview-generating resume will have the following attributes:
1. An opening summary with an overview of your skills that proves you’re the best candidate for the position. To support this statement, you should include one, preferably two, recent/relevant/quantified accomplishments. What you want from the job/company isn’t important. How you can fulfill the employer’s needs is paramount.
2. Quantified accomplishments. Note: not daily duties, but the results of those duties. Coming to work on time isn’t an accomplishment. It’s expected. Saving your company money or making it money – that’s an achievement. Employers are particularly drawn to accomplishment-oriented individuals. Past performance is generally predictive of future performance.
3. Work history that is tailored to the job you’re targeting. If you taught history but are now in accounting and you load your resume down with the tasks you did while teaching, you won’t be getting an interview. Stay on point. Provide only those tasks that are accounting related. The rest isn’t important to the employer and should be excluded from your resume.
4. Academic history that supports your ability to do the job. Again, if you have a PhD in history but are targeting a new field – accounting – list only the degree you have in it. A PhD in history won’t impress someone who’s looking for an accountant. It could very well confuse hiring managers and make them pass you over for an interview.
5. A business oriented focus. That means, no listing of hobbies, at home activities, likes or dislikes. Hiring managers don’t care if you love baking, walking your dog, gardening, going to Boy Scouts with your kids or anything else that’s personal. They want to know if you can do the job. Leave the personal details to the interview or after you’ve received an offer.
Remember: What you want to see on your resume isn’t as important as what an employer hopes to see. Your audience is the person who can grant you an interview and make you an offer. To succeed, keep their preferences in mind.
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
That’s an important question to ask yourself. Are your skills adaptable not only to a new industry, if your current one is tanking or being outsourced, but to different departments at your current company?
A few years ago, most of us were tasked with narrow responsibilities, making us experts in our field. However, in the new economy, employers want their staff members to be able to do many jobs, some of which you may protest are beyond your position description.
If you feel that way, you better adapt and fast. Many workers are now expected to take on the duties of two or more employees, across various departments. Although this seems like a lot of work, it also has an advantage. The more you know about the operation and the more you contribute to its growth and success, the less expendable you are.
For example, if you’re a customer service rep used to answering phones and resolving client complaints, you may find yourself out of a job one day if your company decides to move the call center overseas. However, if you’re also selling your company’s product when you’re not dealing with client issues that makes you more valuable to your employer. If you brainstorm with your manager about new products or improvement to products, you’re adding even more depth to your position. Even if your department is outsourced, you could easily move into sales or product development.
Being able to wear many hats should also be presented on your resume. In your opening summary you want to come off as the perfect candidate. Today, that’s someone who not only does his job but can fill in for vacationing co-workers in another department.
The more you can do, the more likely it is that you’ll be retained and even promoted.
Adapt your skills to what your employer needs most. Be versatile. And by all means, showcase the breath of your expertise in your resume.
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
Even if you’re currently employed and enjoy your position, you should think about updating your resume on a regular basis.
Why?
There are numerous reasons:
1. To use it as a reminder to yourself of what you’ve accomplished. If you let years go by without recording how you made your company money or saved it money, it’s unlikely that every significant accomplishment will be easy to pull from memory when you do need to look for a new position.
2. To remind management of your achievements during your annual reviews. By presenting your immediate supervisor with your updated resume that details all you’ve done for your division or office that year, you’ll be in a better position to get the raise you believe you deserve.
3. To employ it as a gauge for your career progression. If after several months you have absolutely nothing to add to your resume in terms of accomplishments or new projects/tasks, perhaps you’re stagnating at your job. That could mean trouble, especially if your company is downsizing. If you’re part of the deadwood, you may be one of the first to go.
4. To be prepared for the unthinkable: your company closing without notice because of an owner’s decision not to keep the place afloat or the company being bought by a competitor who will replace you and others with individuals from his firm.
In life and in this economy, anything can happen. It’s always best to be prepared with an effective resume to use in-house, for applying to new jobs or to assure yourself that you are doing the best you can at your current position.
