I recently coached a Boomer – 20 years of varied experience, deep industry expertise, substantial management background including P&L and staff oversight. You’d almost never know it! His resume had a long paragraph of text to start (my recruiter eyes knew instantly to look away). He was going after a string of unrelated leads (so his effort was diffused all over the place). He was responding to job postings, rather than tapping his large network of contacts (so he was getting stuck with junior contacts who either didn’t understand or were threatened by his deep experience).
I recently coached a Boomer – 20 years of varied experience, deep industry expertise, substantial management background including P&L and staff oversight. You’d almost never know it! His resume had a long paragraph of text to start (my recruiter eyes knew instantly to look away). He was going after a string of unrelated leads (so his effort was diffused all over the place). He was responding to job postings, rather than tapping his large network of contacts (so he was getting stuck with junior contacts who either didn’t understand or were threatened by his deep experience). Rather than positioning himself at the correct level, he was letting the market call the shots. He needed to rebrand as the experienced executive that he is to get back into the workforce on his terms:
Position yourself with your key qualifications: functional experience, industry expertise, management background, and whatever quantifiable results you have (e.g., # of staff, size of budget, financial results). Put these in short, bulleted format at the top of your resume and online profile. An online profile is key – lots of companies use LinkedIn to search for candidates (I always did as a recruiter) so if you’re not there, you won’t be tapped. Also use your qualification highlights to guide your networking pitch and verbal messaging.
Target your search to match what you want. Identify your target companies and then research them to identify opportunities there. Many of these won’t be posted, so use your deep experience with how companies are organized to identify your target function and therefore your target people. Unless you are looking in HR, don’t go through HR – go directly to the functional area you are targeting. Bottom line: don’t settle for what happens to be advertised. These spots are lower-level, and it is too easy to screen you out.
Use your network. By reaching out you are controlling your brand – no “whatever happened to Jim?” People want to help, but if they don’t know you’re around, they won’t think of you when they have information that could be helpful. Don’t forget: it is up to you to make sure friends and colleagues know your qualifications and interests the way you are positioning yourself now, not what they happen to remember from 10 years ago.
Is Your Job Search Flexible or Just Unfocused?
As a recruiter, I’ve seen lack of flexibility on the recruiting side with employers clinging to every last detail in their ideal spec while perfectly good candidates get overlooked. As a career coach, I see jobseekers prematurely dismissing possible targets waiting for that perfect job. It’s true that you want to be focused in your job search (otherwise you dilute your efforts and come across as scattered and possibly desperate).
5 Questions to Test If Your Resume Is Recruiter-Proof
After recruiting in search and in-house for over ten years, I have read thousands of resumes. Due to sheer volume of resumes received and all the other things that vie for the recruiter’s attention in the hiring process – scheduling, interviewing, networking, reference checks, client debriefs, and more – the resume review process is ruthlessly quick.
How Do You Score On Employers’ Top Five Desired Skills?
Even if you are happily employed, work environments and priorities change. You want to make sure that you are not getting complacent and allowing your skills to rust. The above five skills are always valued, but the standards by which they are measured change over your career. Maybe you got to where you are now because of superior analytical skills and despite below average communication skills, but now you are a manager.
