Lots of experience and not sure where to start? Strategy key to competing in today’s job market

Dear Sam: I am a 53 year-old graphic designer, recently laid-off from a printing company for which I had worked many years. The company is experiencing serious financial decline and I do not expect to be called back. I saw the "writing on the wall" and began my job search several months ago. I have applied for a number of jobs which I was very well qualified for, but was not called for interviews. I suspect that my age is an issue in a market that loves young designers. Now I find myself facing two dilemmas which I am unsure how to address to prospective employers: my laid-off status and my age.

What is the appropriate way to address the issue of being laid-off? My résumé will reflect an end to my position and I feel the need to explain this in my letter. I don't want to come off as desperate, and therefore willing to accept a lower salary, and I also don't want employers to assume that I was fired or quit. And with regard to the age issue, I have been advised by others to simply leave dates off the résumé, or to eliminate job listings from early in my career which date me. I do not feel comfortable doing this, and think it only sends a "cover-up" message to an employer.

Sam, what advice can you give on both of these issues? I read your column regularly and appreciate your comments. Any advice would be most welcome. - Patricia

Dear Patricia: I’m sorry to hear that, from looking at your résumé I can see you spent the past 17 years with that employer, so I know this is a strange and unfamiliar territory you are now entering.

You do not need to mention your layoff, but if you are wedded to doing so, place a note in the cover letter and not on the résumé. As you worked for a printing company, the assumption is actually going to be that you were laid off simply due to the migration from print to online. Don’t focus on this; instead focus your efforts on differentiating your candidacy by highlighting the areas in which you have contributed value, driven by your experience, exposure to the industry, and ongoing development in the field.

There are also a multitude of options you can exercise to avoid aging your candidacy. By following these guidelines you are not sending a “cover up” message as you feared, instead presenting the information a hiring manger wants to know without disqualifying yourself along the way. It is not a good idea to omit all dates on your résumé, most of the time this presents a picture worse than reality and presents an unpolished image to the reader. It is a good idea however to omit earlier experiences that do little to add value, and instead serve to detract from your candidacy because they age your experience. Let me cover some general information that will help you position yourself as a competitive player.

Include only the relevant amount of experience: When reviewing your career, remember hiring managers are much more interested in what you have done recently, so including experience back to 1977 (30 years ago) will likely do more harm than good. Be sure to focus on the last 10-15 or so years of your career, particularly if you are applying for a position that does not necessitate more experience. What I would prefer to see on your résumé is the past 17 years of experience much more fully developed. You have zero accomplishments highlighted and instead focus on daily responsibilities. How is it possible the last 17 years of your career can be summarized in less than 100 words? I am certain you provided much more value than what 95 words can communicate. Fully develop this section, making sure you are presenting your accomplishments prominently. A hiring manger wants to hire someone who can add value to their organization, someone who does more than just their job, so communicating you are proven to do just this will go a long way in differentiating your candidacy from a younger competitor.

Don't date your education if it ages you: You received your degree in 1976 which allows the hiring manager to figure out your age, not a good thing when you have already noted you are competing in a market that loves young designers. As a side note, I work with a lot of clients that do not have a degree and make the mistake of placing high school information or partially completed degree programs on their résumé. Typically this information does nothing but detract from someone's candidacy while reinforcing the lack of a degree. If the degree program you pursued but didn't complete enhances your candidacy, meaning that it is in line with your current pursuits and a required qualification for most of the positions to which you are applying, then including the program despite not completing it is likely going to enhance your candidacy. If this is not the case however, omit the education section entirely so as to not focus on this area.

Include training and current skills: Another vitally important component of a résumé for a seasoned professional is a training section. This tells the reader that despite being in the workforce and possibly the same type of position for 20+ years, you have continued to develop yourself professionally. For you, it is imperative you pay particular attention to communicating you have current technical skills. To do this, be sure to note the versions of all the graphics and page layout applications with which you are familiar, as long as they are the most current versions.

Update jargon and outdated job titles: You will also want to make sure the jargon used within your résumé is up-to-date with today's vernacular. Antiquated terms and job titles can serve to immediately age a candidate. Be sure your résumé speaks the language of today's hiring manager, eliminating terms that have become obsolete. Review your job titles to be sure they are not detracting from your candidacy, modifying if necessary. I have worked with clients who list titles such as "Secretary" which is more commonly referred to as "Administrative Assistant" in today’s market.

Communicate your compensation requirements: Another problem for senior professionals is that hiring managers often assume you are going to be seeking higher compensation than less seasoned professionals. If this is not the case you may want to address this in your cover letter to attempt to curtail this thought.

I hope this helps shed some light on what you need to do to present a competitive image to today’s hiring managers. To be effective, a résumé cannot solely be a narrative of your career, instead it has to be created as a strategic marketing tool targeting the desired audience and packaging the product (you!) competitively.

Samantha Nolan is a certified professional résumé writer and owner of Ladybug Design, a full-service résumé writing firm.

Reach Samantha at dearsam@ladybug-design.com, www.ladybug-design.com, or 1-888-9-LADYBUG (1-888-952-3928).

Energize your job search by re-sculpting your résumé

Dear Sam: I read your column and think it is great. I have been struggling with my résumé for a few months and have been out of work for 6 months. I have tried to look at other résumés and somehow use them to form my own; therefore, I have 5 or 6 versions using bits and pieces from each. I feel that I have wasted a lot of time with this and still do not have a "winning résumé.” Can you look at my résumé and tell me what I am doing wrong? – Lea

Dear Lea: The good news is that there are a number of ways you can revamp your résumé. Let me touch on some of the key ways you can increase the effectiveness of your résumé. First, remove your objective statement! Objective statements are so self-serving they do nothing but waste valuable space. Most of the objective statements I read essentially say the same thing, which means they do nothing to differentiate one candidate from another and only serve to tell the hiring manger what the candidate wants, not what the candidate can do for the employer.

Next, you have the beginnings of a qualifications summary, but when reading it I am confused as to what type and level of position you are seeking. Let me tell you what I think when reading the first sentence in your summary: You wrote, “A versatile and skilled professional with 17 years of progressive leadership qualities and excellent hands-on experience in management, executive secretarial and administrative positions. “ My questions would be, “What type of job does she want - management, administrative, or support?” and “If she has 17 years of experience is she going to want to take a support role when she is stating she is a leader?” This opening statement doesn’t define who you are - it only tells what you have done, and does little to tell a hiring manager that you are a perfect fit for the position. Your summary goes on to include so many skills and experiences that I’m left wondering if you know what you want to do at this juncture in your career. Perhaps this is really the problem. Do you know what you are targeting? I fear you have been put in a situation where you haven’t received the interest you wanted from your résumé so you have kept making changes to make it appeal to more and more people. Unfortunately however, making your résumé so broad actually does the opposite. It will make your candidacy appeal to fewer and fewer hiring mangers as the content is diluted and doesn’t speak the language of any one audience. To revamp this section spend some time defining what positions you really want, then craft a summary that markets you well for that type and level of opportunity.

Next, in the professional experience section you have done a good job of exploring your positions, but the formatting, or lack thereof, will cause the reader to be turned off immediately. For example, your most recent position is described in 217 words over 15 lines of text without one single note of an achievement or any formatting to draw the eye to the most important pieces of information. This is sure to lose the reader’s interest as they will have to wade through a significant amount of information in order to get an idea of whether you possess experience transferable into their organization. Instead, present your responsibilities in this paragraph form, and then break formatting and present achievements in bullet points, bolding the result you drove by the actions you took. Doing this lets the reader glance at your résumé and get an idea of where you contributed value to past employers.

The last note I will make regarding your résumé is related to the education section. There is no need to include your high school diploma, it is assumed one has a diploma and including this only focuses the reader’s attention on the fact that you do not have a college degree. Omit the education section entirely unless you have professional development, training, or seminars to highlight.

The key to success in creating an interview-winning résumé is understanding your objective and writing a compelling, targeted marketing piece that promotes you based on what you want to do, not what you have done. I have a feeling that this is what is causing the lack of focus in your résumé, so once you have determined your goal, recreate your résumé with that goal in mind and you will emerge with a much stronger, targeted résumé.

Dear Sam: I am a 29 year old female, mother of one, who has a Master's degree in Athletic Administration (2006). I have been diligently searching for work in athletics but have had no luck! As a former collegiate women's basketball player, my job experience is limited but quite diverse. How can I tailor my résumé to land a job? – Lisa

Dear Lisa: The key to getting your foot in the door is to infuse your résumé with personality, position your related experience up front, and highlight your lifelong commitment and passion for the field. Your current résumé opens with an objective statement that you seem to be tailoring to each position. It essentially says your objective is to work in the position and for the company to which you are applying…isn’t this assumed? By doing this you might lose the interest of the reader and have wasted two lines on your résumé, valuable space when you consider you should have a one-page résumé at this stage in your career. Instead, why not open your résumé with a summary stating you are a, “Master of Science in Physical Education graduate with two years of hands-on experience in athletics administration with Central State University.” You could then go on to highlight key aspects of your time in athletics administration with the university. Then you could introduce you were a, “Two-year Mid-American Conference Champion who demonstrated teamwork, commitment, and passion for athletics as a women’s basketball team member for ABC University and XYZ University.” Pique the reader’s interest through the qualifications summary and use it to present what you have done that most relates to your current objective. Doing this will minimize the impact of having been out of the field since mid-2006. Lastly, you could have a lot of fun with the formatting of your résumé, in your field you are allowed to be creative and demonstrate your passion through the design of your résumé, possibly even incorporating stylish imagery (not clip art!). Take a look at some of the samples on my website for ideas of how to format résumés, or look at any recently written résumé book for ideas to spark your creativity. You have the skills and education, and once you present is correctly, you’ll get your foot in the door.

Presenting a new you, positioning yourself for a career change

Dear Sam: I have been in the computer service business for 30 years and I want to make a major career change. I just completed a dog training course and would like to train dogs or work in or run a kennel. My question is, how do I compose a résumé that states my current job desires while still reflecting my many years of computer service. One issue is that employers look at the salary differences between my previous positions and what they can pay for a current trainer, and immediately reject my application, thinking I am not serious about the career change. Any advice will be appreciated. – Stu

Dear Stu: To develop an effective career change résumé you first have to understand the qualifications sought for such positions. Once you have a good idea of the desired skill set for dog trainers or kennel managers, look at your experience and identify where you possess transferable skills. For example, to manage a kennel I imagine you would need strong operations management, customer relations, workflow coordination, and communication skills, just to name a few. Knowing this, you would then look at your computer services experience and identify what you have done and what skills you have developed that fulfill these requirements. You would then highlight these aspects more prominently than other less related experiences or skills, hence positioning you effectively to market yourself for the types of jobs you want, not the types of jobs you have held. In addition, you would highlight your recent training and go into detail about the areas of study within the course.

As far as the salary issue, unless specifically requested, never present anything related to your salary history. In fact, when asked for a salary history you may want to provide a salary requirement instead, a strategy you can use to still provide the general information the hiring manager is seeking, without immediately disqualifying your candidacy based on a past trend in compensation. Additionally, unless you have worked in the same position with the same employer for 30 years, there is no need to present all of your experience. I’ve never read a job posting that asks for 30 years of experience, so typically by presenting this amount of experience you detract from your candidacy by seeming overqualified and potentially too expensive. To curtail these assumptions, present about 10-15 years of experience, focus on your accomplishments versus daily responsibilities, and really sell the value you contributed during your career.

Highlighting transferable skills is really the key to a career change résumé, and for you, minimizing the impact of having 30 years of experience through strategic inclusion / omission and a focus on achievements. Lastly, I’d suggest you develop a creative format for your résumé (include imagery related to the field and an engaging design), one that is immediately recognizable as a résumé for a dog trainer / kennel manager. Doing so will reinforce your passion for the field and the fact you are indeed very serious about taking your career in this direction.

Dear Sam: My work experience in advertising / marketing communications is very strong but it's been scattered between employers - actually 7 employers since 1994. Of those jobs, I only left one because I wanted to, all the other jobs were lost to restructures and downsizing. I know I can drop off any employer past 10 years ago, but, if I do that, I risk not showing very important skills. What would be the best way to showcase my skill set and talents while minimizing the potential impact of too many employers? – Angela

Dear Angela: Think about including an “Additional experience” note on your résumé, placed within the professional experience section, which simply presents the employers / titles of note from 10+ years ago. Then, present the achievements / skills you developed in these roles. You can chose to present this in two different ways. You can develop a “Career Highlights” section preceding your professional experience, including only your most notable achievements and experiences, creating what we call a combination résumé. By doing this you don’t have to include the more mundane aspects of each earlier position, but still create a reference for the hiring manager as to where the experience occurred. Alternatively, you can note the highlights directly underneath the titles you are including from that time, a simpler strategy that can be just as effective when you don’t want to necessarily pull out all your highlights into their own section. As you are presenting these experiences in a different manner, you can also use this as a reason to break formatting, meaning you don’t have to present dates for these position if you don’t want to. You’ll have dates for your more recent experiences listed, but when it comes to experiences that could potentially date you, it might be best to treat them in this manner so the aspects you want to highlight don’t immediately lose credibility due to when they occurred.

Dear Sam: I read your column this past weekend. I was very impressed with the résumé that was printed in the paper and wanted to transform mine into that format. I was using Word 2003 and had some difficulty putting it into that format. Do you have any advice on how to format my résumé to look similar to the one printed in the paper? – Bradley

Dear Bradley: I’m glad the example showed you how important formatting and aesthetics can be in engaging a reader, igniting their interest to read your résumé. A great résumé starts with great targeted content, but I am a firm believer that the design of a résumé plays possibly an even more important role in piquing a reader’s interest and getting them to spend time reviewing your candidacy.

The format you are referring to is very simple to create. To reference this format again, just take a look at my post from 11/25. The resume uses a Garamond font for a sophisticated and easy-to-read look. The section headings are created by inserting a 3-column table, hiding borders, and inserting a horizontal line in the far left and far right columns. If you look at your ‘Borders’ menu you will see this option. The company names are presented in small caps, followed by a fully justified paragraph presenting daily responsibilities, and a key initiatives statement that is simply bordered with a line above and below. Highlights of the position are presented in a 2-column format with functional subheadings on the left and key notes on the right. To do this, insert a 2-column table, make the left column much thinner than the right, and hide borders. You’ll see on your formatting menu you can insert a line between the columns, this will create the visual separation of the two pieces of information. Next, present highlights in bullet points in the right column, pressing tab when you want to add a new functional subheading in the left column. If you press enter after a bullet point your cursor will stay in the right column and you will be able to keep entering highlights under the same functional subheading. I hope this helps!