Spring Makeover Series – Focus on transferable skills to land interviews of choice

View Cover Letter
View Resume


Background

Alex’s objective was to secure a highly coveted pharmaceutical sales rep position. His main concern, and one brought up in previous interviews, was that he lacked the business-to-business (B2B) sales experience required. Alex had however been engaged in B2B transactions throughout his career, but they were not highlighted prominently, instead there was a clear B2C focus to his original résumé. Alex also wanted to showcase the transferability of his career in the fitness industry to support his strong medical and health knowledge.

Résumé Strategies

Alex’s original résumé was not strong enough in content or presentation, so both areas were addressed in the development of his new résumé. Instead of an objective statement, I opened the résumé with an extensive qualifications summary highlighting his related experiences and education. Beginning the qualifications summary is a brief highlighted list of key qualifiers, a highly effective approach when a candidate needs to focus the hiring manger’s attention on the aspects of their background that qualify them for a particular engagement. Next, Alex’s professional experience section was expanded significantly based on information we reviewed during his consultation. His primary B2B experience was expanded from only 4 bullet points on his original résumé, to a full paragraph and 7 bulleted achievements on his new version. The formatting of this section pulls the hiring manager’s eye to the most important information. Page two of Alex’s résumé continued to explore his experiences, highlighting B2B interactions whenever possible. I also highlighted his preceptorship prominently along with a personal training certification. Lastly, Alex’s education was presented with a complete list of all science and medical coursework he completed.

Cover Letter Strategies

I opened Alex’s cover letter noting his key qualifications for his position of interest. The first paragraph was used to capture the recipient’s attention and make them want to read more. To do this well, I first had to clearly understand Alex’s key qualifications, his position of interest, and the intended audience. The center section of Alex’s cover letter explores his experiences, successes, and the skills that fueled his performance. I used bullet points to focus the hiring manager’s attention on the most important pieces of information, which also helps break up a “heavy” looking one-page letter. To close, I used an action-oriented statement, rather than take a passive approach and wait for a hiring manager to call Alex. Of course, if the advertisement says no calls, then you need to follow that advice, but most of the time a follow-up call is the appropriate strategy to reiterate your interest.

Makeover Results

Alex received a phone interview in week 1 of his search, followed by a face-to-face in week 2, followed by the job offer in week 3 of his search. He now enjoys his new position as a pharmaceutical sales rep with a leading drug manufacturer.

Keys to Success

Alex had the experience to highlight; he just wasn’t sure how he could do that, what rules to follow, and how to speak the language of his target market. Through due diligence, exploration of past accomplishments, and a clear understanding of effective keywords and strategies, his résumé was revamped into a tool that brought attention to the related aspects of his candidacy.

Entrepreneur to employee: strategy important

Dear Sam: I am an avid reader of your column and need your advice in handling a sticky situation. I am trying to reenter the workforce after having managed my own business for several years. I closed my business while going through a divorce about eight years ago. I went back to school to complete my degree and reinvent myself so to speak. After earning my degree in 2005, I thought it would be a breeze to find a great full-time career position. After all, I had years of experience. I found that prospective employers were not impressed by the fact that I ran my own business. My years of experience as an entrepreneur seem to work against me. Is there a way to present this experience so that it reflects positively? I worked in public relations for over six years before returning to college to complete my degree. Should I list my educational experience at the top of my résumé or towards the bottom? Thanks – PG

Dear PG: You are correct in thinking that entrepreneurs often “scare” potential employers. If you think about it from a hiring manager’s perspective, an entrepreneur has made his/her hours, not worked with a supervisor, and had flexibility to choose what he/she wanted to do. Because of this, a hiring manager may question how well someone coming from this background may perform in a traditional employer-employee role. Would they be able to fit in with an 8-5 schedule, answer to a supervisor, and accept “orders” from others? While these can be unfortunate assumptions and typically disqualify the candidate, they are probably some of reasons for the resistance you are experiencing.

To market the transferability of your experiences both as an entrepreneur and during your previous tenure in public relations, I’d suggest using a combination résumé format. To do this, open your résumé with a qualifications summary, then present a “Select Career Highlights” section. In this section, present the most stellar of your experiences and accomplishments under functional subheadings. Choose subheadings that will attract the reader – words and phrases you have identified as keywords that best relate to your current job search. Depending on the strength of your entrepreneurial engagement and your early public relations experience, your highlights section could potentially take you to the end of page one of your résumé. Follow this with your “Professional Experience” section which will present the chronology of your career, again, paying close attention to marketing your transferable skills. If this does not appear until page two, this will help minimize the appearance of your absence from the workforce and the impact of having been your own boss for the past few years.

You’ll also want to be cautious in how you present your title from your own business. I typically avoid listing titles such as CEO, Owner, Founder or other lofty titles that could give someone the wrong impression as to the level of employment you are seeking. For you, if you are seeking work back in the PR field, maybe you can list your title as Marketing / PR Manager, but in the description of the position, be sure to note you launched and operated the business so not to present a misleading image.

As to your question on where to list your education, I’d go ahead and list that at the end of your résumé, but make mention of your degree in the qualifications summary at the top of your résumé to make sure it serves you well during the screening process. At this juncture in your career, your experience will really be your key qualifier, so placing your education section near the top of your résumé would only present a disconnect as to what best qualifies you for the roles you are seeking.

Dear Sam: Can you offer some advice for dealing with what I call "résumé dumps?” By that I mean large web sites, independent or company-specific, general or industry-specific, that collect a large number of résumés and post large numbers of jobs. Many of these sites require entry of résumé data through forms, which strip out all formatting and force adherence to a standard. Others parse out an uploaded résumé to achieve the same result. It can be a challenge to put something in that stands out from what has to be a huge number of competing résumés. – John

Dear John: I know as a candidate you want to do everything you can to make your résumé stand out, but sometimes a specific job board or employer will only allow you to send an unformatted plain text résumé. When this is the case, while disappointing, it puts all candidates on a more even playing field, meaning only content can differentiate one from another. This is why a résumé has to be strong in both content and design. Sometimes the design of a résumé will secure some extra attention, other times the content will have to do all the work, like in the cases you are describing. Just remember, everyone is dealing with the same requirements, so your résumé will not look any worse than anyone else’s in terms of formatting. The key of course is to make sure your content is strong enough to make your résumé stand out from the crowd regardless of the lack of formatting.

Dear Sam: I will be graduating with my Master's in Nursing in June. The degree I've completed allows me to sit for a certification exam to work as a certified nurse practitioner. I wish to start my job search and want to include this information, but do not know the "right" way to go about it. Do you have any suggestions? – Nikki

Dear Nikki: Simply note your forthcoming degree, followed with (June 2008) in parentheses. Beneath, note “Certified Nurse Practitioner (Anticipated June 2008).” Those in your industry will understand you will be sitting for the certification upon completion of your degree, and this formatting will highlight your upcoming credentials without painting a misleading picture. Congratulations!

Dear Sam: I read your column about how to include a response to the salary requirement request, but I wondered how I respond to a salary history request. I’ve been told to just include a separate page with my résumé simply stating my salary with each employer. Another person mentioned I could avoid creating a salary history by addressing a salary requirement in my cover letter? What do you suggest? – Confused

Dear Confused: Some candidates do try to avoid the question by including a note in their cover letter that they are willing to discuss salary history and requirements in person once a mutual interest has been established. If you chose this option you should know that you could be eliminated immediately as you didn't provide the information requested.

I typically place the salary history on the résumé itself. Some suggest including a separate piece of paper but my theory is that it is best to try and sell yourself before your salary history is reviewed. If your salary history is on a separate piece of paper, it could be looked at first, and be the sole factor used in disqualifying you. If your salaries are spread throughout your résumé (beneath or beside your titles) the screener is sure to glean some of your “value” before they see what you were paid…leaving more “food for thought” before making a decision.

To include your salary history you would just add it to your résumé beneath or beside your titles, listing your “Starting” and “Ending/Current Salary”. Be sure to indicate if your salary included bonuses, commissions, etc. so the hiring manager has a clear picture of your total compensation package.

Story of the search – Spring makeover series helps readers spruce up résumés

View New Resume

Background

Amy came to me with one goal in mind - to secure her dream job as a therapist at the nation’s leading provider of care for women battling eating disorders. Amy, a recent grad with a Master’s of Clinical Pastoral Counseling, operated an equine therapy nonprofit, and most importantly, had an absolute passion for using an integrative approach to counseling to foster personal growth and healing.

Strategy

As Amy did not possess all the requirements for a therapist role with this facility, I knew I needed to be very creative in the design of her résumé in addition to developing highly targeted content. When speaking with Amy I started mapping her transferable skills gained through leadership of her therapeutic riding program, spoke more with her about her spirituality (as she was applying to a Christian-based program), and her personal passion for the field. In our talk I learned Amy herself had battled and overcome an eating disorder, part of what fueled her resolve to serve in this role. By understanding what qualifiers she had and performing research on the program to which she was applying, I set out to create a résumé that set her apart from the hundreds of others who also wanted to get their foot in the door of this renowned facility.

Design

The design of a résumé is critical in attracting or repelling the reader. With strong content and an appropriate design, a résumé will yield extra time in front of the reader, vital when the screening process is only 7 seconds long. To lengthen the time Amy’s résumé spent in front of the reader, I created a unique design that spoke the language of her target market while reinforcing her personality and passion. I chose to use soft colors, uplifting images of women and girls, and a very unique format to make every effort to really get her noticed.

Result

So, did it work? Yes! Amy was called for an interview and is currently awaiting a position to open – her foot is in the door! Amy emailed after receiving her project, stating, “I love the work you've done, it looks awesome!” We worked together to make sure her résumé was printed properly, sending her files to Kinko’s to print on 11x13 paper so we could trim to letter size and get the full effect of the design. She emailed her new documents to the program and followed up with a nice hard copy sent in a paper pocket folder. She was thrilled that she landed an interview for her dream job. I was thrilled I had the chance to help someone take a step toward their dreams

Make the Right Choices to Get Noticed

Dear Sam: I need help handling an unusual dilemma. I returned to college to finish a HR degree in an attempt to position myself for a career change. In the interim, I accepted a "stepping stone" position as an HR Assistant. I have been hired, completed paperwork, and had an informal orientation, but I still have to attend a formal orientation before I officially start. The HR Manager left the company the day before my orientation was scheduled. Since then, I have been scheduled and rescheduled to complete this orientation. I feel I should send out résumés again as I am yet to be impressed with my new employer. Can I put this company on my résumé and list the job duties I was hired to perform? I have essentially done all of these job functions during my career, but I didn't hold the HR title. I'm considering not even starting this job with all the chaos I have witnessed so far. - Fran

Dear Fran: It sounds like you are the victim in this situation. It is possible the company has every intention to follow through on their commitment, but is possibly struggling to regroup after the HR Manager's sudden departure. They may also feel bringing on an assistant, when they have no one for you to assist, might be putting the cart before the horse. I wouldn't count them out just yet; who knows, you could receive a rapid promotion to the manager position. I think it would be prudent to start sending out résumés again, as in the event your new position doesn't come to fruition you won't have wasted valuable time. I would absolutely not list this position on your résumé before you have officially started; doing so would be seen as misleading. You should instead orient your résumé so it highlights your HR experiences first, followed by your professional experience section, minimizing your non-HR titles.

Dear Sam: I desperately need some guidance. My husband worked for a telecommunications company for 25+ years. Since his company closed, he has been working part-time in a college communications department. He would like to stay in his field, but that seems to be difficult since that industry took such a hit. Money is very negotiable; he just wants to work! Is there anything we can do to make him more "appealing" on his résumé? I did not know where else to go, thank you for any advice you can give. - Cindy

Dear Cindy: I like how your husband's résumé begins with a summary section, but I'd like to see less focus on the amount of experience he has and more attention paid to what value he can offer an employer. It could be by starting with "27 years' experience…" he is immediately being seen as overqualified and too expensive. Instead, translate what value his experience can offer an employer. For example, he would have a proven record working with all types and sizes of clients, has had to remain flexible to industry changes, and has clearly performed well or he wouldn't have been employed with the same company for 20 years. Additionally, he has 71 words describing 20 years of experience! How could that possibly summarize all the value he provided in that 20 years? Also, where are his accomplishments? I only see bullet points that reiterate his job description; there is nothing about when/where he went above and beyond. If he held the same title during his position listed as 1979-1999 then you can't really hide that, but if he was promoted let's say in the 1980's, then I'd just list the title(s) he has held since then. This would prevent unnecessarily aging his candidacy; with the current résumé the dates in the 1970's immediately age him. Moreover as there is no date on his degree, some will assume this was received even further back than the beginning of what is shown on his résumé, so be sure it has been omitted for a reason.

Dear Sam: I'm not exactly sure what I want to do in my career and I'm having a difficult time figuring out what to include on my résumé. I have a background in sales, customer service, and management, but I'm now open to many opportunities. How do I handle this on my résumé? - Jo

Dear Jo: A common mistake many job seekers make is trying to create a one-size-fits-all résumé. While in today's highly competitive market job seekers have to keep their options open, it is imperative to present a targeted résumé to each hiring manager. This doesn't mean you have to write a completely different résumé for each job you apply to, but it does mean you need to tailor your résumé to be sure it presents your most related skills for each type of opportunity you are pursuing. Trying to develop a résumé that suits every opportunity when you have diverse goals is a very ineffective strategy. Doing so will only present diluted content to any given hiring manager, and when competing with other skilled candidates, will likely not secure interviews. Instead, assess your goals, identify your related skills, and tailor your résumé to suit the requirements of each type of position. Only then will your résumé produce the results you want.

Dear Sam: During my career I have made it a point to volunteer for several advocacy groups in order to give back to my community. Should this information be included on my résumé? - Ken

Dear Ken: If your volunteer work supports or enhances your candidacy then by all means include it on your résumé. If not however, then in order to maintain the professional tone and focus of the document, this information should be strategically omitted. If you have a career within the nonprofit arena, then your commitment to community activism would reinforce your passion for what you do, thereby enhancing your candidacy. The key is to evaluate each opportunity and decide whether your volunteer work enhances your professional candidacy.

Dear Sam: I am applying for jobs in cities other than Oklahoma City. What is the best way to approach the address line? In the cities I would like to relocate to, I have friends who are willing to lend their address to me. Should I use the local address, or include both? In my cover letter should I state why I am looking to relocate? What sort of information should include? I do not necessarily need them to foot the relocation expense, is this something I should include? Thanks! - RC

Dear RC: First let me say that you should never mislead a hiring manager. Doing so will only lead to your candidacy being devalued, and the hiring manager feeling like they have been misled. In order to avoid either of these things occurring, I always tell clients to use both a local and "upcoming" address when at all possible. This prevents you from looking like a long distance recruit and also avoids a misconception that you may be sending résumés to every city in the country saying you are relocating to each! I often place the address to the end of the résumé when this is the case, just to make sure focus is paid to your candidacy instead of your geographic location. If you are not seeking relocation expenses then you should definitely mention this in your cover letter. The problem most long distance recruits find is that their job searches are difficult because hiring managers fear they are going to expensive and timely to recruit. If you can avoid any of these thoughts by stating you are going to be in the city during a certain time period, have a firm relocation date, and/or are not seeking any funds for the move, this will improve your candidacy and competitiveness against local candidates.