by Samantha Nolan

The Problem:

Claudia came to me with a one-page résumé void of any explanation of what she did in each of her roles. Her résumé was simply a listing of education, professional experience, and industry involvement. The problem with this however was that Claudia wanted to transition from teaching to counseling, so a listing of the teaching positions she held was not going to sell the transferability of her experiences.

The Solution:

1 – Understand the objective

In order to position Claudia, or any candidate for that matter, for a career change, I had to first understand where she wanted to take her career. Having recently returned to school to complete a counseling certification, Claudia had already taken steps to look more qualified on paper. With the related education my challenge was to dig deep and identify her transferable experiences.

2 – Identify and present transferable experiences

Through extensive review of her teaching engagements I yielded a significant amount of information on each of Claudia’s teaching positions, paying particular attention to exploring her most recent 15-year position. From what was one line of text on her original résumé became almost a full page of information—475+ words—on her new résumé. Presenting her “career position” in depth was critical in positioning Claudia to embark on her career change as not only did we have to explore her transferable experiences, but we had to show she can excel in whatever she does. I used a two-column format to present her experiences, introducing each statement with a thematic subheading to better focus on how Claudia’s experiences relate to a different environment. Two of Claudia’s earlier positions were also presented to show increased diversity and to reinforce her passion for teaching and counseling.

3 – Craft an engaging, impactful qualifications summary

As this was a career transition résumé it was imperative to get the résumé started on the right tone. Through selective language, inclusion of related experiences and education, and development of a thematic tone—created through the related headline introducing the summary, a personal mission statement, and a symbolic image—the reader will be introduced to Claudia as a counselor, not a teacher. This is absolutely vital in ensuring the hiring manager sees the candidate for what he/she wants to do, not necessarily what he/she has done thus far in their career.

The Result:

The best part of my job is reuniting candidates with their self-confidence. In today’s job market I know it is so difficult to remain positive and to not take rejection personally, so I love when clients reads their résumé and realizes they are completely qualified for what they want to do—even in a career transition situation—and they just haven’t had a tool to showcase their qualifications and get their foot in the door. Claudia was one of these candidates and responded to her résumé saying, “I never knew that I ‘looked’ so good! It was hard to believe that the person in the resume was me….but it was!”

Whether changing careers, seeking a promotion, or simply trying to secure a new position, think about what you can do to bolster your confidence. Start by redeveloping your résumé into a tool that showcases what you can do. Explore experiences, present accomplishments, and incorporate an engaging summary qualifying you for the positions of interest, then re-launch your search with a new-found confidence and positive outlook on the possibilities that now lie ahead.

View Claudia’s new résumé (please note, only page one is shown)

Do you have a résumé or job search question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@ladybug-design.com.
To view archived versions of the ‘Dear Sam’ column (January 2006-April 2009), please visit www.ladybug-design.com/dearsam/ 

by Samantha Nolan

Meet Logan

Logan was seeking an opportunity as a finance/equity analyst after recently completing an undergraduate degree in finance. Despite being a junior-level candidate, he had 10 years of experience in property management operations prior to relocating to the U.S. to pursue his degree.

Résumé Concerns

Logan’s existing résumé did little to distinguish him from others. Serving as a simple narrative of his career, Logan created a résumé that began with his academic credentials and ever so briefly explored his career experiences. In the presentation of his career, Logan used very brief bulleted explanations, giving the reader very little information about the scope of his experience and contributions. For instance, Logan had presented his longest position—6 years—in just 25 words, providing no opportunity for the reader to see the “value” in that portion of his career.

Logan also neglected to add a qualifications summary to his résumé. The omission of this vital section would make the hiring audience have to “figure out” how Logan would meet their needs. Unfortunately in the brief 4- to 7‑second screening process, no reader would have time to “work” to see why Logan would be the right candidate. In addition, without the focus a qualifications summary adds, the recipient would be left wondering if Logan really knew who he was, whether he was focused on being a finance/equity analyst, and if he planned to return to his property management roots—all questions that would consume readers’ screening time and lead them to the eventual disqualification of Logan’s candidacy.

Makeover Action Plan

The key to successfully positioning Logan, and differentiating him from competitors, was to leverage the uniqueness of his career experiences, cultural diversity, and undergraduate program of study. Through extensive exploration of his past positions and contributions, I was able to build a résumé focused on his achievements—achievements which predicted his ability to perform in investment banking and finance arenas.

Retargeting the format and approach, Logan’s new résumé not only looks the part of a professional candidate, but speaks to it as well. Opening with a qualifications summary, the résumé immediately communicates key accomplishments pertaining to Logan’s business development strengths—strengths that directly relate to the positions of interest. Relaying the transferability of past experiences was critical in qualifying Logan for his career objective, so attention was paid to the most related functions he had performed throughout his career. In addition, select coursework titles were highlighted to allow for the infusion of appropriate keywords that would otherwise have been impossible to incorporate. Lastly, brief non-value-added bullet points were replaced, with job summaries presented in paragraph format, and bullets were left presenting key contributions from each position.

Logan’s new two-page résumé positioned him much more effectively by presenting the transferability of past experiences, the highlights of his academic training, and the uniqueness of his diverse background—all packaged professionally and with a focus on the total value of each component.

Logan was very pleased with his new résumé, stating, “Thank you so much for this; I really appreciate it! My résumé now looks great and I am sure that it will bring me much success in my search for a new job.”

The Message

Résumé writing is less about writing and more about marketing. Approach your résumé with your target audience in mind and determine what you have to market that will prompt that audience to act positively. With the right strategy and messages, you really do have the power to completely change the outcome of your job search.

View before résumé   |  View after résumé page one + page two

Do you have a résumé or job search question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@ladybug-design.com.
To view archived versions of the ‘Dear Sam’ column (January 2006-April 2009), please visit www.ladybug-design.com/dearsam/ 

by Samantha Nolan

Candidate’s Background

Robert came to me with a very simple existing résumé that neither showcased his broad skill set nor his career achievements. Despite having held significant responsibilities during each of his professional engagements, Robert’s résumé did not capture the full scope of what he had performed or achieved. Additionally, his résumé was not aesthetically pleasing and aged his candidacy by including work history back to 1968.

Résumé Strategies

In addition to making Robert’s new résumé pleasing to the eye, information needed to be prioritized, and accomplishments had to be reviewed thoroughly in order to differentiate his candidacy from his competitors. Robert’s career overview, which appeared on his original résumé, was a good attempt to provide a brief summary of his most notable skills, but needed some crucial prioritization, focus, and reformatting. His new qualifications summary is much more engaging and, through strategic formatting and presentation, easily communicates his key qualifications to a hiring manager within the ever-so-limited 7 second screening process. Additionally, to further support the screening process, a core skills list was included to explore Robert’s diverse competencies.

In the professional experience section, accomplishments were explored during the consultation and displayed in an engaging and eye-catching manner. Quantifiers were added whenever possible to distinguish his experiences and achievements from others with similar roles. Key challenges were also explored and presented in order to provide a clear picture of the significance of each achievement. Additionally, only Robert’s last two positions were dated in order to avoid unnecessarily aging his candidacy. Earlier engagements were presented without dates, in a byline fashion, to showcase additional skills and experiences that still supported his candidacy.

Lastly, Robert’s professional development was presented to minimize the impact of not having a college degree, something that was missing from his original résumé.

Candidate’s Results

Shortly after receiving his résumé, Robert called and scared the life out of me, beginning his conversation with, “Samantha, I need to discuss a problem with you…” As I replied, “oh no, what’s wrong,” Robert continued, “I have too many interviews and not enough time.”

Later, Robert connected with me and told me of the confidence his new résumé provided: “My finished résumé is without a doubt one of the best résumés that I have ever seen. It highlights all my strengths and plays down weaker areas. The response has been remarkable. The first seven résumés sent all resulted in personal interviews!” Robert later reported that after 9 interviews in just 8 short weeks, he accepted a position with a new company.

Do you have a résumé or job search question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@ladybug-design.com.
To view archived versions of the ‘Dear Sam’ column (January 2006-April 2009), please visit www.ladybug-design.com/dearsam/ 

by Samantha Nolan

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 manager’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 taking a passive approach and waiting 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.

Do you have a résumé or job search question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@ladybug-design.com.
To view archived versions of the ‘Dear Sam’ column (January 2006-April 2009), please visit www.ladybug-design.com/dearsam/

by Samantha Nolan

The Problem: Steven’s original résumé did little to present him for his career of choice-historian or history teacher-and instead simply presented descriptions of tasks performed. Without a strategic presentation of the value he had contributed in his career thus far, he wasn’t getting his foot in the door. While he thoroughly enjoyed his current role, his goal was to find a position as a government historian but had found it difficult to relate the transferability of his teaching roles to that field.

The Solution: Steven’s résumé was attacked on both the content and design fronts. For content, we thoroughly explored not only the tasks he had performed but the value he had contributed. From a fragmented list of seven or so bullet points on his original résumé, I was able to discuss his positions with him at length and create a much more “valuable” picture on his new résumé-comprised of solid overview paragraphs presenting responsibilities, followed by several fully developed accomplishment statements.

For design, it was imperative, and appropriate, for Steven to have a creative look and feel to his résumé. To do this I developed a design that emulated that of a historical document, using brown hues and a symbolic image serving as the background to a list of core skills. Using a design that positions a candidate as how they want to be seen can be very effective in overcoming a lack of related experience. In Steven’s case, the historical look and feel would make the reader see him as a historian before even reading a word-a critical strategy to reinforce his candidacy for what he wanted to do, not what he had done in the past.

Steven’s education section was also relocated to the end of his résumé, something that proved very important in making sure the hiring manager knew that his education was not his key qualifier. Given that he was competing against many other candidates with similar educational backgrounds, education could not be used as a differentiating factor. Instead, his master’s degree was highlighted in the qualifications summary-and after his name opening the résumé-and the transferability of his experiences were used to distinguish him from his competitors in this niche industry with limited opportunities and far more candidates than positions.

The Results: Steven was kind enough to share his success story with me: “I submitted my completed résumé the day after I received it and was immediately called for an interview. I am completely certain that my new résumé will open many doors and career opportunities. I know that it makes me more visible and definitely stands out. I am very grateful, excited, and confident about my future prospects.” Steven now enjoys his new position in his targeted field.

Do you have a résumé or job search question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@ladybug-design.com.
To view archived versions of the ‘Dear Sam’ column (January 2006-April 2009), please visit www.ladybug-design.com/dearsam/