Meet Alexis!

Alexis has been a client of mine for several years, first coming to me six years ago when she wanted to transition into the field of event planning. From her first résumé to her current need for an updated résumé, her career had skyrocketed from someone supporting event planning functions to an executive-level leader. Alexis now works with major event planning organizations to coordinate every facet of national conferences. She contacted me recently to ensure her résumé reflected the level of involvement she now holds in the industry.

Why did Alexis need help?

Given it had been a few years since Alexis and I had updated her résumé, she provided me with her own version of an updated résumé, one filled with bullet point after bullet point of responsibilities and contributions. Her attempt at updating her résumé left her with a four-page document with very little prioritization of information, no aesthetic appeal, and perhaps most important, a document that did little to position her for the next level in her industry.

The “makeover!”

From her self-attempted four-page résumé update, I turned Alexis’ résumé into a three-page, executive-level overview of the past 12 years of her career. With page three solely listing education, affiliations, and presentations, her résumé was essentially two pages of content reflective of the contributions she had made during her related professional engagements.

To open Alexis’ updated résumé, I started with a graphical representation of her credentials and industry involvement, quite an impressive at-a-glance strategy that would be sure to differentiate her résumé from those of her competitors. By sourcing logos online¾ensuring they were presented to “float” on the page¾this element added interest and served as a reader engagement tool.

Next, in the qualifications summary, I immediately positioned Alexis as how she wanted to be seen: a Senior Event Manager. To the left and right of this professional title, I presented her key qualifiers based on her proven track record in the field. From the heading of the summary, I flowed into three statements which further introduced her candidacy and validated claims through examples of Alexis’ experiences. Lastly, to the left of these statements, I listed related core skills¾again, serving as an at-a-glance reminder of how Alexis was qualified for the jobs to which she was going to be applying.

I turned Alexis’ most recent work experience—described by her in 470 words and 17 bullet points—into a much more succinct 260-word presentation of her responsibilities and accomplishments. Differentiating content based on priority, Alexis’ “job” was presented in a paragraph format in order to provide the necessary context for her contributions. Given accomplishments are the most important component of any candidate’s professional experience section, I focused on presenting well-rounded contributions in bullet point form, narrowing down Alexis’ 17 bullet points to five well-constructed points. In this section, I was sure not only to present the results of Alexis’ efforts, but also some of the key actions taken to achieve the results, ensuring prospective employers were provided with appropriate validation of her abilities.

What did Alexis think?

I received such nice comments from Alexis once she reviewed her updated résumé: “WOW! I love my new résumé. In 2006, I hired Ladybug Design to write my résumé, and in 2012, I hired them to create an executive-level résumé! My résumé is a work of art and one that will open many doors in my field of conference/trade show management. Thank you!”

Creating your “makeover”…

When presenting your candidacy on paper, be sure you are (1) targeting your content to sell yourself as how you want to be seen, (2) ensuring aesthetic appeal and reader engagement, (3) prioritizing content to facilitate ease of readability, (4) differentiating responsibilities from accomplishments, and (5) ensuring focus on the latter. If you follow these steps, you will emerge with a stronger presentation of your candidacy and the ability to conduct a more effective search.

Before |  After

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/

Who is Rebecca?

Rebecca came to me seeking help in positioning her for what she hoped would be her last career move. With 33 years of experience in the field of human resources—specifically, benefits and compensation—she wanted to show potential employers that she was an expert of her craft while not unnecessarily aging her candidacy.

Why did Rebecca need help?

Rebecca had a jam-packed two-page résumé that was not aesthetically pleasing, was difficult to read due to overcrowding, was missing a more balanced presentation of job duties and accomplishments, and was unfortunately aging her candidacy given the résumé explored roles back to 1978.

The challenge a lot of the Baby Boomers I work with face, is the need to present the “right” amount of experience on paper. While one would assume you should present all of your experience in order to differentiate from your lesser-experienced competition, in doing so you highlight your age and assumptions of higher-than-average salary expectations. This presents quite a conundrum for some candidates as they want to showcase how experienced they are, but in doing so they over-qualify themselves for the job.

In Rebecca’s case, given she was seeking more senior-level roles, it would have been acceptable to explore 20 or so years of experience, however her first employer was one she stayed with for 18 years so including it in a traditional manner would have immediately aged her candidacy. To ensure we didn’t do that, I explored her positions back through 1996, which provided hiring managers with a solid 15-year career track record, while doing something called bylining her early experience.

Bylining early experience is a key way for more seasoned candidates to present their experience while avoiding the potential of unnecessarily aging their candidacy. To do this you add a subheading—Foundational Experience, Additional Experience, or a similarly named subheading—at the end of your Professional Experience section that breaks formatting. In this section you remove all notes of dates, allowing you to include early experience without the context of how long you were employed. You do have to be careful here however as I have seen some candidates attempt this approach and present far too many positions in the byline fashion. If you present more than say 2 or 3 positions in this section you really aren’t hiding anything and instead possibly making your career look even longer than it really was.

In Rebecca’s case, this was key in presenting her depth of knowledge and experience in the field while not presenting experience back into the 1970s and 1980s. To do this I encapsulated the most important aspects of her early 18-year position—elements I felt I could not demonstrate as well throughout her more recent experiences—within the following section:

— Foundational Experience —

ABC Corporation  |  New York, New York

Manager, Benefits Outsourcing  |  Manager, Pension Processing Center

Solidified client-provider relationships—and administered the associated $18M budget—with three third-party vendors providing 401(k), pension, qualified domestic relations orders, employee dispute processing, financial counseling, and survivor support services. Established performance standards and managed service levels to ensure optimal efficiencies and effectiveness.

■   Designed and led a retirement processing center, developing a staffing model so effective—successfully processed documents and provided service for 6,000 employees in a 90-day period—it became the centralized processing center for the entire U.S. operation.

In following this strategy, delivering compelling content that would speak to her target market’s needs, adding a third page to her résumé to provide critical white space—three page résumés are common and often necessary in presenting a more senior level candidate’s career—and creating a compelling visual aesthetic, Rebecca’s new résumé was far more effective and attractive.

What did Rebecca think?

I received a note shortly after completing Rebecca’s résumé makeover stating, “Wonderful experience! What I thought was a good résumé was revised to be a ‘great’ résumé! While I’m just beginning my job search, I’m much more excited and confident in my résumé and cover letter. Friends who have seen the resume call it ‘bold’ and ‘attention getting.’ I’m very proud of my presentation materials now and actually look forward to the entire job search!”

Given Rebecca was in the human resources field she really did have a solid résumé to build on, but based on some choices she had made, she was presenting potential disqualifying factors that could have impacted the success of her search. By reviewing her background, understanding how she needed to be positioned, and eliminating potential disqualifiers, her new résumé presented the “right” picture and painted her as the highly competitive candidate she was.

View Rebecca’s before and after résumé

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/

Who is Annabel?

Annabel was a very successful pharmaceutical sales representative who had 20 years of experience in the medical and pharmaceutical sales field and both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Annabel had held five positions during her career including one position outside of the field as a behavior therapist.

Why did Annabel need help?

If Annabel had wanted to continue on her career path in pharmaceutical sales she would have had a very good résumé to build on, however given that she wanted to transition out of the field she needed a résumé that better reflected the transferability of her sales experiences. Annabel had positioned herself as a “senior sales executive” which wasn’t necessarily the best strategy given not all the positions she was pursuing were of a senior level.

What did I do for Annabel?

Annabel’s original résumé needed to be softened while creating a strong image through content and formatting. Her original résumé positioned her as a senior sales executive with an undeniable record of achievement in the pharma industry. This approach would have been great if she had wanted to stay in the industry, however Annabel wanted to transition out of the industry and possibly even enter the nonprofit arena in a community-focused and relationship-based role.

For Annabel’s new résumé I focused on her business development and relationship management strengths—strengths that were transferable to non-pharmaceutical sales environments. To do this I minimized the appearance of her titles and company names so her pharmaceutical sales background was slightly masked. To accomplish this I presented areas of focus where you would normally see the job title, but still presented her job titles in a smaller font which was italicized and a little more difficult to read (a key strategy!).

I also added key sales results sections to validate the claims made in the qualifications summary, and to position Annabel as a top sales professional regardless of the industry. In the professional experience section I added color to focus the reader on the key results Annabel had achieved, presented her responsibilities in a paragraph, and disseminated her key areas of focus in a two-column format with bullet points introduced by functional subheadings. This approach really focuses the reader on the transferability of Annabel’s experiences given the bullet points are prefaced with introductions that “frame” the content to come.

Annabel’s new résumé, just like her original, was a full two pages in length, fitting for someone presenting 20 years of professional work history. As Annabel’s first position lasted almost 10 years, there was no way we could trim her experience without potentially diminishing the effectiveness of her résumé. However, I did present her less related counseling experience in a byline at the end of the professional experience section so not to confuse the reader about her career focus.

Annabel’s new résumé was powerful in content, unique in design, and effectively positioned her for opportunities outside of the pharmaceutical sales industry by focusing on the transferability of her experiences.

What did Annabel think?

I received very kind words from Annabel who stated, “I had used at least three résumé writing services before I was referred to Ladybug Design…the  work of Ms. Ladybug surpassed each…she makes claims that are honored within the work provided…very much attention to detail and your résumé is not a carbon copy of the last customer…”

Just like with Annabel’s résumé, your résumé should be a unique representation of your candidacy both in format and design. When you take the time to differentiate your candidacy based on the uniqueness of your experience, and combine that content with an attractive design, you will certainly improve the effectiveness of your search.

If you would like to see specific case studies highlighted for this series, with candidates tackling issues you are facing, feel free to email suggestions to dearsam@ladybug-design.com

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/

Dear Sam: I look forward to reading your résumé information in the paper each week and now find myself needing some advice. I have more than 30 years of human resources, engineering, and project management experience with a Fortune 500 company. I retired and moved on to a position with a nonprofit trade association. I was very successful, however, due to a difference of opinion with my employer, I resigned from that position. Since then, over the course of the past two years, I have been trying to get back into nonprofit trade association management without much luck. Since I’m applying for association management positions should I forget about mentioning my 30 years of HR experience? How should I frame my reason for leaving my last employer? – Tom

Dear Tom: I’m so sorry to hear of the lack of response you have seen during your search. While this economy is tough, great résumés are still getting great results, so it is great that you are open to feedback to see how your résumés might be contributing to the results you are not seeing.

There are a number of strategies you can employ as a seasoned professional to avoid unnecessarily aging your candidacy on a résumé, while minimizing potentially disqualifying factors that you may or may not have considered. One of which however, which I feel is absolutely one of the main reasons your résumés are not generating results, is that you have removed all dates of employment. Sure to tell a story far worse than reality, this is a huge ‘no-no’ in résumé writing. Instead, why not built a substantial qualifications summary and then highlight key achievements, allowing you to push most of your employment dates to page two of your résumé? Other tips that might help improve the effectiveness of your résumés include:

Present only the relevant amount of experience —

When reviewing your career, remember that hiring managers are much more interested in what you have done recently, so including information from 20 or 30 years ago may do more harm than good. Be sure to focus on the last 15 or so years of your career, particularly if you are applying for a position that does not necessitate more experience. As you are seeking a senior-level role, you certainly can bring in earlier experiences, but be careful how far back you date your candidacy. Early experiences (I really start evaluating the cost benefit of including a candidate’s experience when I start exploring work in the 1980s) can be bylined. In this strategy, you could date experiences from titles you held during the past two decades, while making only a brief mention of earlier positions without dates.

Consider the combination résumé format —

As you are a senior executive it is likely that the hiring manager will be looking for a seasoned candidate expected to have 20+ years of experience. But, because I don’t know when you worked where, or when you held each title (as you have omitted that key data from your résumé), you may have to use the combination résumé format. Say your earlier experience is difficult to break into pieces as you held one title for a considerable amount of time, then the  combination format could help you present highlights of your career before the professional experience section would be presented. Therefore this format allows you the opportunity to focus the reader’s attention on your qualifiers (type of experience) vs. potential disqualifiers (dates of experience).

Incorporate keywords and update jargon —

You will also want to make sure the jargon used within your résumé is up-to-date with today’s vernacular in the nonprofit field. Antiquated or unrelated terms and even job titles can serve to immediately disqualify a candidate. Certainly if you found your HR background a major plus in your recent role, then you would not want to omit it, nor could you when presenting an accurate picture of your background. I recommend reviewing all of your experiences—HR, engineering, and project management—and ensuring you are selling the transferability of the functions you  performed in terms that resonate with your new target audience.

Revitalize your résumé format —

If you are using a résumé format you used in the 80s or 90s it will not only show your age but not utilize some of the key strategies of a 21^st century job search. Be sure your résumé is in line with today’s formatting standards, opening with a qualifications summary not an objective statement, focusing on accomplishments not responsibilities, and utilizing an engaging style of action-oriented content. Think about it, if a résumé is unattractive it repels readership, however if you have a pleasing aesthetic it compels readership and goes a long way to extending the screening process. Your résumés certainly could use a makeover to ensure they not only read well but also attract attention.

As for your question about how to frame your reason for leaving your last employer, this of course will not come into play until your interview. At that point honesty is always the best policy, but be sure to steer away from any negativity. Instead, focus on what the experience taught you about what you want in your next nonprofit engagement and employer, and of course, how the employer in front of you fits the bill.

With a review of these tips to “modernize” your résumé, your experience will shine and potential disqualifiers related to your fears of aging your candidacy will be removed from your résumé. I wish you great success!

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/

Meet Alexandra!

Alexandra had made a decision to change career paths from the corporate world to higher education but was faced with the challenge of creating a résumé that would effectively market her to her target audience. She had not updated her résumé in 10+ years and had not worked in academics in 12 years. Alexandra came to me, not knowing where to start with her résumé, and asked me to translate her skills from the corporate world to higher education.

The Résumé

Alexandra’s original résumé was underdeveloped and overcrowded. While it was just two pages in length, the block paragraphs of information contained within each professional engagement section made the résumé difficult to read and a turn-off for any potential employer. In its current format, there would be no way a hiring manager would be able to see, and therefore understand, how Alexandra was qualified for her targeted positions given that her higher education experience did not appear until page two of the résumé. In addition, no accomplishments were presented and there was no prioritization to the information presented. Alexandra had also not been able to “translate” the marketing skills she gained in the past 10+ years into a language that made sense for higher education, creating a résumé that was doing nothing but marketing her for exactly what she had been doing in recent years.

In order to market a candidate for something different, you have to create a robust qualifications summary which helps the reader (the target audience) visualize how the candidate is qualified. Replacing Alexandra’s original four-line summary with a relevant 6-line summary, 4 key taglines, and a list of 10 core skills, the reader would now view Alexandra as a higher education candidate before reaching the professional experience section of the résumé and the post-1999 and non-higher education-related experience she had gained. Alexandra’s summary, as mentioned above, was introduced by 4 key taglines which presented a high level summary of what the reader needed to know in the 4-second screening process…

“Possess a master’s degree concentrated in Higher Education Administration & College Student Personnel”

“Played a key role in student retention, engagement, and “community-building” with DePaul and Loyola”

“Combine experience in higher education with corporate marketing and account management tenure”

“Design and execute strategic marketing and retention programs that drive goal attainment”

With this introduction and focus in the qualifications summary, and the extension of that strategy throughout the professional experience section, Alexandra looked like a higher education candidate with a value-added career in marketing.

In the qualifications summary, I brought forward the relevance of Alexandra’s marketing career, “translating” it to her audience to ensure her most recent experience did not seem irrelevant. Likewise, in the professional experience section I presented Alexandra’s roles with her current career target in mind, being sure to present the relevance of each responsibility or accomplishment so each could be read in light of, and make sense for, the higher education field.

While Alexandra’s new résumé extended to 3 pages, the length provided the opportunity to add much needed white space, fully explore the relevance of her recent career, and explain her experience in higher education which occurred back in the mid and late 1990’s. The third page also provided the opportunity to present the seminars and workshops Alexandra led while she was in the higher education field, reinforcing her image as a subject matter expert.

Alexandra’s Journey

Alexandra was kind enough to write to me and say “The finished product is well beyond my expectations! You did an outstanding job branding my image. I know with this updated version I now have the a résumé that will receive attention…” Alexandra’s résumé did get the attention she wanted and her new image, on paper, secured interviews in higher education and played a key role in her transitioning out of the corporate arena and into a program director role for a large public university.

View Alexandra’s new résumé

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/

Many candidates invest time revamping their résumé but neglect to invest time preparing for the interview. This week’s column will focus on preparing you for an interview and handling those tough questions. Top tips include:

Research your prospective employer – before the interview, take some time to review the company’s website, reading the “about us” page, and if available, press releases, financial statements, and strategic plans. If the company does not have a website, try searching for references of the company online to see if you are able to glean any additional details about the organization. You can also search on hoovers.com for basic stats such as company descriptions, key personnel, and financial data including number of employees, revenues, and the trends in each area. Additionally, check what others say about the company on LinkedIn. From a quick search on LinkedIn you could find someone in your network associated with a target employer, providing for added insight into the organization, current employment trends, and just as important, its corporate culture. Once armed with this information, begin to review your own background and how certain skills, experiences, and achievements would translate well based on your prospective employer’s current situation.

Prepare for the tough-to-answer questions – are there certain questions you have had difficulty answering in the past? If so, script strong responses and practice answering those questions before the interview. A couple of questions candidates often express are most difficult for them include “Tell me about yourself” and “Tell me about a weakness.”

Remember, when a prospective employer asks you to tell them about yourself, they are not asking for you to tell them you are married, have 2 children, a dog, and like skiing! What they are really asking is “What in your background positions you to excel in this role.” If you developed a qualifications summary for your resume, you have taken great strides in your ability to answer this question succinctly.

To prepare for this question, review your background and identify your core value messages. These messages should be comprised of the skill you offer and the benefit of that skill to the prospective employer. Think about where you have gone above and beyond, when have you addressed a challenge and driven strong results, or when your specific strengths have added value to your employer. Remember you don’t just want to tell an employer what you can do, you want to show them what you can do by presenting value messages including a combination of your actions/skills and the results/benefit of each. Let’s look at some examples:

Don’t say, “I have great organization skills.”

Do say, “I have repeatedly increased department productivity by streamlining processes, reducing redundancies, and improving workflow.”

Don’t say, “I manage people well.”

Do say, “I have a proven record building, training, and motivating top-performing teams that have surpassed aggressive performance goals.”

By presenting the result or benefit of your action or skill, you provide the hiring manager with key insight into how your skills and experiences can transfer into their organization, leaving a stronger impression of you as a candidate.

Most candidates struggle when asked to identify one of their weaknesses, after all, aren’t we trying to appear as perfect with no apparent weaknesses? The point of this question is to see if you are able to identify an area in yourself that requires improvement, and to learn if you have taken steps to overcome this weakness (some hiring mangers just want to see if you are as in tune with your weaknesses as you are with your strengths). So, the answer doesn’t have to present a glaring weakness and reason not to hire you, but should provide insight into your ability to initiate corrective actions or continued professional development. Let’s look at an example:

“I realized I needed extra help organizing and planning my schedule, so I purchased a detailed planner and have started setting a few minutes aside each day to review my schedule, priorities, and deadlines. Doing so has allowed me to maintain a clear view of what I have scheduled, and has actually helped me optimize my time.”

You can also choose to highlight areas of weakness that have little to no impact on the position for which you are applying. Let’s say you were an accountant, a weakness in the area of public speaking may not pose any threat to diminishing the strength of your candidacy. For example:

“I’ve always been a little nervous speaking in front of large groups of people, but I recently joined Toastmasters, as although I have not needed to deliver presentations in past positions, I believe I could learn more about selecting and delivering messages to secure support and promote a cohesive environment.”

Regardless of how you answer, be sure to prove how you are taking steps to overcome the weakness so it doesn’t pose a threat to securing the job.

Be ready for different interview formats – when scheduling your interview, asking about the format of your interview will help you prepare. Interviews come in many shapes and sizes including one-on-one, group, panel, and technical. While you won’t be able to anticipate every question, knowing whether you will face a group of six on a panel versus an informal interview with the hiring manager, can help you prepare mentally to handle the situation.

Interviewing can be a stressful experience, but being prepared, practicing, and knowing how your strengths and experiences relate to your prospective employer’s needs, can reduce anxiety and improve the success of your search.

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/

Dear Sam: I am struggling to get any attention or response to my current résumé. People look at my résumé and see that I have never held the specific job title I’m applying for, whether it is administrative assistant or receptionist. Although I’ve never held these titles, it is everything that I have been doing at my current job (plus my actual position) for the past 5 years. I also feel that the personality that people love from me isn’t shining through my résumé either. I’ve tried numerous different attempts to get some sort of response and am at a complete loss at this point as to what to do. Is it okay to list my job title as an administrative assistant or receptionist? — Desperate

Dear Desperate: Thanks for attaching your résumé so I could see what you are submitting to prospective employers. In less than two seconds, I could see several issues with your résumé. Let me take you through what employers will see/think when they look at your résumé:

(1) Uninteresting and non-differentiating design – You used a very common Microsoft Word résumé template, so you will immediately look like many others who applied for the same job. Incidentally, I use this same template when facilitating seminars, to show how you should not design your résumé.

(2) You have a major typo in the first line of your résumé – did you know that 23% of hiring managers discard a résumé with one typo? If claiming HIPAA knowledge you should spell the acronym correctly; it’s not HIPPA, even though I know it sounds like it should be.

(3) Poor prioritization of duties – You open with your photographer/customer service role and immediately present a bullet point about resolving customer service complaints. This will make the reader wonder how well you did your job if you spent this much time resolving complaints, especially when it seems you are the one with direct customer contact.

(4) Too many short-terms jobs – You have presented two jobs that you held for just a few months, when instead you could completely omit these short-term jobs—presenting only years of employment so not to show gaps—and focus on your customer service experience in a consistent retail setting. You could title this section “Related Professional Experience” to ensure the strategy is not looked at as misleading. This would bring alignment and fluidity to your résumé.

(5) Vacant content – Let me ask you, if you have provided no explanation of what you did for a given employer, how do you expect a prospective employer to “see” the value in that experience? Don’t put something on your résumé and then not explain anything about it!

Literally, these are the errors I saw in a very brief review of your résumé, and ones prospective hiring managers also will see. I urge you to revamp your résumé using today’s standards. You don’t need to resort to changing your titles to something that isn’t accurate; you just need to do a much better job “translating” your experiences into the language that will attract your target audience. Check out books at the library or samples on my website (www.ladybug-design.com/results) for ideas on how to do this. You can absolutely have a fantastic résumé speaking to your administrative skill set; you just need to be more strategic about developing a great résumé.

Dear Sam: I am seeking a job as an Accounting/Operations Manager. Half of my experience (aside from education) comes from running a family-owned (i.e., my husband is the President) business. I’ve been meeting with recruiters and submitting my résumé for consideration online for certain opportunities, without much luck. Could working for a family business affect my ability to get a job? — Elena

Dear Elena: Often presenting experience with a family business is discredited as it is assumed you did not have to do too much to get the job nor keep it. To overcome this, you need to present your experience in the same way as you would any other professional position. If it is difficult to hide the fact that this is a family business (i.e., if the business has your last name in it), then I would pull out highlights of your career and place them in their own section before presenting the employer’s name, your title, and the remainder of your professional experience section. If the company name will not immediately be seen as a family business, then you could present a more traditional reverse-chronological résumé. The point would be not to showcase that you worked for a family business, so as to avoid the reader discounting the experience.

I mentioned presenting this experience in the same manner as any other professional position, as I see a lot of résumés from candidates who really dilute their experience which occurred in a family business. Another fault I see often is candidates who try to communicate too much about the diversity of their experiences, positioning themselves as a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. Just be careful to present select aspects of your background (i.e., those operations- and accounting-related) that are going to market you well for your current career objective. Best of luck to you!

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/

Dear Sam: I need help constructing my résumé. I have owned a small business for four years and want to transition back into an employee/employer role. Most of my experience lies in customer service and administrative positions, but owning my business has given me exposure to managing employees and sales and marketing functions. If you have any advice I’d appreciate it! – Lori

Dear Lori: It’s often difficult to make the sales pitch that after being an entrepreneur you are ready to reengage in a more traditional employee/employer role. Key to facilitating this transition, and selling yourself as a viable candidate, are the following approaches:

1. Define your target: You have to realize that as an entrepreneur and small business owner you were essentially a one-woman-show, Jill-of-all-trades, etc. While this is wonderful in providing you with exposure to different operational functions, you will rarely find a position in “Corporate America” that requires such a diverse skill set. Because of that, and because the market is incredibly saturated with qualified candidates, you have to define your target position before you sit down to craft your résumé.
2. Understand your audience: With your target defined (administration, customer service, office management, marketing, sales?) you will need to figure out what message you need to convey to your audience in order to prompt action. To do this effectively review multiple job postings of interest from your targeted field and become intimately familiar with the language they are speaking. By that I mean study the skills, experiences, credentials, and all other requirements of your positions of interest so that when crafting your résumé you can speak that same language in the presentation of your background.
3. Define your approach: With a clear understanding of your target audience and messaging strategy, it’s time to figure out what format your résumé should be. If, like you, you have no breaks in your experience or the chronology of your career, then a reverse-chronological résumé is likely best. If you did have breaks or wanted to minimize the appearance of certain recent and less relevant positions, then perhaps a combination format would be the way to go.
4. Craft your content: Your contact is correct in that your résumé should focus on your accomplishments or the areas in which you excelled versus narrating your job description. While it is critical to convey a certain amount of your “job” it is much more important to focus the reader’s time and attention on how you added value to your role. Think about ways you impacted efficiency, productivity, or organizational effectiveness. How did you outperform your peers? How can you differentiate yourself from the competition who may have held very similar roles?
5. Select value-added information: You are also correct in that you do not have to include everything on your résumé. You can certainly omit dated experiences that would perhaps unnecessarily age your candidacy and overqualify you for your target positions. Likewise you can also omit incomplete educational pursuits if they do nothing but highlight what you don’t have. For example, if you went to a trade school which has nothing to do with your current pursuits, then omitting helps present a more targeted image of your candidacy to potential employers. Likewise, it is often smarter to omit partially completed college degrees—especially if you only completed a year or two of general education courses—as this tends to tell an employer, “I don’t have a degree” not “I have completed half a degree.” You have to make that decision based on whether the job of interest requires or simply prefers a degree. If that credential is required, highlighting you do not have it is not a wise approach, however it if is simply preferred then you are not likely to be disqualified for not possessing the credential.
6. Refine your formatting: Taking the time to create a strong visual aesthetic if often overlooked in today’s résumés. With hiring managers reviewing hundreds if not thousands of résumés for each open position, taking the time to make your content strong and your presentation attractive can go a long way to improving your screening time. With the screening process being as short as seven seconds (according to recent surveys) I am sure you can see the importance of not only making your content convey the right message but making the package compel readership and hold interest.

I am certain that when you follow these steps—truly a reflection of the basic principles you learn in Marketing 101—you will present the right image to potential employers, improving your chances of being seen as a viable candidate to transition back into an employee role.

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/

Dear Sam: I feel like my résumé is being ignored. I am pursuing accounting and human resources, and I have a blend of customer service, accounts payable and receivable, and human resources experience. What am I doing wrong? – Evelyn

Dear Evelyn: Let me paint a picture of your existing résumé for readers: The résumé opens with an objective statement followed by the education section, two pages of experience listing positions back to 1994, and lastly, computer skills and affiliations sections.

The good news is that you have lots of room for improvement, so your job search could potentially yield great results once you revamp your résumé. Let’s go through each section to see what areas need to be addressed.

Objective

Remove your objective statement and, instead, present a summary of your qualifications. Based on your two fields of interest, I would recommend two different versions of this summary, one for HR and the other for accounting. Trying to accomplish both objectives in one résumé will only diminish its strength and the effectiveness of your search. Remember, the top third of page one is the most valuable real estate on your résumé; hence, make the most of this space by telling the reader what you offer as a candidate through a qualifications summary.

Education

Given you graduated from college in 1998, this section should be relocated to the end of your résumé. Only recent graduates, or candidates whose degree is a key qualifier, should present their education section up front.

Experience

This section needs to be more robust and tailored to the field of interest. I see in your most recent position you seem to have performed accounting and HR functions. When revamping your résumé, prioritize your responsibilities and achievements based on which résumé you are writing. Doing this will better target the hiring managers in each of those industries and avoid watering down your experience. This section of your résumé is also heavily focused on your daily responsibilities; instead, you should focus on your achievements. This information is absolutely vital in positioning yourself ahead of the competition.

I would also recommend removing the first three positions (pre-1996) you have listed including the cashier, banquet server, and telemarketing positions. By doing this, you will have more room to focus on your more recent and related experiences, and will still be presenting an ample 11 years of experience.

Lastly in this section, please remove your months of employment. Presenting the months and years of employment only shows employment gaps and the fact you have not worked since August 2008.

Computer Skills

I would recommend incorporating your technical skills into the qualifications summary, especially when developing your accounting résumé, as it will be important to note you have proficiency with Peachtree Accounting software.

Affiliations

I would recommend removing this section as the affiliations you are presenting stem from a personal and not a professional interest. When presenting affiliations, you need to be careful to ensure they are reinforcing your image as a professional. So, if you are a member of any local or national accounting or human resources organizations, those would be wonderful to present, but it will be best to remove the hobby-related affiliations you are presenting.

I am certain, after painting a more strategic image of your background, you will become a competitive candidate whose inbox will begin to be filled with letters of interest!

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/

Dear Sam: I am 21 years old and I have 3 years of experience in administrative assistant and customer service roles. I need to really sell myself in my résumé; my problem is that I do not know how. As a single mother with a toddler and one on the way, I really need a job badly. Can you point me in the right direction? – Rebecca

Dear Rebecca: Thank you for submitting your résumé for my “Notes of a Résumé Writer” series; I am pleased to be able to provide some guidance to help you create an interview-generating job search tool. Let’s touch on a few key areas of your résumé which should be addressed.

Résumé Length & Design

As an entry-level candidate with just a few years of experience, you should have a one-page résumé. Your résumé currently spills onto two pages, due to the large font size and wide margins. As an administrative specialist claiming technical proficiency, I’d like to see a more aesthetically pleasing design showcasing your Microsoft Word skills and ability to produce a well-designed document.

Objective & Qualifications Summary

Your objective statement is taking up important space at the top of page one, and does not tell the hiring manager anything about what you can offer. Replace this with a summary which highlights your skills and attributes. In this summary, you may want to talk about the high-volume, customer-centric environments in which you have worked. You could also note your technical skills so they are not hidden within the professional experience section. Use this section to “sell” why the hiring manager should interview (and hire) you!

Professional Experience

An effective presentation of one’s experience and accomplishments typically comes in the form of a paragraph overview of his/her responsibilities followed by bulleted achievements. In your case, you presented a paragraph of your job description, and while providing this information is important, what you really want to focus the reader’s attention on is where you truly contributed value. From reading your résumé, I’d imagine you would have some additional highlights to present. Think about things you achieved while on the job. Did you help with any special projects? Did you receive customer commendations? Did you collaborate well with a customer service team? All of these things are areas in which you could present a more achievement-oriented statement to validate your claims in the summary and predict the contributions you could provide to your next employer.

Education

It is assumed you have a high school diploma, so typically I would advise not to list that on your résumé. In your case, as you received multiple academic honors, I would suggest pulling those items out and including them in your qualifications summary. You could say something like, “Graduated from high school in the top 10% of class, receiving numerous awards including Honor Roll, Super Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance, and Student of the Year.” I would then omit an education section and relocate your community involvement work to its own section.

I am confident if you revamp your résumé you will emerge as a highly competitive candidate. You have a strong background for an entry-level candidate; it just needs to be presented a little more strategically than you have done thus far.

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/