Like
most women I love getting an occasional makeover; a
new do, maybe a different look. Getting one reminds
me of making a fresh start. The same can be done
with your career but not without some planning.
First, lets look at that tired old resume.
Remember that a resume is essentially a
marketing document, not a laundry list of your
working life. Don't tell your career
history in this document. Do your homework
researching the organizations to which you're
applying. Feature in the resume what you can do
for them in the future, rather than what you've
done in the past. Think in terms of selling
yourself, what can you do for them. Every
employer essentially has only one question he
must answer in hiring you. "Can this individual
add profit to my business."
It's up to you to show potential employers how
your experience in another field will benefit
them -- don't expect them to bridge that gap on
their own. The average person spends
seven seconds scanning a resume before she
decides whether to put it in the maybe pile or
the trash. Don't ask him to spend any of that
precious time trying to figure out where you'd
fit in the organization. That's totally up to
you! Because you've done your research --
there's that R word again -- you'll have some
idea of where the organization is going and what
skills and competencies they're going to need.
Pitch yourself as expert in those areas and
don't worry about downplaying or leaving out the
rest.
You're probably better off with a functional
resume.
A functional resume offers you the best
opportunity to showcase skills rather than job
experience -- it's a forward-looking kind of
resume. The highlights or profile section at the
top functions as a sort of editorial page where
you can show the relationship between the kind
of person you are and the demands of the job. It
also offers a chance to show that your style
will fit with the culture of the organization.
Several articles are available on this site and
online in creating a great resume.
The best strategy is to make the resume an
afterthought. Our traditions about the
job search is one of the most misunderstood. One
of the strangest miscalculations afoot in the
land is a bias against career changers. Tom
Peters has said repeatedly that employers should
never hire anybody who hasn't changed fields or
had gaps in his resume, but that message about
creativity, a fresh vantage point and risk
taking doesn't seem to have infiltrated the
bunker of most human resource departments.
Therefore, the best thing to do about your
resume is to network like mad, talk your way
into an organization through the side door, or
take them by surprise with a referral to talk to
somebody important about working there when
there are no jobs posted. In that way, you won't
be competing with a stack of people who have
more credentials than you do in the new field.
The resume? Oh, you'll just pass that on to HR
as a matter of course, after the deal has been
signed.
Changing fields may be one of the best things you
can do for your career and for your mental health.
