Is Your Résumé the Cart before the Horse - Hire Imaging

Is Your Résumé the Cart before the Horse - Hire Imaging People frequently contact me to help them develop a résumé. Okay; that’s something I love to do! Great! However, I can’t tell you how often these prospective clients will go on to say that they are not sure how to gear the résumé. Jim’s an example. In our initial phone and email communications, I asked him what he wanted to do; and where this resume would be going. He said he didn’t want to rule anything out. He was open to marketing, sales, operations or technology roles (management or non-management); he was open to any industry. When I questioned him on how he planned to market himself on the résumé, he said he wasn’t sure; that he thought that was MY job; that maybe a “one-size-fits all to cover the bases” would be best. WRONG! Jim thought he was being flexible. In reality and on paper, he would simply appear unfocused and wishy-washy. The résumé is a marketing document designed to sell the product (you, the job candidate) to the buyer (employer). That buyer is shopping for a particular talent to bring a certain skill set, credentials, value proposition and brand to the role and company. And frankly, the hiring folksâ€"recruiters, human resources or other decision-makersâ€"are not going to take valuable time to figure out what your résumé is trying to sell. It is not their job to figure out what you want or why they should hire you. No company worth its salt would ever market products without a focused campaign strategy and relevant brochures or marketing collateral; nor should you. To take advantage of opportunities that are out there, know what you want in your career, where the hiring is occurring, what qualifications you need to achieve your desired career goals, and THEN how to best market your qualifications. Assess your likes and dislikes. What do you really like doing when you’re at work? What excites you and makes you lose track of time? What’s your passion? What are your key strengths? Spend some time with career assessments if needed. Spend some time rediscovering yourself. Research careers. Once you know what you want, spend some time researching the types of opportunities that seem to fit. How much research you do depends on how much of a change you’re making. For example, changing from salesperson to webmaster will take more research than moving from salesperson to sales manager. Two helpful Internet sites to begin researching jobs are O*Net Online and Occupational Outlook Handbook. List your value proposition. Think of everything you’ve done in terms of how it is transferable to what you want to be doing, and showcase it that way. For every item you will be putting on your résumé, think of how the skills you’re listing support the idea of doing what you want in your next job. What sets you apart from the competition? What benefits will the employer gain from hiring you relative to your stated target? It is crucial to take stock of your brand, which is how others see you and what you’re known for. It doesn’t change; it’s authentic and consistent. So, how does it relate to your target goal and audience? Think about gaps. You may find that you need to update your skills or expand your knowledge (or experience) to more viably compete for the job you want. Mine multiple job postings related to your career goal. Look for a common pattern in criteria and qualifications. Is there a gap? Take it slowly to figure out what you need and how you can realistically attain it. Even a great strategic and well-written résumé can’t create required criteria that are not there. Get the inside scoop. If you are unsure about your job role/industry targets after going through self-assessments, think about temping, volunteering, conducting informational interviews with people in the field of potential interest, or in attending a professional association or chamber event to find out more about different fields and positions. Talk to your high school or college career services; or to your local media specialist. If you’ve been laid off, take advantage of your area’s workforce center or related services that may be able to help you with assessing the right fit. Hire a career coach who can guide you through career exploration. When you have a clearer focus of your career goals in terms of type of position, level, industry, etc., then move on to the next pre-résumé steps. Ask yourself three questions framed around HOW, WHAT and WHERE in your job search campaign. Be able to answer them all before either writing your own résumé; or having one done by a professional résumé writer. How will you paint a picture of you (the product) to potential employers (the buyers)? What will you highlight about your past experience, skill sets, credentials, and personal career brand that tie directly to your current objectives? What résumé format will you use? Have you thought about the strategy of using a chronological, functional or hybrid résumé? What format will work best for you? Which format will optimize your ability to bring the title, skills, brand and value to the top of the résumé? Where are you going to look for a job? How will you identify and approach these companies? How will this affect the type of résumé you develop? Once you have brainstormed as to what you want and figured out where that is, THEN you are ready to sell and market with a great résumé! And if you still have two or more different career targets, then create different résumé versions that are focused, branded and loaded with metrics-driven success stories relevant to your goal and target audience. Then the horse is pulling the cartâ€"the résumé is serving as a valuable tool in a well-planned and executed job search campaign!