Choose your career target before you write your resume to ensure a focused approach.
Your resume doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is a living document that is molded to the job it is given.
Many people come to me with a request for a new resume, but they have not yet decided on the type of job they want to land. This is akin to going target shooting before you set up the target. You can shoot a lot of rounds, but you’re not going to hit anything.
Most people in this predicament believe that they need to keep all their options open so they don’t miss any opportunities. That makes sense. Except it doesn’t work that way. However counter-intuitive it sounds, your best chance of landing a job comes with a well-chosen target. That means narrowing down your choices and focusing your efforts in one direction.
A recent client had been job hunting for two years. She didn’t want to miss any chances at a job, so she regularly searched online for openings in management, sales, and customer relationship management. She also accepted many temp assignments to keep a paycheck coming in during her search.
She wasn’t getting many interviews, and those she did manage to land didn’t result in job offers. She was VERY frustrated.
Part of the problem was that she was using the same resume for all of these job targets. She had experience in all the areas, but a company wanting to hiring a manager doesn’t care about sales experience. Her resume confused them because it didn’t have a clear focus.
At the same time, she was targeting jobs she didn’t really want. She was an amazing relationship manager. She had worked miracles for her previous employers and was without a job only because the company had closed.
However, she was so focused on getting a job – any job – that she was applying for positions that didn’t appeal to her. She wasn’t all in, and if employers can spot anything, that’s it.
When she focused her search on relationship management, she found and landed a position she really wanted.
If you’re having trouble choosing your next career direction, contact me right away to talk about the Workwrite Career Exploration Program. This three-week series guides you through the decision-making process to clarity in your next career move.
Related
- Update Your Resume: Tell the truth
- Update Your Resume: Be transparent so your employer can make a good hiring decision
Image courtesy Patchareeya99 via freedigitalphotos.net.
