Title: Strategic Presentation of One's Background Key to Success

Content:

Dear Sam: I am a 43-year-old father of two who was recently downsized from my engineering job due to a lack of work in the field. I have a bachelor's degree in social sciences, but have never been able to use it as a plus in my job search.

As I want to branch out or leave the field, how do I update my current résumé that basically lists one type of job with different firms? I attempted to get a career started as a "professional" but ended up backing into the field I have been in for nearly 16 years, almost as an afterthought. Today I worry I have too much experience (i.e., my salary is too high and my experience is too specialized) for the tight job market in my field, but I have no good idea how to market myself for a position outside of it. Call it a midlife or mid-career crisis, but I am stumped as to how to make the next move. I plan on attending the upcoming Career Fair and need to be prepared...help! - Charles

Dear Charles: I'm sorry to hear you were recently downsized, and I know how incredibly difficult it can be at times to decipher how to market your background, not for the jobs you've held, but for the jobs you want. I'm glad to hear you are coming to the Career Fair as this will be a great place to gauge hiring managers' responses to your desired career move.

Get started by figuring out what types of positions you are interested in. As you will need to sell your skills that are transferable to the type of position you want, you have to know what direction you want to take. Once you have identified the direction, print out several job postings you are interested in. Start highlighting common skills and requirements found in these job postings and then cross-reference those with your background. The skills or requirements you share (i.e., those found both in the job postings and in your own background) are the areas in which you need to focus your résumé.

To do this, you could highlight your transferable experience under subheadings using the key areas you find doing the aforementioned activity. Typically, I would place this in a "Select Highlights" section immediately following the qualifications summary. That way, the reader sees your value and the transferability of your skills during the screening process. Alternatively, if the headings idea doesn't work well, based on what you have identified as the transferable skills, then you could just present a strong qualifications summary positioning you for the jobs you want, or still use a highlights section and not use subheadings if you have difficulty categorizing the items.

In your "Professional Experience" section, also be sure to relate the applicability of your past to your desired future. Doing so will ensure you engage the readers and communicate how your experience supports their needs. Best of luck to you.

Dear Sam: I'm an accounting professional, and the last two positions I've held ended with a layoff. The first was due to lack of work and a downturn in the economy, and the second was as a result of my job being eliminated. I wasn't in these roles very long, so when people glance down to the "Professional Experience" section on my résumé they see 2006-2008 and 2005-2006. Immediately, it sends up red flags that I'm a job hopper. However, this isn't the case, as I explained above. These were situations out of my control. Could you please advise how I should address this so that my résumé doesn't get pitched immediately? - Scott

Dear Scott: I actually don't think you would be seen as a job hopper, having 1-2 years with the first employer and 2-3 years with the second employer. Many hiring managers have, themselves, been the victim of a layoff, so gone are the days when it is assumed you left a company on your own accord. If you are truly worried about this, you could easily add a brief company description under the company name and before your title. In this description, you could say a little about the company and then a brief mention of the reason you left. I typically advise you don't mention the reason you left an employer, but if this is bothering you, then you certainly could. Here is an example: Leading manufacturer of widgets with $50M in annual sales; underwent a restructuring in 2006, resulting in a significant downsizing initiative. I think when you do this, you will calm your nerves about being seen as a job hopper, yet not focus too heavily on the reason for your departures.

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Do you have a question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@semissourian.com. Samantha Nolan owns Ladybug Design, a résumé writing and interview coaching firm. For more information, call (888) 9-LADYBUG (888-952-3928) or visit www.ladybug-design.com.

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