How can I change my resume?

I received an email from a friend of a friend the other day asking if I would critique his résume. He wanted to change industries and didn’t know how to go about revising his résume.

I realized this information is helpful to everyone looking to change jobs and/or industries, so I thought I’d share.

Hi Jim,

Thanks for sending me your resume.

So here’s a question for you…have you seen any job postings you’re interested in applying to?

Why do I ask this?

You need to decide what it is you want to do in your next job first.

Which of your many transferable skills do you want to continue doing? By identifying the job/industry/position you’ll discover if they are valuable in the job you want to pursue.

If they aren’t, perhaps the job titles need to be revisited.

I looked on my favorite job board indeed.com, and plugged in nonprofit planned giving as a keyword search. I’m certain your skills are in sync with the job requirements however they aren’t listed on your resume as accomplishments or that you’ve had experience demonstrating those skills.

Bottom line is a resume needs to marry the company’s desired skills  with your accomplishments.

Does this mean you need a lot of different types of resumes?

I knew you’d ask that

NO. Here is the remarkable thing happens when you focus and have a solid plan of action-the jobs you want to apply to are all looking for the exact same skill set in their new hire!

Crazy, I know, but true.

So, step one is to decide what you want to do in your next job.

And here’s a secret. If you decide it isn’t what you really want to do or it’s not getting you calls to interview, you can change your resume to reflect a different set of transferable skills.

Today’s job market is flooded with resumes from job seekers who place the burden on the hiring manager to uncover their value to an organization.

The point of the résume is to show the hiring manager how you can make their job easier when they hire you, not make it harder.

I hope this helps others realize how important having a focused résume will bring faster rewards.