Job titles tell only a small part of your career story. Your skills and experience on the job tell more about you and what you are capable of, so how you communicate your skills in an interview and in your resume is more important —especially with the rise of AI. Getting clear on what you can offer regardless of where you have worked and how you put the information forth to employers can be of value.
Let’s look at how to tell the whole story:
Transferable skills can open doors in many ways. Right now there is a big focus on soft skills and technical skills, and there is now more focus than ever on your experience during the recruitment process than on your education. Not to say that education is not important, but if you do not have the education in the area you would like to go, it is worth doing some digging. Revising your resume and practicing how you communicate this information can get you where you want to go.
An example of this can include working in retail, and you want to get into more administrative roles. Retail is more than just customer service; there are financial matters like counting the till at the end of the night and accurately reporting the day’s sales, solving problems with upset customers, organizing and making sure that store inventory is correct, being able to handle multiple requests at the same time, and working in what can be a demanding environment.
So how do you translate this onto your resume, job application, and in an interview?
To do this, first skip the objective on the resume; it is outdated, and the employer knows that you are interested in the role because you have applied! What you need to do is capture the employer’s interest in the top 1/3 of the first page of your resume. Come up with 4 to 5 bullet points that speak to the job description you are applying for. The employer is hiring a candidate to solve a problem, and you need to tell them how you can solve and manage the responsibilities of the role. Use metrics, actual examples of what you have done, and relate it to the role. Avoid generic statements like, “Works well in a team”; tell them how you worked well in a team. Once you have captured their interest, they will commonly scan the rest of the resume.
Did you know that recruiters look at resumes and decide if they want to call you in the first 10 seconds? This is why the first part of the resume is so important.
Moving on to the experience you have. Use your bullet points to talk to the employer about what you did, once again focusing on how you brought about results to meet company expectations. Avoid generic statements; always use the same keywords and phrases that are in the job description and have a different resume for each job you apply for. It is better to have a well-tailored resume to one or two employers a day than to send out 50 applications in one week. Use the PAR method when writing out your resume — Problem, Action, Result. This is a good key guidance format to clearly state what you have accomplished.
Resumes are important tools, and communication is key when getting your resume into the hands of the right person.
Jennifer Bouley is a Career Development Practitioner located in St Stephen. She has a passion for helping others find wellness in their careers, while finding fulfilling jobs. Jennifer can be reached at blissplusyou@gmail.com.
