In Part One, I shared how writing your resume in advance is a means towards progressing your career, increasing your market value and keeping you from feeling trapped in your career. After saying all of that, I started explaining the logic behind my statement. I began by laying out a plan. Step one of the plan is to figure out what you want to do when you grow up. Step two of the plan is to study the work history of those who have been where you want to go. In this post, I want to lay out a couple of more steps.
Step Three: Add to your resume as honestly as you can.
Once you have researched the work history of others currently working in the position that you covet, take advantage of what you have learned. Answer the following questions after you have surveyed at least 5-10 different resumes.
- What are the basic duties of people in this role?
- How many years of experience do they tend to have before working in the role?
- What are some notable accomplishments made by the people in the role?
- How do you think their previous jobs prepared them for the role they are in now?
- What type of companies do they tend to work for? Large companies? Small companies? Startups?
- Based on the various resumes you’ve surveyed, could you write a job description that adequately captures the essence of the role you want? You can? Great! Write it! If you want to simply cut and paste duties found on the resumes you reviewed, that’s okay.
- How does the job description you would have written different from the job descriptions found on various job boards? Take a look at some job boards and consider what they have written verses what you have researched. What do you think is missing? Write that down.
Once you have answered all of those questions and written your job description, take a good look at your resume. Based on your research, are you on track towards your goal? What percentage of the work you are doing now in line with the type of work you want to do? If not at all or, just a little or, even if you are ahead of the curve, I want you to do the following.
- Add to your resume as honestly as you can, everything listed in the job description you created.
- Consider everything from your job description that could not honestly be added. This is your to-do list. I want you to figure out how to get those tasks and accomplishments on your resume. Whether that means volunteering to take on extra projects or, transferring to a different department just so you can get that experience, the end goal is doing what you can to get those details honestly on your resume.
Step Four: Begin to immerse yourself in the culture of the company where you want to work.
In other words, I want you to stalk the company you have an interest in working for. I want you to know it so well that by the time you do land an interview with them, you will give the impression that you would fit in so well that speaking with a recruiter is nothing more than a formality. Hey, such may seem far-fetched but believe me, it is entirely possible. Here are a few ways to give a really great first impression in an interview.
- Most companies have a “News” section on their website where they post press releases about their enterprise. Read them all. Study them as if there will be a test because, there will be.
- Go to Glassdoor and review the comments of people who work there or used to work there. Find out what they have to say about the company and take note.
- Go over the company website with a fine tooth comb, so to speak. Take notice of the charities and/or causes they support. Can you involve yourself with those initiatives?
- Go to Google News and read the recent press about the company.
- Search social media sites and online forums to see how the company is regarded by the public as well as employees. Who is discussing the company the most? Are they a brand ambassador? If so, connect with them. (A chat with a brand ambassador could lead to an employment referral.)
- Research online groups where the company employees might frequent and become active in those forums. (Why? Give recruiters and hiring managers something good to find when they research your background.)
- Research blog posts that discuss the company and leave positive feedback in the comments of those blogs. (Why? Give recruiters and hiring managers something good to find when they research your background.)
I’ve mentioned quite a lot and I have so much more to go. Are you finding these suggestions of use? Drop me a comment and let me know.
How To Advance Your Career by Writing Your Resume in Advance (Part Two) is a post from: Glassdoor Blog
from Glassdoor Blog https://feedproxy.google.com/~r/glassdoor/~3/kqNoD8HnaTU/
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