So: you’re out of work, right? Maybe you got downsized; maybe your company was acquired by another firm that already HAD one of you..! The reason really doesn’t matter: the reality does, i.e. you don’t have any way to pay your rent this month.
This is a call to A-C-T-I-O-N.!! Instead of moaning about your fate to everyone you meet and wallowing in a puddle of self-pity, get your head on straight, get your hair cut or styled, select a nice outfit, polish/shine your shoes and get ready to do battle in the job hunting world.
You will need to take a long, hard look at your resume. Does it really say what you want it to, given the position(s) for which you are applying? If you have lots of experience in customer service, and the position doesn’t really call for that skill, it’s not going to do you much good on your resume, is it? Instead, find other areas in which you excelled at previous positions, and highlight those.
Another useful technique is for you to create MULTIPLE versions of your resume: i.e. the hospitality version, the banking version, the marketing version and so on. You can then send the appropriate resume to an employer. (This doesn’t mean that you should delete information about that teller job you had three years ago, but only that you should include an OBJECTIVE at the top of your resume in which you highlight your strengths in a particular area.
Scrutinize your resume too, for spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. When an employer sees these, his immediate reaction is, ‘He/She didn’t even take the time to proofread his/her resume.’ And, that tends to brand you as careless--a trait that won’t endear you to employers. After you have looked at you’re your resume word-by-word, give it to at least three other people to check.
For best results, DON’T ask your garage mechanic to review it! Nothing against that profession, but word usage doesn’t usually tend to be their strong suit! A better choice would be your high school English teacher or college professor, a lawyer, an author, and so on. In other words, people who work with words on a daily basis are best suited to evaluate what you have written.
Do NOT, repeat NOT use unintelligible jargon in your resume. Separating military personnel sometimes fall into this trap. Even though the name of your department/unit was a gajillion words long and therefore tedious to write out, do it anyway! A mumbo jumbo entry of “Administrator for all TGTTAB programs and Assistant to GPPHQS Division” won’t help you, because your future employer will just be confused. Provide a 1-2 sentence parenthetical insert describing the long titles.
Remember that your future depends on telling those around you that you are looking for a new position as an XYZ or that you want to transition into industry ABC. No one will know what you’re looking for unless you open your mouth and TELL them!
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