RESTRUCTURING YOUR RESUME
A candidate asked us recently about making changes to his resume. It was fine for a good job he was already competing on but during the interview, it became apparent he also had very good skills that were not listed - ones that would work for another job we had posted. This meant he could compete on two different positions. He was a little concerned about how he would restructure his resume.
So we showed him the job description of the second client and he was quite excited and said he could do all of this. Why was none of this information in the first resume? He did not think he would be working in that industry, so he thought it was not worth mentioning. Where would he put this information? We showed him how to emphasize his skills to tailor it to the job he was applying for; he did indeed have all those skills so it was not an act of deception. In fact, some people make several resumes emphasizing different skills used in a variety of jobs. The different emphasis helps the client company see what the candidate would bring to the position. As long as the dates and key information are consistent and true, it is absolutely acceptable to foreground the skills that are important to the job you are competing for.
I think it is important to have a Profile section - few bullets at the top of your resume that summarize your experience, your proficiencies, the industries you have worked in, perhaps your technologies and your soft skills. Structure your resume for the job you are targeting. Years ago, people had resumes done professionally which meant that changes could be time consuming; now it is easier for people to do on their own. Also in today’s job market, job-seekers often have to be adaptable, not just moving from one job to another but sometimes to a different field. This means that making the effort to customize your resume can be really essential for demonstrating how your past experience relates to the new field. The hiring committee needs you to spell out the connections in order to see how you would add something to their existing team.
With technology related jobs, it is less important to go back to the beginning of your career because the old technology is no longer relevant but any experience during the past 10 years should be included. List your accreditations, your experience with various platforms, software, technologies. With each employer, list the dates, company, your title, even approximate numbers of servers, devices, workstations etc. Any work done earlier than 10 years ago can be listed under a heading called “Previous Experience”- leave out the dates but show in bullet form what you did so the reader can make sense of it.
If you are coming to Canada from another country, it is wise to indicate some information about the company (or give a website) so recruiters and local firms have a better idea of the type of environments you have worked in. For example, the size of the team you worked in, the number of people you supervised - these help give a picture of your responsibilities. If your resume is a little longer than the typical 2 or 3 pages, more information is better when you are new to this country, but leave out personal information (such as birth date, marital status and passport numbers) and keep it under 4 pages.
A candidate asked us recently about making changes to his resume. It was fine for a good job he was already competing on but during the interview, it became apparent he also had very good skills that were not listed - ones that would work for another job we had posted. This meant he could compete on two different positions. He was a little concerned about how he would restructure his resume.
So we showed him the job description of the second client and he was quite excited and said he could do all of this. Why was none of this information in the first resume? He did not think he would be working in that industry, so he thought it was not worth mentioning. Where would he put this information? We showed him how to emphasize his skills to tailor it to the job he was applying for; he did indeed have all those skills so it was not an act of deception. In fact, some people make several resumes emphasizing different skills used in a variety of jobs. The different emphasis helps the client company see what the candidate would bring to the position. As long as the dates and key information are consistent and true, it is absolutely acceptable to foreground the skills that are important to the job you are competing for.
I think it is important to have a Profile section - few bullets at the top of your resume that summarize your experience, your proficiencies, the industries you have worked in, perhaps your technologies and your soft skills. Structure your resume for the job you are targeting. Years ago, people had resumes done professionally which meant that changes could be time consuming; now it is easier for people to do on their own. Also in today’s job market, job-seekers often have to be adaptable, not just moving from one job to another but sometimes to a different field. This means that making the effort to customize your resume can be really essential for demonstrating how your past experience relates to the new field. The hiring committee needs you to spell out the connections in order to see how you would add something to their existing team.
With technology related jobs, it is less important to go back to the beginning of your career because the old technology is no longer relevant but any experience during the past 10 years should be included. List your accreditations, your experience with various platforms, software, technologies. With each employer, list the dates, company, your title, even approximate numbers of servers, devices, workstations etc. Any work done earlier than 10 years ago can be listed under a heading called “Previous Experience”- leave out the dates but show in bullet form what you did so the reader can make sense of it.
If you are coming to Canada from another country, it is wise to indicate some information about the company (or give a website) so recruiters and local firms have a better idea of the type of environments you have worked in. For example, the size of the team you worked in, the number of people you supervised - these help give a picture of your responsibilities. If your resume is a little longer than the typical 2 or 3 pages, more information is better when you are new to this country, but leave out personal information (such as birth date, marital status and passport numbers) and keep it under 4 pages.
