The majority of employees, regardless of industry and profession are hired, evaluated, compensated and promoted by the same basic formula: 15% on technical ability and knowledge; 85% on their human relations skills, manageability, and leadership skills. Also known as behavior and personality trait candidate assessment.Anyone can learn the technical aspects of any job; it’s just a matter of education, experience and time. Most people excel in their careers through their ability to effectively communicate and interact with others, regardless of their station in the organization. These skills are transferable to multiple industries and are highly sought-after.
When change occurs, regardless if you initiated the change or you’re in its crosshairs – this formula is paramount to your future success and survival. To ensure resume continuity, a format change may be required to emphasize skills, knowledge and abilities in lieu of work history. Case in point -
I have an acquaintance at the local Starbucks that I have a cup of coffee with once a week. For the sake of this argument, we’ll call her Alice. She is the poster child of the majority of people whose lives have been affected by the state of the economy the past 2 to 3 years.
Alice worked for the same airline carrier for 14 years. She began her career as a ticket agent and worked her way through several customer service supervisor and manager positions until she was subjected to a RIF (reduction in force) in 2008. Over the course of the last 2 years, Alice has held 2 other customer service manager positions in the industry, each resulting in 2 more RIF’s.
Alice is married to a San Francisco Firefighter, they live in the North Bay, they have a mortgage, 3 children, 2 cars (still owe on one of them) and they can’t make it without 2 incomes. Sound familiar?
Alice also has a dream; she wants to go to culinary school. She is already an accomplished cook and helps her friend with a catering business when doing large events. She is an experienced novice that lacks professional training and experience. After graduation, Alice wants to work in an upscale restaurant and rise through the Chef ranks. Ultimately, she wants to open her own restaurant.
To realize her goal, Alice requires three things -
- The time to dedicate to this goal
- The resources to accomplish this goal
- The want to initiate change to pursue this goal
Alice can make the time commitment as there is no career to walk away from. She has the resources in the form of unemployment, and her RIF re-education grants will pay for 90% of her culinary school expenses. But Alice is afraid that if she makes this move and things don’t work out, she will have a 1 to 2 year hole in her employment history that hiring managers in the airline industry will use to eliminate her from consideration.
Alice has amassed skills and traits that are transferable to a multitude of organizations. Alice’s true strengths come out in situations that require -
- Team building
- Maintaining a sense of urgency
- Directing resources
- Communicating and facilitating change
- Recognizing possible stress points and preparing solutions
- Maintaining focus and accountability
The above short list is absolutely required to ensure the 191 passengers and crew of flight 2034 make it to their destination safely and on time. The same list is required to ensure the 250 dinner service meals at Antoine’s tonight meet each patron’s expectation. The same list is required when facilitating the new supply chain management system through 22 sporting goods chain stores in the Mid-West.
Resume continuity is not Alice’s issue, that’s what a professional resume consultant is for. Alice’s only issue as one friend put it is “regret, if she doesn’t take this opportunity to succeed”.
What’s this mean to me?
From chaos comes opportunity for those who can see past the confusion and turmoil and initiate change. Though there are many issues to be considered, one is not how you will restructure your resume if you utilize the services of a professional resume consultant. Doing so widens your vision and removes many self-imposed barriers. Get started now, contact us today.
Discover your strengths – get hired.
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