Everyone starts their career in an entry level position. A basic resume is great for entry level positions but will not work for executive positions as your experience grows. And, experience does grow. There is a young lady who started out as a cashier in a motorcycle accessory store. She did not have a college education and so she didn’t make much money. But she stayed there, went above and beyond the scope of her job and got raises and more responsibility.
After a couple of years, she moved on. This time, it was still a customer service job, but it paid more and it gave her the freedom to go to school to get a degree.
She has since gotten her degree after 3 years and in this current position she just got a promotion to manage two of the stores. It can be done. Many people work hard to climb this ladder of success. But you then have to change your resume to reflect you now, not the you from several years ago. It’s important to keep your entry level resume up to date. As you progress in the job field, keep adding new skills, new responsibilities, etc. You will also need to adjust your career outlook so that it reflects your work ethic and beliefs and how you can better a company with your experience.
As your resume turns into an executive resume, you will be able to recognize more things you can add to the resume so that it is tailored correctly, tastefully and will encompass everything you know. After all, if a resume is a reflection of you, don’t you want to be presented in the best possible light?
If you have been out of work for a while, then you know just how stressful a job search can be. It seems as if you apply over and over for weeks on end and still not an interview in site.
One thing to remember, it is very stressful, but at the same time make sure you are doing everything you can for it to be different.
If what you are presently doing is simply not working, change it up. Sit down and think about what you could do differently. Perhaps it’s searching for jobs in a different field altogether. Or maybe for some, you are simply not applying to enough jobs in a week’s time. I know that some will not understand this but there are those who only apply to one job a week. At that rate, in these economic times, you will never find a job.
Take a look at your resume. If you are applying for an executive position, does your resume reflect that? If your resume is more generic, then you will want to spice your resume up. In other words, your resume must reflect your jobs skills. If not, hiring managers will not look twice at a generic resume for an executive position. There are a number of ways to transform a regular resume into a professional or executive resume. If necessary, look at a few resume samples for some ideas.
So, sit down and think about what you need to change. There is no telling how long the job market will stay down and you just may not have the time to wait it out.
You have applied to the most important job of your executive career. This is the job you have been working towards for years. You have done everything right.
Then, you find out you are passed over because a reference on your shiny new executive resume came back in a bad light. What? How could that be!
You forgot all about the confrontation you had a few years back with a supervisor that you just could not get along with. Words were exchanged and you quit abruptly. At the time, you were not worried about it as you got a better job within a week. Now, it’s come back to haunt you. Hindsight is golden, so the saying goes. If we could see into the future at the time we make mistakes, we wouldn’t make those mistakes, right? Right. But we can’t, so we burn bridges that we shouldn’t. It’s very important not to burn bridges in any job, but especially if you are climbing the ladder to an executive position. It will return to haunt you because no employer wants someone who is hotheaded and cannot control themselves.
Be sure your executive resume is not going to have burnt bridges popping out when you least expect it. If the position has to be on your resume, then be sure to speak with the company that you had the conflict with and make sure they are willing to give you a good reference. Many times they will, as long as you are taking the right steps to work through it. Additionally, speaking with a resume writing service and getting counseling from them on how to proceed will go a long way in helping with your executive resume and you during the interview process.
One of the dilemmas that many people are now finding out is that maybe they took a job too fast. This is simply because so many have been out of work a long time and needed a job. While this is true, many finding out that maybe they said yes too fast. Something about the job is now a hardship for them. So, be careful and don’t say yes too fast. It is completely understandable to take the first job offered when you have been out of work a long time. However, for those who are just wanting to get out of a present job, be careful. The grass is not always greener on the other side. It is very easy in the early stages of job interviews to disregard the little voice in the back of your head that is saying “wait a minute, I don’t like the fact I won’t have any time off for a year,” or “I’m not very good at sales pitches.” Once you disregard your misgivings, accept the job and go to work, you just may be in the same boat or worse than the one you left. Before you start applying for jobs, take a look at your resume. See where you can make improvements. Make sure all information is up to date. Then, be sure to apply to positions that are really interesting to you and in the field that you are looking for. Another consideration is that there are a lot less jobs on the market today so it will be hard to use new positions as stepping stones to success. It may be better that you stay where you are, keep looking for the right one and don’t say yes too fast.
Since the job economy is dismal at best, there are a large number of people who are out of work and have been out of work for a long time. For many employed workers, they are working in a field totally unrelated to their college degree. So, is it helping?
Statistics show that those with a degree earn more money than those with only a high school diploma (90% compared to 64%). They may not be making as much as they had hoped, or in a field they trained for. But a college degree is still important.
Hopefully, the times that we live in currently will not last forever and the job economy will get better. When that happens, there will be more job opportunities that may fit your degree better.
Even those who attend a technical college and train in a specialized degree do better, on average. It may seem as if going to college is a waste of time currently, but it simply is not. You have to invest in yourself and hope for a better future. If you don’t, you will be most likely working for a lot less money than you are really worth. No one wants that. And, everyone wants to be able to take care of themselves and making more money is where it’s at.
The year 2012 is full of promise and now just may be the time that you seriously consider getting a degree. It does not matter how old you are, there is never a better time than now to better your life.
Since the new year is here and everyone is making new year’s resolutions, now is the perfect time to start the new year with a new executive resume. Make one of your resolutions a vow to find the perfect job with the right resume. If you are currently struggling to find a really good job or any job at all, it may be that you need to polish your resume. In this instance, the phrase “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t work. If it’s hard to find a job, you have to fix something. That something may be your resume. Perhaps you have not listed enough skills or it’s not powerful enough to get someone’s attention. With as many people out of work in today’s market, it is important that your resume be above par. It may now be time to hire the services of a professional resume writer. Someone who knows just how to make your executive resume stand above the rest. Our writers will meet with you to discuss what may be working and what might be hindering you on your resume. We’ll also discuss the type of role you are seeking and what you bring to the table. We can then put together a resume that you will be extremely proud of and know that it was well worth the expense of having it professionally done.
So make it your new year’s resolution to clean your resume up so that you will have that dream job in 2012.
