EXPERT RESUMES for
Career Changers
Wendy S. Enelow and
Louise M. Kursmark
TLFeBOOK
Expert Resumes for Career Changers
© 2005 by Wendy S. Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark
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2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Enelow, Wendy S.
Expert resumes for career changers / Wendy S. Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-59357-092-9 (alk. paper)
1. Résumés (Employment) 2. Career changes. I. Kursmark, Louise. II. Title.
HF5383.E47875 2005
650.14'2--dc22 2004023589
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ISBN 1-59357-092-9
TLFeBOOK
ABOUT THIS BOOK ........................................................................vii
INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................ix
PART I: Resume Writing, Strategy, and Formats .......................................1
CHAPTER 1: Resume-Writing Strategies for Career
Changers.........................................................................................3
The Top Nine Strategies for an Effective Resume ................................4
Resume Strategy #1: Who Are You and How Do You Want
to Be Perceived? .......................................................................4
Resume Strategy #2: Sell It to Me…Don’t Tell It to Me ..............6
Resume Strategy #3: Use Keywords .............................................7
Resume Strategy #4: Use the “Big” and Save the “Little” ............9
Resume Strategy #5: Make Your Resume “Interviewable” ............10
Resume Strategy #6: Eliminate Confusion with Structure and
Context ..................................................................................10
Resume Strategy #7: Use Function to Demonstrate
Achievement ..........................................................................11
Resume Strategy #8: Remain in the Realm of Reality ................... 11
Resume Strategy #9: Be Confident ..............................................11
There Are No Resume-Writing Rules ...............................................11
Content Standards ......................................................................12
Presentation Standards ...............................................................16
Accuracy and Perfection ..............................................................19
CHAPTER 2: Writing Your Resume...............................................21
Recommended Resume-Writing Strategy and Formats for Career
Changers........................................................................................21
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
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Career-Changer Strategies ...........................................................22
Sample Formats and Situations for Career-Change Resumes .........23
Why Format Is So Important .....................................................33
Step-by-Step: Writing the Perfect Resume ...........................................36
Contact Information ..................................................................36
Career Summary ........................................................................37
Professional Experience ...............................................................41
Education, Credentials, and Certifications .................................46
The “Extras” ...............................................................................48
Writing Tips, Techniques, and Important Lessons ...............................54
Get It Down—Then Polish and Perfect It ................................54
Write Your Resume from the Bottom Up .....................................54
Include Notable or Prominent “Extra” Stuff in Your
Career Summary ......................................................................55
Use Resume Samples to Get Ideas for Content, Format,
and Organization ....................................................................56
Include Dates or Not? .................................................................56
Always Send a Cover Letter When You
Forward Your Resume .............................................................57
Never Include Salary History or Salary Requirements
on Your Resume ..................................................................... 58
Always Remember That You Are Selling ......................................59
CHAPTER 3: Printed, Scannable, Electronic, and
Web Resumes ................................................................................61
The Four Types of Resumes ................................................................61
The Printed Resume ....................................................................61
The Scannable Resume ............................................................... 62
The Electronic Resume ..............................................................62
The Web Resume .......................................................................64
The Four Resume Types Compared ..................................................68
Are You Ready to Write Your Resume? ................................................70
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Expert Resumes for Career Changers
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PART II: Sample Resumes for Career Changers ........................................71
CHAPTER 4: Resumes for Career Changers Seeking
Accounting, Finance, Banking, Administrative, Office
Management, Business Management, and Insurance
Positions..........................................................................................73
CHAPTER 5: Resumes for Career Changers Seeking Technology
Positions ............................................................................................107
CHAPTER 6: Resumes for Career Changers Seeking Sales,
Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Writing, and
Events Management Positions ........................................................123
CHAPTER 7: Resumes for Career Changers Seeking Health
Care, Social Services, and Personal Services Positions .................153
CHAPTER 8: Resumes for Career Changers Seeking Training,
Human Resources, Teaching, and Educational
Administration Positions..................................................................169
CHAPTER 9: Resumes for Career Changers Seeking Sports and
Recreation, Cultural, and Creative and Performing Arts
Positions ............................................................................................197
CHAPTER 10: Resumes for Career Changers Seeking Legal,
Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and Investigator
Positions
............................................................................................215
CHAPTER 11: Resumes for Career Changers Seeking
Positions with Nonprofit Organizations ......................................225
CHAPTER 12: Resumes for Senior Executives Seeking
Lower-Level Business Positions
......................................................241
Appendix: Internet Career Resources .............................................251
Dictionaries and Glossaries ..............................................................251
Job Search Sites ...............................................................................252
General Sites .............................................................................252
Accounting Careers ...................................................................253
Arts and Media Careers .............................................................254
Education Careers .....................................................................254
Entry-Level Careers ..................................................................254
v
Table of Contents
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Government and Military Careers ..............................................254
Health Care/Medical/Pharmaceutical Careers ..........................255
Human Resources Careers .........................................................255
International Careers .................................................................255
Legal Careers ............................................................................255
Sales and Marketing Careers ......................................................256
Service Careers ..........................................................................256
Technology/Engineering Careers .............................................256
Sites for Miscellaneous Specific Fields ........................................257
Company Information .....................................................................257
Interviewing Tips and Techniques ...................................................258
Salary and Compensation Information .............................................258
Index of Contributors .......................................................................261
Index ..................................................................................................267
vi
Expert Resumes for Career Changers
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If you’re reading this book, you’re most likely one of tens of thousands of people
who are considering a career change—either a change in position or a change in
industry. You might have made this decision because of any one of the following
reasons:
• Your current industry has been hard hit by the recent economic recession.
• The position that you currently hold has been eliminated in your company and
also in many similar companies.
• You’re bored in your current position and ready for a change.
• You want to pursue your true passion as your new career.
• Your personal situation has changed and you’re now able to pursue a career of
real interest to you.
• You’re relocating and need to explore new opportunities in your new geo-
graphic area.
• You want greater opportunities for increased compensation and advancement.
• You’re frustrated and ready for a change.
• You’re tired of all the responsibilities of your career and ready to downsize.
These are just a few of the reasons you might be considering a career change.
There are many other reasons, and you’ll find resumes in this book that are rele-
vant to them all.
Now, here’s the good news: You’ve selected a great time to make a career change!
Despite the economic concerns that we are facing, believe it or not, it’s a great
time to look for a new job or a new career. According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, the employment outlook is optimistic.
Consider these findings:
• Total U.S. employment is projected to increase 15 percent between 2000 and
2010.
• Service-producing industries will continue to be the dominant employment
generator, adding more than 20 million jobs by 2010.
• Goods-producing industries will also experience gains in employment,
although not as significant as those in the service sector.
ABOUT THIS
BOOK
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In chapter 1, you can read more interesting statistics, all of which will reinforce
the fact that you’ve made the right decision to launch your search campaign today.
To take advantage of all of these opportunities, you must first develop a powerful,
performance-based resume. To be a successful job seeker, you must know how to
communicate your qualifications in a strong and effective written presentation.
Sure, it’s important to let employers know essential details, but a resume is more
than just your job history and academic credentials. A winning resume is a concise
yet comprehensive document that gives you a competitive edge in the job market.
Creating such a powerful document is what this book is all about.
We’ll explore the changes in resume presentation that have arisen over the past
decade. In the past, resumes were almost always printed on paper and mailed.
Today, e-mail has become the chosen method for resume distribution in many
industries and professions. In turn, many of the traditional methods for “typing”
and presenting resumes have changed dramatically. This book will instruct you in
the methods for preparing resumes for e-mail, scanning, and Web site posting, as
well as the traditional printed resume.
By using Expert Resumes for Career Changers as your professional guide, you will
succeed in developing a powerful and effective resume that opens doors, gets
interviews, and helps you land your next great opportunity!
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Expert Resumes for Career Changers
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This book, the seventh in the Expert Resumes series, has been one of the most
challenging to write because it covers such a large and diverse audience. There are,
however, several common denominators facing every individual who is interested
in making a career change, either within their profession or to another industry. In
summary, the fact that you are seeking to change careers will dictate almost every-
thing that you write in your resume, how you write it, and where it is positioned.
Your goal is to paint a picture of the “new” you and not simply reiterate what you
have done in the past, expecting a prospective employer to figure out that you can
do the “new” thing just as well. It simply does not work that way!
If you fall into the career-changer category, the critical questions you must ask
yourself about your resume and your job search are the following:
• How are you going to paint a picture of the “new” you? What are you
going to highlight about your past experience that ties directly to your current
objectives? What accomplishments, skills, and qualifications are you going to
“sell” in your resume to support your “new” career objective?
• What resume format are you going to use? Is a chronological, functional, or
hybrid resume format going to work best for you? Which format will give you
the greatest flexibility to highlight the skills you want to bring to the forefront
in support of your career change?
• Where are you going to look for a job? Assuming you know the type of
position and industry you want to enter at this point in your career, how are
you going to identify and approach those companies?
When you can answer the how, what, and where, you’ll be prepared to write your
resume and launch your search campaign. Use chapters 1 through 3 to guide you
in developing the content for your resume and selecting the appropriate design
and layout. Your resume should focus on your skills, achievements, and qualifica-
tions, demonstrating the value and benefit you bring to a prospective employer as
they relate to your current career goals. The focus is on the “new” you and not
necessarily what you have done professionally in the past.
Review the sample resumes in chapters 4 through 12 to see what other people
have done—people in similar situations to yours and facing similar challenges.
You’ll find interesting formats, unique skills presentations, achievement-focused
resumes, project-focused resumes, and much more. Most importantly, you’ll see
samples written by the top resume writers in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
INTRODUCTION
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x
Expert Resumes for Career Changers
These are real resumes that got interviews and generated job offers. They’re the
“best of the best” from us to you.
What Are Your Career Objectives?
Before you proceed any further with writing your resume, you’ll need to begin by
defining your career or job objectives—specifically, the types of positions, compa-
nies, and industries in which you are interested. This is critical, because a haphaz-
ard, unfocused job search will lead you nowhere.
KNOW THE EMPLOYMENT TRENDS
One of the best ways to begin identifying your career objectives is to look at what
opportunities are available today, in the immediate future, and in the longer-term
future. Two of the most useful tools for this type of research and information col-
lection are the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site
(www.bls.gov) and the Bureau’s Occupational Outlook Handbook
(www.bls.gov/oco).
Some of the most interesting findings that you’ll discover when investigating
potential industry and job targets are these:
• Total employment is projected to increase 14.8 percent between 2002 and
2012.
• Service-producing companies will continue to be the dominant employment
generator, adding 20.8 million jobs by 2012, a gain of 19.2 percent.
• Goods-producing companies (manufacturing and construction) will contribute
modest employment gains of only 3.5 percent.
• Computer- and health-related occupations account for 21 of the 30 fastest-
growing occupations.
• Computer- and health-related occupations account for all of the top 10 fastest-
growing occupations (health care with six; computer with four).
• The 10 fastest-growing industries are in the service sector and include software
publishing, computer systems design, management and technical consulting,
employment, social assistance, child day care, professional and business servic-
es, motion picture and video, health services, and arts/entertainment and
recreation.
• Of all goods-producing industries, only four were projected to demonstrate
growth. They are pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing, construction,
food manufacturing, and motor vehicle and parts manufacturing.
These facts and statistics clearly demonstrate that there are numerous employment
opportunities across diverse sectors within our economy, from advanced technolo-
gy positions to hourly wage jobs in construction and home health care. Although
most industries may not be growing at double-digit percentages as in years
past, companies continue to expand and new companies emerge every day. The
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Introduction
xi
opportunities are out there; your challenge is to find them and position yourself as
the “right” candidate.
MANAGE YOUR JOB SEARCH AND YOUR CAREER
To take advantage of these opportunities, you must be an educated job seeker.
That means you must know what you want in your career, where the hiring action
is, what qualifications and credentials you need to attain your desired career goals,
and how best to market your qualifications. It is no longer enough to have a spe-
cific talent or set of skills. Whether you’re a teacher seeking a position in public
relations, a nurse wanting to transfer into pharmaceutical sales, an engineer seek-
ing new opportunities as a financial manager, or a person with any one of hun-
dreds of other career-change goals, you must also be a strategic marketer, able to
package and promote your experience to take advantage of this wave of employ-
ment opportunity.
There’s no doubt that the employment market has changed dramatically from only
a few years ago. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, you should expect
to hold between 10 and 20 different jobs during your career. No longer is stability
the status quo. Today, the norm is movement, onward and upward, in a fast-paced
and intense employment market where there are many, many opportunities for
career changers. And to take advantage of all of the opportunities, every job seek-
er—no matter the profession, no matter the industry, no matter the job goal—
must proactively control and manage his career.
You are also faced with the additional challenge of positioning yourself for a suc-
cessful career change. In fact, in many instances, you may be competing against
other candidates who have experience within the industry or profession you are
attempting to enter. This can make your job search even more difficult than that
of the more “traditional” job seeker who moves from one position to another sim-
ilar position without having to make a career change.
And that is precisely why this book is so important to you. We’ll outline the strate-
gies and techniques that you can use to effectively position yourself against other
candidates, creating a resume that highlights your skills and qualifications, while
effectively minimizing the fact that you’re seeking a career change.
Job Search Questions and Answers
Before we get to the core of this book—resume writing and design—we’d like to
offer some practical job search advice that is valuable to virtually every career
changer.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION FOR A CAREER
CHANGER?
As outlined previously, the single most important consideration for any career-
change candidate is how you’re going to highlight your skills, qualifications, and
achievements as they relate to and support your current career objectives.
Remember, your career-change resume is not a historical document that simply
TLFeBOOK
lists where you’ve worked and what you’ve done. Rather, a truly effective career-
change resume is one that takes all of the skills and experience you have that are
relevant to your new career goal and brings them to the forefront to create a pic-
ture of the “new” you.
Sometimes, this can be a relatively easy process. Let’s use a nurse transitioning
into the field of medical equipment sales as an example. Sheila Barnes already has
extensive experience in the medical and health-care fields, has worked closely with
physicians and other health-care providers so she is comfortable interacting with
them, and most likely has a wealth of experience working with a diversity of med-
ical equipment and perhaps with vendors. This is the type of information that will
be highlighted in her career-change resume and not her daily nursing and patient-
care responsibilities.
In other situations, the parallels between past experience and current objectives
might not be so closely aligned. Consider John Mackam who, after 20 years in the
construction industry, has now decided to seek a position in the field of account-
ing and finance, an area that has not been one of his primary responsibilities.
Writing this resume will take more creativity to identify any and all relevant skills
he might have (for example, setting project budgets, estimating project costs, writ-
ing reports, keeping records, and administering projects). The concept is the same
as with the previous nursing example. The stretch to identify transferable skills
might be more difficult, but it’s certainly not impossible.
Whatever your situation or objectives, when preparing your resume you should
keep in mind one critical fact:
Your resume is a marketing tool written to sell YOU!
HOW DO YOU ENTER A NEW CAREER?
Your success in entering a new career field relies on two important factors:
• Highlighting any relevant skills, qualifications, accomplishments, experiences,
education, credentials, volunteer work, involvement with professional or civic
associations, and more that tie directly into your current career objective.
• Using an integrated job search campaign that will get you in front of decision
makers at a wide array of companies in your field of interest. You can read
much more about job search strategy in the next few pages of this chapter in
the section titled “How Do You Get the Jobs?”
WHAT IS THE BEST RESUME STRATEGY FOR MAKING A SUCCESSFUL
CAREER CHANGE?
The single most important factor in making a career change is to remember that
your resume must sell what you have to offer:
• If you’re a teacher seeking to transition into a position in corporate training
and development, sell the fact that you created new curricula, designed new
xii
Expert Resumes for Career Changers
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Introduction
instructional programs, acquired innovative teaching materials, and trained
new faculty.
• If you’re a hands-on computer technician now seeking a position marketing
new technology products, highlight the wealth of your technical expertise, your
success in working with and supporting end-users, your ability to manage proj-
ects, and your strong communication skills.
• If you’re an accountant pursuing opportunities in general management, sell
your experience in policy and procedure development, business management,
team building and leadership, strategic planning, and organizational develop-
ment.
When writing your resume, your challenge is to create a picture of knowledge,
action, and results. In essence, you’re stating “This is what I know, this is how I’ve
used it, and this is how well I’ve performed.” Success sells, so be sure to highlight
yours. If you don’t, no one else will.
WHERE ARE THE JOBS?
The jobs are everywhere—from multinational manufacturing conglomerates to
the small retail sales companies in your neighborhood; from high-tech electronics
firms in Silicon Valley to 100-year-old farming operations in rural communities;
from banks and financial institutions to hospitals and health-care facilities in every
city and town. The jobs are everywhere.
HOW DO YOU GET THE JOBS?
To answer this question, we need to review the basic principle underlying job
search:
Job search is marketing!
You have a product to sell—yourself—and the best way to sell it is to use all
appropriate marketing channels just as you would for any other product.
Suppose you wanted to sell televisions. What would you do? You’d market your
products using newspaper, magazine, and radio advertisements. You might devel-
op a company Web site to build your e-business, and perhaps you’d hire a field
sales representative to market to major retail chains. Each of these is a different
marketing channel through which you’re attempting to reach your audience.
The same approach applies to job search. You must use every marketing channel
that’s right for you. Unfortunately, there is no exact formula that works for every-
one. What’s right for you depends on your specific career objectives—the type of
position you want, the industry you’re targeting, your geographic restrictions (if
you have any), your salary requirements, and more.
Following are the most valuable marketing channels for a successful job search.
These are ordered from most effective to least effective.
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1. Referrals. There is nothing better than a personal referral to a company, either
in general or for a specific position. Referrals can open doors that, in most
instances, would never be accessible any other way. If you know anyone who
could possibly refer you to a specific organization, contact that person immedi-
ately and ask for his or her assistance. This is particularly critical for career
changers and will be, by far, your single best marketing strategy to land a new
position.
2. Networking. Networking is the backbone of every successful job search.
Although you might consider it an unpleasant or difficult task, it is essential
that you network effectively with your professional colleagues and associates,
past employers, past co-workers, suppliers, neighbors, friends, and others who
might know of opportunities that are right for you. Another good strategy is
to attend meetings of trade or professional associations in your area that are for
professions in occupations like those you’re seeking to enter. This is a wonder-
ful strategy to make new contacts and start building your network in your new
career field. And particularly in today’s nomadic job market—where you’re
likely to change jobs every few years—the best strategy is to keep your network
“alive” even when you’re not searching for a new position.
3. Responding to newspaper, magazine, and periodical advertisements.
Although the opportunity to post job opportunities online has reduced the
overall number of print advertisements, they still abound. Do not forget about
this “tried-and-true” marketing strategy. If they’ve got the job and you have
the qualifications—even if you are a career changer, it can be a perfect fit.
4. Responding to online job postings. One of the most advantageous results of
the technology revolution is an employer’s ability to post job announcements
online and a job seeker’s ability to respond immediately via e-mail. It’s a won-
der! In most (but not all) instances, these are bona fide opportunities, and it’s
well worth your while to spend time searching for and responding to appropri-
ate postings. However, don’t make the mistake of devoting too much time to
searching the Internet. It can consume a huge amount of your time that you
should spend on other job-search efforts.
To expedite your search, here are the largest and most widely used online job-
posting sites—presented alphabetically, not necessarily in order of effectiveness
or value:
xiv
Expert Resumes for Career Changers
http://careers.msn.com
http://careers.yahoo.com
www.americanjobs.com
www.careerbuilder.com
www.employmentguide.com
www.dice.com
www.flipdog.monster.com
www.hirediversity.com
www.hotjobs.com
www.hotresumes.yahoo.com
www.monster.com
www.net-temps.com
www.sixfigurejobs.com
TLFeBOOK
5. Posting your resume online. The Net is swarming with reasonably priced (if
not free) Web sites where you can post your resume. It’s quick, easy, and the
only passive thing you can do in your search. All of the other marketing chan-
nels require action on your part. With online resume postings, once you’ve
posted, you’re done. You then just wait (and hope!) for some response. Again,
it’s important not to invest too much time, energy, or anticipation in this
approach. Your chances of landing a job this way are slim. But because it is
quick, easy, and low- or no-cost, it is certainly a worthwhile activity.
6. Targeted e-mail campaigns (resumes and cover letters) to recruiters.
Recruiters have jobs, and you want one. It’s pretty straightforward. The only
catch is to find the “right” recruiters who have the “right” jobs. Therefore,
you must devote the time and effort to preparing the “right” list of recruiters.
There are many resources on the Internet where you can access information
about recruiters (for a fee), sort that information by industry (such as banking,
sales, manufacturing, purchasing, transportation, finance, public relations, or
telecommunications), and then cross-reference it with position specialization
(such as management, technical, or administration). This allows you to identify
the recruiters who would be interested in a candidate with your qualifications.
Because these campaigns are transmitted electronically, they are easy and inex-
pensive to produce. Here are some sites to help with this activity:
www.profileresearch.com
www.kennedyinfo.com
When working with recruiters, it’s important to realize that they do not work
for you! Their clients are the hiring companies that pay their fees. They are not
in business to “find a job” for you, but rather to fill a specific position with a
qualified candidate, either you or someone else. To maximize your chances of
finding a position through a recruiter or agency, don’t rely on just one or two,
but distribute your resume to many that meet your specific criteria.
A word of caution: Most recruiters are looking to fill specific positions
with individuals with very specific qualifications. As a career changer, you are
likely to find that recruiters are not your best source of job opportunities
because they are not paid to “think outside the box.” If their client (the hiring
company) has requested a candidate with experience in x, y, and z, recruiters
are going to present only those job seekers with precisely that experience.
Knowing that you’re attempting to change careers and might not have precise-
ly the background that the company is looking for, recruiters might simply
pass you by. Don’t be alarmed; it’s their job! But what this means for you as a
career changer is that you should invest minimal effort toward recruiter search-
es and certainly shouldn’t think that it will be “the” approach for you. Quite
likely, it will not.
7. Targeted e-mail and print resume-mailing campaigns to employers. Just as
with campaigns to recruiters (see item 6), you must be extremely careful to
select just the right employers that would be interested in a candidate with
your qualifications. The closer you stick to “where you belong” in relation
to your specific experience, the better your response rate will be. Just as with
recruiters, human resources professionals and hiring managers might have
xv
Introduction
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difficulty appreciating the unique set of skills and qualifications career changers
bring to a position.
If you are targeting companies in a technology industry, we recommend that
you use e-mail as your preferred method for resume submission. However, if
the companies you are contacting are not in the technology industry, we
believe that print campaigns (paper and envelopes mailed the old-fashioned
way) are a more suitable and effective presentation—particularly if you are a
management or executive candidate.
8. In-person “cold calls” to companies and recruiters. We consider this the
least effective and most time-consuming marketing strategy. It is extremely dif-
ficult to just walk in the door and get in front of the right person, or any per-
son who can take hiring action. You’ll be much better off focusing your time
and energy on other, more productive channels.
WHAT ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES IN CONSULTING AND CONTRACTING?
Are you familiar with the term “free agent”? It’s the latest buzzword for an inde-
pendent contractor or consultant who moves from project to project and company
to company as the workload dictates. If you have particular expertise (for example,
new product development, business turnaround, corporate relocation, ad cam-
paign design, or project management), this is an avenue that you might want to
consider. For many career changers, this will not be a viable career alternative
because it calls on specific expertise and experience that you might not want to
use in your new career. But it is important enough that it does warrant a brief
discussion.
According to an article in Quality Progress magazine, 10 years ago less than 10
percent of the U.S. workforce was employed as free agents. Currently, that num-
ber is greater than 20 percent and is expected to increase to 40 percent over the
next 10 years. The demand for free agents is vast, and the market offers excellent
career opportunities.
The reason for this growth is directly related to the manner in which companies
are now hiring—or not hiring—their workforces. The opportunity now exists for
companies to hire on a “per-project” basis and avoid the costs associated with full-
time, permanent employees. Companies hire the staff they need just when they
need them—and when they no longer need them, they’re gone.
The newest revolution in online job search has risen in response to this demand:
job-auction sites where employers bid on prospective employees. Individuals post
their resumes and qualifications for review by prospective employers. The employ-
ers then competitively bid to hire or contract with each candidate. Also, employers
can post projects that they want to outsource and prospective employees can bid
on them. One well-established job-auction Web site is www.freeagent.com. Check
it out. It’s quite interesting, particularly if you’re pursuing a career in consulting
or contracting. Another good Web resource is www.freeagentnation.com, a sup-
port and information site for people pursuing this career path.
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Expert Resumes for Career Changers
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Conclusion
Career opportunities abound today, even for the career changer. It has never
been easier to learn about and apply for jobs than it is now with all the Internet
resources available to us. Your challenge is to arm yourself with a powerful resume
and cover letter, identify the best ways to get yourself and your resume into the
market, and shine during every interview. If you’re committed and focused, we
can almost guarantee that you’ll make a smooth transition into your new career
field and find yourself happily employed.
xvii
Introduction
TLFeBOOK
TLFeBOOK
PART I
Resume Writing,
Strategy, and
Formats
CHAPTER 1: Resume-Writing Strategies for Career Changers
CHAPTER 2: Writing Your Resume
CHAPTER 3: Printed, Scannable, Electronic, and Web Resumes
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Resume-Writing Strategies for
Career Changers
If you’re reading this book, chances are you have decided to change
your career direction; enter a new industry; or pursue a new, more
fulfilling profession. Regardless of the underlying reasons for your
career change, you are faced with some unique challenges in your
job search and, more specifically, in how you write your resume.
What can you do to capture employers’ attention, impress them
with your qualifications and achievements, and not be put “out of
the running” because you do not have experience in a particular
industry or profession?
Before we answer those questions and many others, let’s talk about
who this book was written for—people representing just about
every profession and industry imaginable. The only thing that our
readers have in common is that each one has decided to make a
career change for any one of a host of personal or professional rea-
sons. Consider this book an excellent resource for tips, strategies,
and techniques on resume writing if you are making a career change
because of any of the following reasons:
• Your original industry or profession has been extremely hard hit
by economic recession or “offshoring,” and opportunities have
virtually dried up.
• You have always wanted to pursue a different career track but
were unable to do so because of family, financial, or other per-
sonal obligations.
• You fell into a position right out of college and pursued that
career for years, and then woke up one day and realized it was
time to do what you wanted to do and not what you were “sup-
posed” to do.
• You are now in a position to pursue the lifelong dream or hobby
that has been burning inside of you since your early days.
• You are relocating to a new area where opportunities for indi-
viduals with your experience are quite limited and you need to
open yourself to new opportunities and career challenges.
CHAPTER 1
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Part I: Resume Writing, Strategy, and Formats
4
• You have decided you want to pursue a career that will offer greater opportu-
nities for career progression.
• You are driven to make more money, and the best strategy to achieve this goal
is to leave your current, low-paying industry or profession.
• Your volunteer work has become increasingly important and you want to pur-
sue professional opportunities with an association, a not-for-profit organiza-
tion, or a similar entity.
• You are frustrated by the lack of opportunities and the tremendous volatility in
the corporate marketplace and have decided to pursue a career with federal,
state, or local government where you believe your job will be more stable.
• You retired from your original career and have now decided to return to work
in a different, yet more personally rewarding, position.
• You are tired of the tremendous responsibilities associated with your position
and want to downsize your career into a less-stressful job.
For every job seeker—those currently employed and those not currently work-
ing—a powerful resume is an essential component of the job search campaign. In
fact, it is virtually impossible to conduct a search without a resume. It is your call-
ing card that briefly, yet powerfully, communicates the skills, qualifications, experi-
ence, and value you bring to a prospective employer. It is the document that will
open doors and generate interviews. It is the first thing people will learn about
you when you forward it in response to an advertisement, and it is the last thing
they’ll remember when they’re reviewing your qualifications after an interview.
Your resume is a sales document, and you are the product! You must identify the
features (what you know and what you can do) and benefits (how you can help an
employer) of that product, and then communicate them in a concise and hard-
hitting written presentation. Remind yourself over and over, as you work your way
through the resume process, that you are writing marketing literature designed to
sell a new product—YOU—into a new position.
Your resume can have tremendous power and a phenomenal impact on your job
search. So don’t take it lightly. Rather, devote the time, energy, and resources that
are essential to developing a resume that is well written, visually attractive, and
effective in communicating who you are and how you want to be perceived.
The Top Nine Strategies for an Effective Resume
Following are the nine core strategies for writing effective and successful resumes.
RESUME STRATEGY #1: WHO ARE YOU AND HOW DO YOU
WANT TO BE PERCEIVED?
Now that you’ve decided to change your career direction, the very first step is to
identify your career interests, goals, and objectives. This task is critical because it is
the underlying foundation for what you include in your resume, how you include
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5
Chapter 1: Resume-Writing Strategies for Career Changers
it, and where you include it. Knowing that you want to make a career change is
not enough. To write a powerful and effective resume, you must know—to some
degree of certainty—the type or types of position you will be seeking.
There are two concepts to consider here:
• Who you are: This relates to what you have done professionally and/or aca-
demically. Are you a sales representative, contract administrator, training pro-
fessional, engineer, banker, scientist, technologist, or management executive?
What is it that you have done for a living all these years? Who are you?
• How you want to be perceived: This is critical and relates to your current
career objectives. Consider the following scenario: You’re a customer service
representative in the telecommunications industry and you’ve decided to pur-
sue opportunities in personnel training and development, where you believe
you will be more personally rewarded. Rather than focus your resume on your
customer service career, focus it on the skills you’ve acquired in that career
track that relate to a position in training and development. Specifically, you’ll
want to include information about employee training programs that you’ve
helped to create and deliver, one-on-one training that you’ve provided, consul-
tations with management about internal training needs, any experience you
have in developing and designing training materials, any other personnel expe-
rience you may have (for example, hiring, orientation, employee development
planning), your public-speaking experience, and, of course, your outstanding
communication skills.
Here’s another example: You’re a successful insurance sales associate, but
you’ve had enough of that career: you’re bored, you’re unfulfilled, and you’re
ready for new challenges. You’re somewhat uncertain as to your specific career
objective at this point, but you do know you want an “inside” job that will use
your strong planning, analytical, financial-reporting, and related skills. Rather
than focus on your chronological work experience that will put tremendous
emphasis on your insurance experience, prepare a resume that highlights all the
relevant skills you bring to the position—the skills we outlined previously, along
with any relevant achievements. Allow the beginning of your resume to focus
on all that you’ve accomplished and the value you bring to a new employer as
you want them to perceive it; then, just briefly list your work history at the
end.
The strategy is to connect these two concepts by using the who you are informa-
tion that ties directly to the how you want to be perceived message to determine
what information to include in your resume. By following this strategy, you’re
painting a picture that allows a prospective employer to see you as you want to
be seen—as an individual with the qualifications for the type of position you are
pursuing.
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WARNING: If you prepare a resume without first clearly identifying what your
objectives are and how you want to be perceived, your resume will have no
focus and no direction. Without the underlying knowledge of “This is what I
want to be,” you do not know what to highlight in your resume. As a result, the
document becomes a historical overview of your career and not the sales docu-
ment it should be in order to facilitate your successful career change.
RESUME STRATEGY #2: SELL IT TO ME…DON’T TELL IT TO ME
We’ve already established the fact that resume writing is sales. You are the product,
and you must create a document that powerfully communicates the value of that
product. One particularly effective strategy for accomplishing this is the “Sell It to
Me…Don’t Tell It to Me” strategy, which impacts virtually every word you write
on your resume.
If you “tell it,” you are simply stating facts. If you “sell it,” you promote it, adver-
tise it, and draw attention to it. Look at the difference in impact between these
examples:
Tell It Strategy: Managed start-up of a new 100-employee teleclass
center.
Sell It Strategy: Directed team of 12 in the successful start-up,
staffing, policy/procedure development, budgeting, and operations
design for a new $1.4 million teleclass center.
Tell It Strategy: Coordinated all secretarial, clerical, and administrative
functions for large commodities export company.
Tell It Strategy: Implemented a series of process improvements that
reduced staffing requirements 20%, increased daily productivity 30%,
and reduced billing errors 14% for a large commodities export compa-
ny. Full responsibility for all secretarial, clerical, and administrative
functions.
Tell It Strategy: Set up PCs for newly hired sales and service staff.
Sell It Strategy: Installed more than 100 PCs and implemented cus-
tomized applications to support nationwide network of sales and service
staff for one of the world’s largest insurance companies. Provided
ongoing troubleshooting and technical support that reduced PC down-
time by 38% over a 6-month period.
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6
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7
Chapter 1: Resume-Writing Strategies for Career Changers
What’s the difference between “telling it” and “selling it”? In a nutshell…
Telling It
Selling It
Describes features.
Describes benefits.
Tells what and how.
Sells why the “what” and “how” are
important.
Details activities.
Includes results.
Focuses on what you did.
Details how what you did benefited
your employer, department, team
members, students, and so on.
RESUME STRATEGY #3: USE KEYWORDS
No matter what you read or who you talk to about searching for jobs, the concept
of keywords is sure to come up. Keywords (or, as they were previously known,
buzz words) are words and phrases that are specific to a particular industry or pro-
fession. For example, keywords for the manufacturing industry include production-
line operations, production planning and scheduling, materials management,
inventory control, quality, process engineering, robotics, systems automation, integrat-
ed logistics, product specifications, project management, and many, many more.
When you use these words and phrases—in your resume, in your cover letter, or
during an interview—you are communicating a very specific message. For exam-
ple, when you include the word “merchandising” in your resume, your reader will
most likely assume that you have experience in the retail industry—in product
selection, vendor/manufacturing relations, in-store product display, inventory
management, mark-downs, product promotions, and more. As you can see, people
will make inferences about your skills based on the use of just one or two specific
words.
Here are a few other examples:
• When you use the words investment finance, people will assume you have
experience with risk management, mergers, acquisitions, initial public offerings,
debt/equity management, asset allocation, portfolio management, and more.
• When you mention sales, readers and listeners will infer that you have experi-
ence in product presentations, pricing, contract negotiations, customer
relationship management, new product introduction, competitive product
positioning, and more.
• By referencing Internet technology in your resume, you convey that you
most likely have experience with Web site design, Web site marketing,
metatags, HTML, search-engine registration, e-learning, and more.
• When you use the words human resources, most people will assume that
you are familiar with recruitment, hiring, placement, compensation, benefits,
training and development, employee relations, human resources information
systems (HRIS), and more.
Keywords are also an integral component of the resume-scanning process, whereby
employers and recruiters electronically search resumes for specific terms to find
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candidates with the skills, qualifications, and credentials for their particular hiring
needs. Over the past several years, keyword scanning has dramatically increased in
its popularity because of its ease of use and efficiency in identifying prime candi-
dates. Every job seeker today must stay on top of the latest trends in technology-
based hiring and employment to ensure that their resumes and other job-search
materials contain the “right” keywords to capture the interest of prospective
employers.
In organizations where it has been implemented, electronic scanning has replaced
the more traditional method of an actual person reading your resume (at least ini-
tially). Therefore, to some degree, the only thing that matters in this instance is
that you have included the “right” keywords to match the company’s or the
recruiter’s needs. Without them, you will most certainly be passed over.
Of course, in virtually every instance your resume will be read at some point by
human eyes, so it’s not enough just to throw together a list of keywords and leave
it at that. In fact, it’s not even necessary to include a separate “keyword summary”
on your resume. A better strategy is to incorporate keywords naturally into the
text within the appropriate sections of your resume.
For career changers, keywords are particularly relevant and require a good deal
of thought, because you do not necessarily want to include keywords that are
descriptive of your past experiences. Rather, you want to include keywords that
reflect your current career goals so that those words are the ones that will get your
resume noticed and not passed over. There are basically two ways to accomplish
this:
• In sections throughout your resume, integrate keywords from your past
experiences that directly relate to your current career goals. Referring back
to the example we gave of a customer service representative seeking to transi-
tion into a position in personnel training and development, that individual did
have experience in personnel training, new employee orientation, training pro-
gram design, and the like. Those are the keywords that should be highlighted
on the resume. Even though these tasks might have been a minor part of the
career changer’s experience, they are relevant to their current goals and, there-
fore, should be highlighted on the resume.
• Include an “Objective” section on your resume that states the type of
position that you are seeking and the associated responsibilities. For exam-
ple, “Seeking a position in purchasing management where I can utilize my
strong skills in research, analysis, negotiations, and product management.”
This is the recommended strategy if you do not have the appropriate experi-
ence (keywords) in your background to include in the career summary and
experience sections on your resume that will support your current career goals.
Keep in mind, too, that keywords are arbitrary; there is no defined set of keywords
for a secretary, production laborer, police officer, teacher, electrical engineer, con-
struction superintendent, finance officer, sales manager, or chief executive officer.
Employers searching to fill these positions develop a list of terms that reflect the
specifics they desire in a qualified candidate. These might be a combination of pro-
fessional qualifications, skills, education, length of experience, and other easily
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8
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9
Chapter 1: Resume-Writing Strategies for Career Changers
defined criteria, along with “soft skills,” such as organization, time management,
team building, leadership, problem-solving, and communication.
NOTE: Because of the complex and arbitrary nature of keyword selection,
we cannot overemphasize how vital it is to be certain that you include in your
resume all of the keywords that summarize your skills as they relate to your cur-
rent career-change objectives.
How can you be sure that you are including all the keywords, and the right
keywords? Just by describing your work experience, achievements, educational
credentials, technical qualifications, objective, and the like, you might naturally
include most of the terms that are important in your new career field. To cross-
check what you’ve written, review online or newspaper job postings for positions
that are of interest to you. Look at the precise terms used in the ads and be
sure you have included them in your resume (as appropriate to your skills and
qualifications).
Another great benefit of today’s technology revolution is our ability to find instant
information, even information as specific as keywords for hundreds of different
industries and professions. Refer to the appendix for a listing of Web sites that list
thousands of keywords, complete with descriptions. These are outstanding
resources.
RESUME STRATEGY #4: USE THE “BIG” AND SAVE THE “LITTLE”
When deciding what to include in your resume, try to focus on the “big” things—
new programs, special projects, cost savings, productivity and efficiency improve-
ments, new products, technology implementations, and more. Give a good,
broad-based picture of what you were responsible for and how well you did it.
Here’s an example:
Supervised daily sales, customer service, and maintenance-shop opera-
tions for a privately owned automotive repair facility. Managed a crew of
12 and an annual operating budget of $300,000 for supplies and materi-
als. Consistently achieved/surpassed all revenue, profit, quality, and pro-
duction objectives.
Then, save the “little” stuff—the details—for the interview. With this strategy, you
will accomplish two things:
• You’ll keep your resume readable and of a reasonable length (while still selling
your achievements).
• You’ll have new and interesting information to share during the interview,
instead of merely repeating what is already on your resume.
Using the preceding example, when discussing this experience during an interview
you could elaborate on your specific achievements—namely, improving produc-
tivity and efficiency ratings, reducing annual operating and material costs,
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improving employee training, strengthening customer relations, increasing sales
volume, and managing facility upgrades.
RESUME STRATEGY #5: MAKE YOUR RESUME “INTERVIEWABLE”
One of your greatest challenges is to make your resume a useful interview tool.
Once the employer has determined that you meet the primary qualifications for a
position (you’ve passed the keyword scanning test or initial review) and you are
contacted for a telephone or in-person interview, your resume becomes all-
important in leading and prompting your interviewer during your conversation.
Your job, then, is to make sure the resume leads the reader where you want to go
and presents just the right organization, content, and appearance to stimulate a
productive discussion. To improve the “interviewability” of your resume, consider
these tactics:
• Make good use of Resume Strategy #4 (Use the “Big” and Save the “Little”)
to invite further discussion about your experiences.
• Be sure your greatest “selling points” are featured prominently, not buried
within the resume.
• Conversely, don’t devote lots of space and attention to areas of your back-
ground that are irrelevant or about which you feel less than positive; you’ll
only invite questions about things you really don’t want to discuss. This is par-
ticularly true for career changers who want their resumes to focus on the skills
that will be needed in their new profession and not necessarily on skills they
acquired in past positions.
• Make sure your resume is highly readable—this means plenty of white space,
an adequate font size, and a logical flow from start to finish.
RESUME STRATEGY #6: ELIMINATE CONFUSION WITH STRUCTURE
AND CONTEXT
Keep in mind that your resume will be read very quickly by hiring authorities! You
might agonize over every word and spend hours working on content and design,
but the average reader will skim quickly through your masterpiece and expect to
pick up important facts in just a few seconds. Try to make it as easy as possible for
readers to grasp the essential facts:
• Be consistent. For example, put job titles, company names, and dates in the
same place for each position.
• Make information easy to find by clearly defining different sections of your
resume with large, highly visible headings.
• If relevant to your new career path, define the context in which you worked
(for example, the organization, your department, and the specific challenges
you faced) before you start describing your activities and accomplishments.
Part I: Resume Writing, Strategy, and Formats
10
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RESUME STRATEGY #7: USE FUNCTION TO DEMONSTRATE
ACHIEVEMENT
When you write a resume that focuses only on your job functions, it can be dry
and uninteresting, and it will say very little about your unique activities and contri-
butions. Consider the following example:
Responsible for all aspects of consumer lending at the branch level.
Now, consider using that same function to demonstrate achievement and see what
happens to the tone and energy of the sentence. It becomes alive and clearly com-
municates that you deliver results:
Processed and approved more than $30 million in secured and unsecured
consumer loans for Wachovia’s largest branch operation in Memphis,
Tennessee. Achieved and maintained a less than 2% write-off for unrecov-
erable loans (18% less than the industry average).
Try to translate your functions into achievements and you’ll create a more power-
ful resume presentation.
RESUME STRATEGY #8: REMAIN IN THE REALM OF REALITY
We’ve already established that resume writing is sales. And, as any good salesper-
son does, one feels somewhat inclined to stretch the truth, just a bit. However, be
forewarned that you must stay within the realm of reality. Do not push your skills
and qualifications outside the bounds of what is truthful. You never want to be in
a position where you have to defend something that you’ve written on your
resume. If that’s the case, you’ll lose the job opportunity before you ever get the
offer.
RESUME STRATEGY #9: BE CONFIDENT
You are unique. There is only one individual with the specific combination of
employment experience, qualifications, achievements, education, and special skills
that you have. In turn, this positions you as a unique commodity within the com-
petitive job search market. To succeed, you must prepare a resume that is written
to sell you and highlight your qualifications and your successes as they relate to
your current career-change goals. If you can accomplish this, you will have won
the job search game by generating interest, interviews, and offers.
There Are No Resume-Writing Rules
One of the greatest challenges in resume writing is that there are no rules to the
game. There are certain expectations about information that you will include:
principally, your primary skills, employment history, and educational qualifications.
Beyond that, what you include is entirely up to you and what you have done in
your career. You have tremendous flexibility in determining how to include the
information you have selected. In chapter 2, you’ll find a wealth of information on
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Chapter 1: Resume-Writing Strategies for Career Changers
TLFeBOOK
each possible category you might include in your resume, the type of information
to be placed in each category, preferred formats for presentation, and lots of other
information and samples that will help you formulate your best resume.
Although there are no rules, there are a few standards to live by as you write your
resume. The following sections discuss these standards in detail.
CONTENT STANDARDS
Content is, of course, the text that goes into your resume. Content standards
cover the writing style you should use, items you should be sure to include, items
you should avoid including, and the order and format in which you list your quali-
fications.
Writing Style
Always write in the first person, dropping the word “I” from the front of each
sentence. This style gives your resume a more aggressive and more professional
tone than the passive third-person voice. Here are some examples:
First Person
Manage 22-person team responsible for design and market commercial-
ization of a new portfolio of PC-based applications for Marley’s $100 mil-
lion consumer-sales division.
Third Person
Mr. Reynolds manages a 22-person team responsible for the design and
market commercialization of a new portfolio of PC-based applications for
Marley’s $100 million consumer-sales division.
By using the first-person voice, you are assuming “ownership” of that statement.
You did such-and-such. When you use the third-person voice, “someone else” did
it. Can you see the difference?
Phrases to Stay Away From
Try not to use phrases such as “responsible for” and “duties included.” These
words create a passive tone and style. Instead, use active verbs to describe what
you did.
Compare these two ways of conveying the same information:
Responsible for all marketing and special events for the store, including
direct mailing, in-store fashion shows, and new-product introductions and
promotions.
OR
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12
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Chapter 1: Resume-Writing Strategies for Career Changers
Orchestrated a series of marketing and special-event programs for Macy’s
Reston, one of the company’s largest and most profitable operating loca-
tions. Managed direct-mail campaigns, in-store fashion shows, and new-
product introductions and promotions.
Resume Style
The traditional chronological resume lists your work experience in reverse-
chronological order (starting with your current or most recent position). The
functional style deemphasizes the “where” and “when” of your career and instead
groups similar experience, talents, and qualifications regardless of when they
occurred.
Today, however, most resumes follow neither a strictly chronological nor strictly
functional format; rather, they are an effective mixture of the two styles usually
known as a “combination” or “hybrid” format.
Like the chronological format, the hybrid format includes specifics about where
you worked, when you worked there, and what your job titles were. Like a func-
tional resume, a hybrid emphasizes your most relevant qualifications—perhaps
within chronological job descriptions, in an expanded summary section, in several
“career highlights” bullet points at the top of your resume, or in project sum-
maries. Most of the examples in this book are hybrids and show a wide diversity of
organizational formats that you can use as inspiration for designing your own
resume.
We strongly recommend hybrid-format resumes for career changers. They allow
you to begin your resume with an intense focus on skills, competencies, experi-
ence, accomplishments, and more that are directly related to your new career
objective. Then, to substantiate a solid work experience, employment history is
briefly listed with a focus on specific achievements, responsibilities, and projects
that again relate to that individual’s current career goals.
Resume Formats
Resumes, which are principally career summaries and job descriptions, are most
often written in a paragraph format, a bulleted format, or a combination of both.
Following are three job descriptions, all very similar in content, yet presented in
each of the three different writing formats. The advantages and disadvantages of
each format are also addressed.
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Paragraph Format
Business Manager
1989 to 2005
Smith Ag Production Company, Garnerville, Arkansas
Purchased run-down, debt-ridden farming operation and transformed it
into a near showplace, honored as one of the best commercial Angus
operations in southern Arkansas. Developed a far-reaching network
throughout the agricultural industry and with leaders in state government,
banking, and commercial lending.
Held full management authority for cattle and alfalfa production generat-
ing 2,500+ tons of hay per year and running up to 500 stock cows.
Hired, trained, and supervised all employees. Managed budgets of
$750,000 annually and more than $2 million in operating lines of credit.
Directed the sale/purchase of all commodities to support business opera-
tions. Gained an in-depth knowledge of the commercial agricultural indus-
try and its unique financial, economic, and operating challenges.
Advantages
Requires the least amount of space on the page. Brief, succinct, and to the point.
Disadvantages
Achievements get lost in the text of the paragraphs. They are not visually distinc-
tive, nor do they stand alone to draw attention to them.
Bulleted Format
Business Manager
1989 to 2005
Smith Ag Production Company, Garnerville, Arkansas
• Purchased run-down, debt-ridden farming operation and transformed
it into a near showplace, honored as one of the best commercial
Angus operations in southern Arkansas.
• Developed a far-reaching network throughout the agricultural indus-
try and with leaders in state government, banking, and commercial
lending.
• Held full management authority for cattle and alfalfa production gen-
erating 2,500+ tons of hay per year and running up to 500 stock
cows.
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14
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• Hired, trained, and supervised all employees.
• Managed budgets of $750,000 annually and more than $2 million
in operating lines of credit.
• Directed the sale/purchase of all commodities to support business
operations.
• Gained an in-depth knowledge of the commercial agricultural indus-
try and its unique financial, economic, and operating challenges.
Advantages
Quick and easy to peruse.
Disadvantages
Responsibilities and achievements are lumped together, with everything given
equal value. In turn, the achievements get lost and are not immediately
recognizable.
Combination Format
Business Manager
1989 to 2005
Smith Ag Production Company, Garnerville, Arkansas
Held full management authority for cattle and alfalfa production generat-
ing 2,500+ tons of hay per year and running up to 500 stock cows.
Hired, trained, and supervised all employees. Managed budgets of
$750,000 annually and more than $2 million in operating lines of credit.
Directed the sale/purchase of all commodities to support business opera-
tions.
• Purchased run-down, debt-ridden farming operation and transformed
it into a near showplace, honored as one of the best commercial
Angus operations in southern Arkansas.
• Developed a far-reaching network throughout the agricultural indus-
try and with leaders in state government, banking, and commercial
lending.
• Gained an in-depth knowledge of the commercial agricultural indus-
try and its unique financial, economic, and operating challenges.
Advantages
Our recommended format. Clearly presents overall responsibilities in the introduc-
tory paragraph and then accentuates each achievement as a separate bullet.
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Chapter 1: Resume-Writing Strategies for Career Changers
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Disadvantages
If you don’t have clearly identifiable accomplishments, this format is not effective.
It also may shine a glaring light on the positions where your accomplishments
were less notable. For career changers, past accomplishments might not be
relevant to current career objectives, and therefore this format might be less
appropriate.
You’ll find numerous other examples of how to best present your employment
experience in the resume samples that follow in chapters 4 through 12. Chapter 2
discusses formats you can use to highlight your skills and achievements more
prominently than your work history. In many career-change situations, this
approach is critical to get yourself noticed and not passed over.
E-Mail Address and URL
Be sure to include your e-mail address prominently at the top of your resume. As
we all know, e-mail has become one of the most preferred methods of communi-
cation between employers and job seekers. If you don’t yet have an e-mail address,
visit www.yahoo.com, www.hotmail.com, or www.netzero.com, where you can get
a free e-mail address that you can access through the Web on any computer with
an Internet connection.
In addition to your e-mail address, if you have a URL (Web site address) where
you have posted your Web resume, be sure to also display that prominently at the
top of your resume. For more information on Web resumes, refer to chapter 3.
PRESENTATION STANDARDS
Presentation focuses on the way your resume looks. It relates to the fonts you use,
the paper you print it on, any graphics you might include, and how many pages
your resume should be.
Typestyle
Use a typestyle (font) that is clean, conservative, and easy to read. Stay away from
anything that is too fancy, glitzy, curly, and the like. Here are a few recommended
typestyles:
Part I: Resume Writing, Strategy, and Formats
16
TLFeBOOK
Although it is extremely popular, Times New Roman is our least preferred type-
style simply because it is overused. More than 90 percent of the resumes we see
are printed in Times New Roman. Your goal is to create a competitive-distinctive
document, and, to achieve that, we recommend an alternative typestyle.
Your choice of typestyle should be dictated by the content, format, and length of
your resume. Some fonts look better than others at smaller or larger sizes; some
have “bolder” boldface type; some require more white space to make them read-
able. Once you’ve written your resume, experiment with a few different typestyles
to see which one best enhances your document.
Type Size
Readability is everything! If the type size is too small, your resume will be difficult
to read and difficult to skim for essential information. Interestingly, a too-large
type size, particularly for senior-level professionals, can also give a negative impres-
sion by conveying a juvenile or unprofessional image.
As a general rule, select type from 10 to 12 points in size. However, there’s no
hard-and-fast rule, and a lot depends on the typestyle you choose. Take a look at
the following examples:
Very readable in 9-point Verdana:
Difficult to read in too-small 9-point Gill Sans:
Concise and readable in 12-point Times New Roman:
A bit overwhelming in too-large 12-point Bookman Old Style:
17
Chapter 1: Resume-Writing Strategies for Career Changers
TLFeBOOK
Part I: Resume Writing, Strategy, and Formats
18
Type Enhancements
Bold, italics, underlining, and CAPITALIZATION are ideal to highlight certain
words, phrases, achievements, projects, numbers, and other information to which
you want to draw special attention. However, do not overuse these enhancements.
If your resume becomes too cluttered with special formatting, nothing stands out.
NOTE: Resumes intended for electronic transmission and computer scanning
have specific restrictions on typestyle, type size, and type enhancements. We
discuss these details in chapter 3.
Page Length
For most industries and professions, the “one- to two-page rule” for resume writ-
ing still holds true. Keep it short and succinct, giving just enough information to
pique your readers’ interest. However, there are many instances when a resume
can be longer than two pages. For example:
• You have an extensive list of technical qualifications that are relevant to
the position for which you are applying. You might consider including these
on a separate page as an addendum to your resume.
• You have extensive educational training and numerous credentials/certifi-
cations, all of which are important to include. You might consider includ-
ing these on a separate page as an addendum to your resume.
• You have an extensive list of special projects, task forces, and committees
to include that are important to your current career objectives. You might
consider including these on a separate page as an addendum to your resume.
• You have an extensive list of professional honors, awards, and commenda-
tions. This list is tremendously valuable in validating your credibility and dis-
tinguishing you from the competition, and deleting it from your resume would
be a disadvantage. It might be best to let your resume run to three, four, or
even five pages to include this information. Just be sure that what you are
including is relevant to your new career direction.
If you create a resume that’s longer than two pages, make it more reader-friendly
by carefully segmenting the information into separate sections. Your sections
might include a career summary, work experience, education, professional or
industry credentials, honors and awards, technology and equipment skills, publica-
tions, public-speaking engagements, professional affiliations, civic affiliations,
volunteer experience, foreign-language skills, and other relevant information you
want to include. Put each into a separate category so that your resume is easy to
peruse and your reader can quickly see the highlights. You’ll read more about each
of these sections in chapter 2.
Paper Color
Be conservative. White, ivory, and light gray are ideal. Other “flashier” colors are
inappropriate for most individuals unless you are in a highly creative industry and
your paper choice is part of the overall design and presentation of a creative
resume.
TLFeBOOK
Graphics
An attractive, relevant graphic can really enhance your resume. When you look
through the sample resumes in chapters 4 through 12, you’ll see some excellent
examples of the effective use of graphics to enhance the visual presentation of
a resume. Just be sure not to get carried away; be tasteful and relatively
conservative.
White Space
We’ll say it again—readability is everything! If people have to struggle to read
your resume, they simply won’t make the effort. Therefore, be sure to leave plenty
of white space. It really does make a difference.
ACCURACY AND PERFECTION
The very final step, and one of the most critical in resume writing, is the proof-
reading stage. It is essential that your resume be well written; visually pleasing; and
free of any errors, typographical mistakes, misspellings, and the like. We recom-
mend that you carefully proofread your resume a minimum of three times, and
then have two or three other people also proofread it. Consider your resume an
example of the quality of work you will produce on a company’s behalf. Is your
work product going to have errors and inconsistencies? If your resume does, it
communicates to a prospective employer that you are careless, and this is the “kiss
of death” in job search.
Take the time to make sure that your resume is perfect in all the little details that
do, in fact, make a big difference to those who read it.
19
Chapter 1: Resume-Writing Strategies for Career Changers
TLFeBOOK
TLFeBOOK
CHAPTER 2
Writing Your Resume
For many job seekers, resume writing is not at the top of the list of
fun and exciting activities! How can it compare to landing a new
account, cutting costs, introducing new technology, streamlining
operations, or starting a new production plant? In your perception,
we’re sure that it cannot.
However, resume writing can be an enjoyable and rewarding task.
When your resume is complete, you can look at it proudly, remind-
ing yourself of all that you have achieved. It is a snapshot of your
career and your success. When it’s complete, we guarantee you’ll
look back with tremendous self-satisfaction as you launch and suc-
cessfully manage your job search.
As the very first step in finding a new position or advancing your
career, resume writing can be the most daunting of all tasks in your
job search. If writing is not one of your primary skills or a past job
function, it might have been years since you’ve actually sat down
and written anything other than e-mail or notes to yourself. Even
for those of you who write on a regular basis, resume writing is
unique. It has its own style and a number of peculiarities, as with
any specialty document.
Recommended Resume-Writing Strategy and
Formats for Career Changers
Writing career-change resumes is a unique challenge, and many of
the strategies and formats that the more “typical” job seeker uses
are generally not applicable for career changers. Standard formats
most often put an emphasis on past work experience, along with
the responsibilities and achievements of each of those positions. If
you’re a career changer, most likely your goal is to downplay your
specific work experience and job titles on your resume while high-
lighting your skills and core competencies as they relate to your
current objectives.
TLFeBOOK
22
Part I: Resume Writing, Strategy, and Formats
CAREER-CHANGER STRATEGIES
In chapter 1 we provided an overview of strategies; here we get down to the nuts
and bolts of deciding what to include in your resume (the strategies) and how to
organize and present it (the format). As with every good resume, it’s important to
start out with a clear understanding of your ultimate target so that your resume is
a clear and sharply focused presentation of qualifications for that target.
Know Your Career Goal
Before you even begin to start writing your career-change resume, you must know
the specific type(s) of position(s) you are going after. This will give your resume a
“theme” around which you can build the entire document. Your “theme” (or
objective) should dictate everything that you include in your resume, how you
include it, and where. Writing a career-change resume is all about creating a pic-
ture of how you want to be perceived by a prospective employer—a picture that
closely mirrors the types of people who are hired in that career field.
From researching the type of career you want to pursue, you will have collected a
great deal of information about the duties and responsibilities for positions in that
field. You should then carefully review your past employment experience, educa-
tional background, volunteer work, professional affiliations, civic affiliations, and
more to identify skills you’ve acquired that are transferable to your new career.
These, then, are the items that become the foundation of your resume.
WARNING: If you don’t know what your objective is—you only know that you
want to change careers—we strongly urge that you spend some time investigat-
ing potential career tracks to determine your overall areas of interest. Without
this knowledge, you cannot focus your resume in any one particular direction
and, as a result, it simply becomes a recitation of your past work experience. To
effectively position you for new career opportunities, your resume must have a
theme and a focus. If you’re having difficulty determining your objective, you
might want to consider hiring a career coach who can help you critically evalu-
ate your skills and qualifications, match them to potential career opportunities,
explore new professions, and guide you in setting your direction.
Identify Your Transferable Skills
Transferable skills are the foundation for every successful career-change resume. If
you’re not sure how to identify your transferable skills, here’s an easy way to do
just that. First, review advertisements for positions that are of interest. You can get
this information from newspapers, professional journals, and hundreds of online
resources. You can also talk to and network with people who are already working
in your new career field and ask them to give you feedback regarding their specific
responsibilities, the challenges they face, the opportunities that are available, how
to get into the field, and so much more.
Once you’ve collected this information, make a detailed list of the specific require-
ments for these jobs (for example, budgeting, staff training, staff supervision, proj-
ect management, statistical analysis, and customer relationship management). Be as
TLFeBOOK
23
Chapter 2: Writing Your Resume
comprehensive as possible, even if the list goes on and on for pages. Then, go
through the list and highlight each of the skills in which you have some experience
from your work, education, or outside activities. Finally, take some time to think
of specific examples of how you’ve used those skills. Used in your resume, these
“success stories” will be powerful proof that you already possess the very skills and
competencies you want to use in your new job.
NOTE: There is no need to describe these skills as “transferable” in your
resume, cover letter, or conversations during your job search. Why highlight the
fact that your skills are not directly related to the field you want to pursue?
Quite simply, these are skills you possess, experience you own, and activities
you have accomplished. They are the foundation of your performance in past
experiences and in your new role.
It is important to remember that your entire background counts—everything that
you’ve ever done—from your 10-year sales career to your 6-year volunteer posi-
tion coordinating your local Special Olympics. Just think of the great skills you
acquired in event planning, logistics, volunteer training, fund raising, media affairs,
and contract negotiations. Those skills are just as important to include in your
career-change resume as any other skills you acquired in a paid position.
SAMPLE FORMATS AND SITUATIONS FOR CAREER-CHANGE RESUMES
Following are three excellent examples of career-change resumes, all of which
focus on transferable skills, but each of which uses a different format and structure
to highlight those skills. Think about which of these formats and styles is most
appropriate for you, based on your particular situation and career objectives. It is
very unlikely that you will find a format that exactly “matches” your life, experi-
ence, and educational credentials. Use the following examples as the foundation
for your resume, customizing and reformatting as necessary to create your own
winning resume.
Charles: A New Career After Additional Education
Charles was a most interesting job seeker. After a successful career in building
maintenance, he returned to college to earn a graduate degree in Counseling
Psychology in preparation for changing his career track. He had always had a pas-
sion for counseling and knew that to successfully change careers, he would have to
get the requisite academic training.
Charles’s resume begins with a brief, yet hard-hitting listing of his core skills and
competencies as they relate to the field of counseling. The headline format that
was used (“COUNSELING/HUMAN RELATIONS”) clearly identifies “who”
Charles is and “what” he wants. Then, at the top of the list is his master’s degree,
a necessity for anyone pursuing a professional career in counseling. The other
items highlight his core skills, the types of clients he has worked with, and profes-
sional credentials. This format is particularly effective because the reader can sim-
ply glance and “get it all,” rather than having to read through paragraphs of text.
TLFeBOOK
24
Part I: Resume Writing, Strategy, and Formats
Immediately following his summary is detailed information about Charles’s educa-
tional qualifications. Note that specific coursework is included as a great strategy
to highlight his specific areas of training while being sure to include all the buzz
words (or keywords) that are relevant to a career in counseling. Although Charles
cannot say that he necessarily has “hands-on” experience in each of these areas, he
can include them as areas of training. Not only will these catch a reader’s atten-
tion, but they will also get Charles’s resume selected if it is run through scanning
technology that is searching for those specific terms.
The next section is detailed information about Charles’s eight-month counseling
internship. The job description is comprehensive and clearly creates the perception
that Charles is an experienced counseling professional, despite the fact that this job
was an internship.
Most important to note about this resume is that all of page 1 focuses on counsel-
ing and relevant skills. You never realize that Charles is a maintenance supervisor
until you turn to page 2.
The writer was also very clever in how she formulated Charles’s job description.
Of course, it is obvious that he’s a maintenance supervisor—we can’t change the
facts. However, much of the job description focuses on skills, responsibilities, proj-
ects, and more that required strong counseling, communication, and interpersonal
skills. All of a sudden the maintenance man begins to disappear and the counselor
begins to emerge.
TLFeBOOK
CHARLES M. SUGARMANN
608 Covington Lane
(267) 291-4866
Newtown, PA 18940
csugarmann@dotresume.com

COUNSELING / HUMAN RELATIONS

Master's Degree
Adolescents & Adults
Drug & Alcohol Abuse
EAP & HMO Precertification
Assessments & Treatment Plans
Group, Individual, and Family Counseling
Supervision, Administration, Coordination

EDUCATION

M.A., Counseling Psychology, Immaculata University, Immaculata, PA, 1/2004
Maintained 3.7 GPA while working full-time and taking an average of 6 credits per semester.
Courses: Adolescent Counseling, Appraisal in Counseling, Brief Strategic Therapy, Counseling
Theory & Practice, Crisis Interventions, Ethical & Legal Issues in Counseling, Family Interventions,
Gestalt Approach—Counseling, Group Counseling Theory & Practice, Human Growth &
Development, Lifestyle & Career Development, Psychopathology, Research & Evaluation, Strategies
for “At-Risk” Students, Substance Abuse Counseling
Labs: Counseling Diverse Populations, Counseling Skills, Group Dynamics
B.B.A., Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 1/1994

EXPERIENCE

REHAB CENTER AT ARDMORE, PA, 5/2003–12/2003
A drug and alcohol outpatient rehabilitation facility for adults, adolescents, and families
Counselor Intern
Counseled adult and adolescent substance abusers in group, individual, and family sessions using
education, psychodrama, psychotherapy, solution-focused counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and
person-centered counseling. Performed psychosocial assessments, developed treatment plans, and
documented case activity. Precertified clients for HMO and EAP coverage. Recruited AA (Alcoholics
Anonymous) and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) members to chair 12-step meetings for adolescents.
x Helped family members move from a state of powerlessness to active participation in client’s
therapy and life through education and awareness of family dynamics.
x Achieved numerous individual successes; for example, helped client gain acceptance by peers upon
return to work, enabled counseling to proceed smoothly by helping to resolve medication problem
of dual MH/D&A client, and counseled former drug dealer who is now a scholarship student.
x Commended by supervisor for relating well with clients and establishing an excellent rapport.
continued
Resume for Charles M. Sugarmann (written and designed by Jan Holliday, MA, NCRW, of Arbridge
Communications).
25
Chapter 2: Writing Your Resume
TLFeBOOK
CHARLES M. SUGARMANN
page 2

EXPERIENCE
continued

ST. MARK’S ACADEMY, Norristown, PA, 3/1996–present
A Catholic high school with 950 students and 100 staff members
Maintenance Supervisor, 2/1998–present
Head Groundskeeper, 1/1997–2/1998
Maintenance Man, 3/1996–1/1997
As maintenance supervisor, oversee staff of 10 to maintain school building and grounds. Serve as liaison
to organizations that rent school facilities and to archdiocesan headquarters for special capital projects.
Work with Delaware County Community Service to coordinate tasks for adolescents and adults
performing work at the school in lieu of jail time—teach skills, where necessary, and apply counseling
principles to make program run smoothly and to the benefit of all. Review grant proposals to advise on
jobs that can be delegated to community-service workers.
x Praised by school president for success of community-service program.
x Sought out by students and maintenance staff for help with daily problems.
x Served as junior varsity softball coach for 5 years and as freshman basketball coach for 1 year.
x Ensured completion of work in all classrooms and restored amicable relationship between teachers
and maintenance department by reinstituting use of service request form.
x Averted building fire through quick response; placed on list of national fire heroes by Curt Weldon,
a member of the United States House of Representatives.
PRIOR EXPERIENCE in construction/home improvement, real estate sales, and tourism.

COMPUTER SKILLS

Experience with Microsoft Word and specialized spreadsheet applications.


Part I: Resume Writing, Strategy, and Formats
26
TLFeBOOK
27
Chapter 2: Writing Your Resume
Peter: From Attorney to Educator
Peter was a practicing attorney with more than 20 years of experience. Now he
wanted to make a change and, since teaching had always been his passion, he
decided to pursue that career on a full-time basis. His primary objective was a
position teaching legal studies to junior and senior high school students, but he
would also look at other related teaching opportunities.
Peter’s resume begins with a comprehensive career summary that clearly identifies
his two areas of expertise—teaching and the law. The resume then follows with a
strong summary of his relevant teaching, program-development, classroom-
management, and public-speaking skills, with concurrent emphasis on his areas of
teaching specialization (for example, accounting, business law, and professional
legal liability). The summary creates the perception of an individual with a wealth
of teaching experience in a variety of professional settings.
The second section is Peter’s education. As you can see, this section clearly
demonstrates that he has the academic credentials to support his teaching special-
izations.
The next and most substantial section is Peter’s employment history. Rather than
focus on his actual legal practice, however, the resume highlights Peter’s teaching,
mentoring, and public-speaking experience—his transferable skills related to his
current objective. People will review this resume and see someone who was an
attorney but devoted a tremendous amount of his professional time to teaching.
As such, he has positioned himself as a well-qualified candidate for an appropriate
teaching position. When reviewing this resume, the reader does not “see” an
attorney, but rather “sees” a teacher.
The writer used a highly effective strategy of creating a new hierarchy of skills,
where teaching became the primary emphasis in the resume and Peter’s law career
became secondary.
TLFeBOOK
Part I: Resume Writing, Strategy, and Formats
28
PETER JONES, JR.
98 Ben Franklin Drive
Home (850) 222-3333
Unit 5B, The Esplanade
Work: (850) 222-4444
Pensacola Beach, FL 32561
peterjones@midway.net
Home Fax: (850) 222-7777

EDUCATOR/ATTORNEY AT LAW
Accomplished trainer and facilitator, experienced in the design and implementation of dynamic, state-
of-the-art education and training programs for colleges, public educational organizations, small
businesses, and large corporations. Encourage active student participation and engagement in
learning, instilling in students a sense of self-direction by extending and enhancing the learning
process. Creative and intuitive problem solver, cheerfully meeting challenges. Core Competencies include
; Training & Development
; Accounting
; Classroom Motivation Techniques
; Business Law
; Instructional Design & Development
; Professional Legal Liability
; Adult Education Training & Facilitation
; Corporate & Individual Income Tax
; College & Corporate Educational Course
Design
; Mediation/Alternative Dispute
Resolution

EDUCATION
J.D., Juris Doctor
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW, Tallahassee, FL

B.S., Accounting
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY, Tallahassee, FL

CERTIFICATIONS:
Supreme Court of Florida Certified Family Law Mediator
PROFESSIONAL LICENSES:
Attorney At Law—Florida
Certified Public Accountant—Florida

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
PETER JONES, ATTORNEY AT LAW — Pensacola, FL
JAN 1990–PRESENT
Attorney At Law
Direct operations with full responsibility for P&L, business development, client relationship
management, case management, staff recruitment, and training.
Key Achievements:
¾ Professional presenter/spokesperson at numerous continuing-education seminars in Tampa,
Miami, and Pensacola, Florida. Areas of discussion included taxation, qualified retirement plans,
accountants’ legal liability, family law, mediation/alternative dispute resolution, and estate
planning.
¾ Outstanding mentor and coach: Educated, trained, mentored, and motivated employees,
stimulating them to higher levels of performance.
¾ Successfully created Peter Jones, Attorney At Law, as a financially viable start-up business,
demonstrating decisive, proactive, and action-driven entrepreneurial leadership.
Resume for Peter Jones, Jr. (written and designed by Jennifer Rushton, CRW, of Keraijen).
TLFeBOOK
PETER JONES, JR.
Page 2
Professional Experience, Continued

¾ Established and maintained excellent business relationships with clients from diverse
backgrounds through consistent demonstration of professionalism, preparedness, and good
business ethics.

STEWARTS, BROOKS, MATTHEWS & TRENT — Pensacola, FL
OCT 1977–DEC 1990
Attorney/ Shareholder
Key Achievements:
¾ Facilitated continuing-education seminars, conducting instructor-led training to 25–100 attorney
and CPA participants.
¾ Pioneered the development of numerous educational training programs in income tax and
accounting for non-business majors as an adjunct professor at The University of West Florida.
¾ Initiated efforts to continually improve operations by developing the first legal assistant
(paralegal) pool for use by the firm members.
¾ Key player in the development of a “structured settlement” approach to financial settlements in
personal injury and wrongful death cases, resulting in favorable tax treatments for plaintiffs.
SMITH, WALLACE & COLLINS— Pensacola, FL
JUN 1975– OCT 1977
Associate Attorney
Key Achievements:
¾ Collaborated with associates in developing the condominium ownership concept in Florida;
contributed to the taxation issues concerning the evolving concept of condominium ownership.

COOPERS & LYBRAND— Pensacola, FL
MAR 1973–JUN 1975
Taxation Specialist
Key Achievements:
¾ Designed and taught educational lessons to enhance student knowledge in taxation and
accounting as an adjunct professor at The University of South Florida.
¾ Instrumental in developing and presenting continuing-education courses on tax law changes to
members and guests of the firm.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Member, Estate Planning Councils of Tampa
Member, Florida State & Local Bar Associations
Member, Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Legal Member, Ombudsman Committee
Speaker, High School ‘Life Sciences’ classes
29
Chapter 2: Writing Your Resume
TLFeBOOK
30
Part I: Resume Writing, Strategy, and Formats
Mike: A Functional Resume to Support His Transition from Educator to
Top Business Executive
Although, as we discussed in chapter 1, combination or hybrid resume formats are
preferred style, there are instances when a functional resume can be the best pres-
entation of skills. As you review Mike Burns’ resume, you will see that is certainly
the case. After 13 years as a teacher and elementary school principal, Mike wanted
to transfer his skills and qualifications into a corporate career track where he felt
greater opportunities would exist for career growth and compensation.
Just like Charles’s resume, Mike’s begins with a headline format (“SEASONED
MANAGER AND ADMINISTRATOR…Developing Strategic Plans/Managing
Projects/Leading Operations and People”). This is one of our favorite formats
because it allows the reader to quickly identify “who” the job seeker is.
Mike’s Executive Profile is just that—a profile of an accomplished executive who
has experience in virtually all key management disciplines. As you’ll note, this sec-
tion highlights finance, critical thinking, leadership, decision making, process man-
agement, relationship building, and many other skills, all of which are essential
characteristics of a senior-level business manager. This section creates just the right
perception of Mike without mentioning that he’s an elementary principal.
The third section of this resume is exceptionally strong and is the bulk of the
remaining information that Mike shares about his background. Although Mike’s
actual employment experience is very briefly listed at the bottom of page 2, it is
not the focus on this document. Rather, the third section highlights his particular
areas of expertise and related projects, accomplishments, and responsibilities.
Again, it’s not until you get halfway through page 2 that you are aware that Mike
is an elementary principal.
Note that in the short section that lists Mike’s employment, no job descriptions
are used. The only information included in that section, beyond employers and
job titles, is his list of professional honors and awards. This clearly communicates
that Mike is a producer who delivers results and wins recognition from his
employer.
Mike’s education is included at the end of this resume because it is related to edu-
cation and, therefore, the writer did not want to draw attention to it. And, finally,
the resume ends with a great quote that highlights his management competencies
and not his teaching competency.
TLFeBOOK
31
Chapter 2: Writing Your Resume
MIKE BURNS
77002 Borgert Avenue
Home: (763) 555-3789
Anoka, MN 55304
Office: (763) 555-0562
mikeburns@anok.net



SEASONED MANAGER AND ADMINISTRATOR
Developing Strategic Plans / Managing Projects / Leading Operations and People










EXECUTIVE PROFILE

¾ More than seven years of senior-level experience in the administration of fiscally challenged organizations. Organized, take-
charge professional with exceptional follow-through abilities and excellent management skills; able to plan and oversee
projects/programs from concept to successful conclusion.

¾ A hands-on manager and critical thinker who can learn quickly, develop expertise, and produce immediate contributions in
systems, analysis, business operations, and motivational team management. Possess a valuable blending of leadership, creative,
and analytical abilities that combine efficiency with imagination to produce bottom-line results.

Core Strengths & Capabilities
Shared Decision Making ƒ Budget Development & Administration ƒ Staff / Team Training & Development
Operations Management ƒ Goal Setting & Strategic Planning ƒ Human Resources Leadership
Customer Care ƒ Cross-Functional Relationship Building ƒ Process Management ƒ Ideas & Opportunities
Consensus Building ƒ Productivity & Efficiency Improvement ƒ Service Design & Delivery Systems
Analysis & Assessment ƒ Organizational Communications ƒ Grant Writing ƒ Public Speaking ƒ “Can-Do” Mindset


RELEVANT CAREER SUCCESSES

STAFF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT / HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
¾ Directed human resource activities for two facilities with yearly budgets of $2 million and $4 million, respectively.

ƒ Established a successful Staff Mentoring Program in Plymouth. Collaborated with tenured staff to develop a three-
year plan toward easing new staff’s transitions into the field. Paired tenured and new staff one-to-one.

ƒ Led staff training opportunities with an average yearly budget of $40,000, providing much of the training myself.

ƒ Hired professional, support, and all other staff. Directly supervised more than 70 employees.

ƒ Proactively hired and teamed 20 new staff members within budget, accommodating Anoka’s 300-student increase.


BUDGET & FISCAL MANAGEMENT / CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT
¾ Individually managed an average annual building budget of $4 million. Served on an administrative team managing a yearly
$25 million budget (faced with an average $1 million in cuts each year).

ƒ Weathered student population increase from 550 to 850 in three years by streamlining operations, cutting costs,
and creatively raising funds, including co-authoring a successful $30,000 grant to hire a Behavior Planning Specialist.

ƒ Played a key leadership and support role under the acting superintendent to lead a successful 2000 Building Bond
Referendum Campaign. Results included a balanced budget and $6 million in new building construction. Also served
on a team that successfully passed a $4 million referendum in 2001.
Resume for Mike Burns (written and designed by Barbara Poole, CPRW, CRW, of Hire Imaging).
TLFeBOOK