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Yesterday’s Hero
by Linda Matias
Wonder Woman makes it look so easy. She gets up every morning, fights the good
fight, calls it a day, and starts the whole process all over again. This is the
way most of us begin our workday. We work hard, accomplish lots, and get up in
the morning for an encore presentation.
From childhood we were told that if we put 110% into our careers that we will be
shoo-ins for promotions and raises. It sounded like an excellent plan and one
that you easily bought into—hard work equals a big return on investment. Good
deal.
Then one day you walk into your office only to discover that your position has
been eliminated. Not through any fault of your own, but because the
powers-that-be made an executive decision to reduce costs. At that moment, you
quickly realize that not everything comes from hard work, and you are
reluctantly thrown into the job search.
The Challenge
No matter how many awards you received and no matter how impressive your career
progression, the old adage is true: “You’re only as good as your last sale.” And
if you have been unemployed for a while, hiring managers may view your
experience as being outdated. To your surprise, a search that you were convinced
would take only a few weeks turned into a year-long process.
Since the resume is the first meeting between you and a prospective employer,
the way you position your skills is critically important. This is especially
true if you want the reader to overlook your unemployment gap and focus their
attention on your successes.
If your resume fails to cleverly tackle red flags, the reader will eliminate
your candidacy within seconds. With today’s job market, it is rare to find a
jobseeker who has a flawless work history, and a traditional resume doesn’t
always properly address the immediate concerns jobseekers are facing today.
The Solution
This is the reason why professional resume writers recommend a combination
resume for those a) who have been unemployed for over a year who want to
deemphasize an unemployment gap and b) those considering a career change who
wish to highlight relevant marketable and/or transferable skills.
A combination resume integrates the best features of the functional and
chronological resume formats. Similar to the functional resume, the combination
resume emphasizes skills; and just like the chronological resume, the
combination resume sequentially showcases your professional history.
Anatomy of a Combination Resume
The most basic format for a combination resume includes the following sections:
Introduction, Accomplishments, Professional Experience, and Education. Below is
a breakdown of each section.
Introduction
The opening of a resume serves as a teaser and is called a Career Summary,
Professional Profile, or Summary of Qualifications. Whatever term you decide to
use, the end result must sum up your value to the hiring organization. Let’s
take a look at an example:
Goal-driven, tenacious sales and management professional demonstrating
award-winning sales record in highly competitive industries. Strong leader and
team player; excellent motivational skills to build and sustain forward growth
momentum while motivating peak individual performance from members. Experience
in managing all aspects of sales development cycle, from prospecting and cold
calling through detailed presentations and negotiation to closing follow-up
activities.
Notice that the example above provides the reader with a checklist of the
candidate’s qualifications. From the onset, the reader has a feel for what the
candidate can bring to the table.
Accomplishments
Since this section appears immediately after the introduction, it must keep the
momentum going. This is your opportunity to showcase the fact that your
experience is still relevant, you’re still in the game, and you are a serious
candidate. Let’s look at a couple of accomplishment-based statements.
* Ranked consistently in top 5 company-wide for sales production among staff of
600+ brokers, bringing in $3.5 million in gross commissions during tenure.
* Contributed to success of supervised brokers through hands-on training and
mentoring; led team that generated $13 million in commissions.
Notice that the statements are specific and target key achievements the
candidate is most proud of.
Professional Experience
This section provides a chronological history of your experience along with a
brief summation of your responsibilities. Here’s an example of how your
professional history can appear.
Vice President, Bay Shore Financial, New York, NY, 2000–2004
Supervised team of 12 brokers in account prospecting and development activities.
Conducted in-depth research on stocks and related topics to provide best
recommendations for clients. Mentored team members and provided assistance with
complex and escalated client issues. Authorized sign-off on large transactions.
Education
The education section can include your college background, technical training,
and/or professional development.
Bachelor of Arts, Accounting—LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY, Brooklyn, NY
Best of Both Worlds
A combination resume will allow you to highlight your impressive accomplishments
and grab the reader’s interest right at the beginning while also providing the
chronological work history employers are looking for. Now get out there and
knock that employer’s socks off!
Click Here for Professional Resume Writing Services
Linda Matias is President of CareerStrides and The National Resume Writers'
Association. She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday,
Newsweek, and HR-esource.com. Visit her website at www.careerstrides.com or
email her at linda@careerstrides.com.
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