50 resume questions answered by Yana Parker, author of The Damn Good Resume Guide

Questions 1-10 -- 11-20 -- 21-30 -- 31-40-- 41-50 -- 51 (below -- 52

Question #51. "I need to get OUT of this dead-end job! How do I make my resume show that I DO have the skills for a job with a future?"

"Dear Ms. Parker, I am really frustrated with my current position. I've been employed as an administrative assistant for many years. I feel the ceiling closing in on me and there truly is not a position here that I care to advance to. The only jobs available are "glorified secretarial jobs" with catchy titles like administrative analyst, executive administrator, etc.

I'm ready for "sky's-the-limit" opportunities--a position where I can use and develop my full potential.
I'd like to get a position as a customer service representative in mortgage banking, and move up the ranks to become a loan officer. I KNOW that I'm qualified to do the job. But how do I model my resume to reflect that I DO have the skills and abilities to do that job?"--Sondra C.

Dear Sondra, your situation is the perfect example for WHEN to use a "functional" type of resume format, to show that you CAN do something you haven't yet been paid to do.

When you use a "functional resume" you can present your skills, abilities, and accomplishments in a way that DOCUMENTS your qualifications for entering a new field. You are able to put the spotlight exclusively on experience RELEVANT to your chosen new career, playing down (w-a-a-y down) the experience that pictures you in your old/current role. (That's harder to do in a chronological format--though it's not impossible; SEE BELOW)

FIRST step: name your goal -- which you've already done: an entry level position as customer service rep in mortgage banking). It's GREAT that you're so clear about your target.

SECOND: find out precisely what a customer service rep DOES on the job, in as much detail as possible, including the skills needed, the special knowledge needed, and everything you can discover that will assure you that this is a good choice.

A terrific way to do this is to find a person already in that position and "interview" them, asking all your questions and getting the "inside dope" on this position. This process is often called "informational interviewing" and is nothing like JOB-interviewing---this is INFORMATION gathering). Check out my detailed Guide to Info Interviewing, OR see page 11 in my book "Damn Good Resume Guide."

THIRD: Assemble your resume in a FUNCTIONAL format (illustrated below) -- that is, according to the information you now have about what CUSTOMER SERVICE / MORTGAGE BANKING people do. TIP: You will be assembling a resume that creates an image of "customer service / mortgage banking" and does NOT look like "administrative assisting!" You do this by extracting from your work history (paid AND unpaid) ONLY those experiences that fit the NEW picture, and putting a bit of "spin" on them that indicates how they are relevant. You IGNORE (make no mention of) any experiences that create ANY OTHER image -- in this case, anything exclusively "secretary-like."

FOURTH: Top the resume off with a terrific SUMMARY or PROFILE, after adding your bare-bones chronological Work History and your Education, beneath the "Relevant Skills" section. (See my "Resume Catalog" book for more examples of resumes with good "Summary" statements at the top.)

Your NEW resume might look something like this:

SONDRA BLUMENTHAL (not her real name)

1234 Maple Ave.

Yorktown CA 98765

(123) 456-7890

CURRENT OBJECTIVE: position as customer service representative in mortgage banking.

Longer-term goal: position as loan officer

SUMMARY: (I'm just making this up!--create your own.)

· Five years successful experience providing customer-service type help in business settings.

· BA degree, with coursework in Accounting.

· Natural talent for working with figures, plus strong motivation to build a new career in mortgage banking.

· Currently enrolled in night school class in Real Estate Basics.

· (Whatever else seems pertinent, given what you learned in the Info Interview)

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Skill One (something you learned in the info interview that's a needed skill)

· A one-liner showing you've done something to demonstrate this skill, even though it wasn't in mortgage banking)

· Another of the same

Skill Two (something else you learned in the info interview that's a needed skill)

· (same deal)

Skill Three (something else you learned in the info interview that's a needed skill)

· (same deal)
Special Knowledge (again, something gleaned from the Info Interview)

· (same deal)

WORK HISTORY

1996-present

Administrative Assistant, Hornblower & Company, Los Angeles CA
1993-95

Executive Secretary, Breuner and Weiss Attorneys, Los Angeles CA

EDUCATION

B.A., English, UCLA, graduated with honors (don't mention the year unless its recent)

To transform that resume into an employer-friendly CHRONOLOGICAL format, while retaining the emphasis on transferable skills, you can do some creative reorganizing DEPENDING on YOUR PARTICULAR WORK HISTORY. For example, IF--in both of the above jobs--you used ALL of the same skills, the BOTTOM portion of your CHRONOLOGICAL resume could be rearranged to come out looking like this:
(i.e, it is now Chronological, with Functional elements inside the chronological format!)

WORK HISTORY & RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

1996-present

Administrative Assistant, Hornblower & Company, Los Angeles CA

Skill One (something you learned in the info interview that's a needed skill)
· A one-liner showing you've done something to demonstrate this skill, even though it wasn't in mortgage banking)
· Another of the same
· Another of the same
Skill Two (something else you learned in the info interview that's a needed skill)
· (same deal)
Skill Three (something else you learned in the info interview that's a needed skill)
· (same deal)
Special Knowledge (again, something gleaned from the Info Interview)
· (same deal)

1993-95

Executive Secretary, Breuner and Weiss Attorneys, Los Angeles CA

Skill One (something you learned in the info interview that's a needed skill)
· A one-liner showing you've done something to demonstrate this skill, even though it wasn't in mortgage banking)
· Another of the same
· Another of the same
Skill Two (something else you learned in the info interview that's a needed skill)
· (same deal)
Skill Three (something else you learned in the info interview that's a needed skill)
· (same deal)
Special Knowledge (again, something gleaned from the Info Interview)
· (same deal)

EDUCATION

B.A., English, UCLA, graduated with honors (don't mention the year unless its recent)

GET THE PICTURE????

If it's still not clear, look at the examples in any of my books. (Damn Good Resume Guide, Resume Catalog, Trades & Services, Resume Pro)

The MAIN POINT is that your new resume for a Career Transition has to be ABOUT YOUR FUTURE GOAL, and it has to LOOK LIKE your future goal! You accomplish this bit of magic by being very SELECTIVE about what you put on your resume, and you base that selection on your KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE NEW JOB. In that way, you are showing your potential new employer that--despite your past job titles-- you ARE knowledgeable about the job you now want AND you are a good candidate for an entry level position in that field. Having "done your homework" goes a LONG WAY toward making you an appealing candidate. (Remember: employers are really PUT OFF by job-hunters who not only "don't have a clue" but don't even TRY to "GET a clue.")

FINALLY: Remember that your resume--however great it may be--is only ONE TOOL in the job-hunt process. Another crucial tool is your CONNECTIONS. Try very hard to find SOMEBODY in the business who can aim you toward a SPECIFIC person to submit your resume to, by name, and don't wait for a vacancy to be announced. Just take the initiative and apply NOW. (Right NOW there's no competition; you may "hit them" just a week before they were planning to announce a vacancy!)

Let me know how it goes.

Yana