Career Management Alliance Blog

Focus, focus, focus … that’s what I reinforce with my professional and executive clients daily. As well, differentiate yourself within that target area. Be compelling. Tell your story. Assess, rework your resume language, assess it some more and continue to refine the content until your story, word by word, statement by statement, fits you like a glove. The nuances of words, phrases and action statements are integral in a stand apart resume. Too many career movers follow the crowd, aspiring to ensure their resume format, language and tone fit the mold, thereby, sabotaging their own career propulsion.

Reviewing other marketing materials, website copy, brochures, bleeding edge journals, periodicals, newspapers (including the Wall Street Journal), can stimulate ideas. Designing boxes, headlines, sub-headlines, tables, charts, graphs and more within which to position your career brand will create visual appeal, grab the reader emotionally and draw the reader closer to you.

I developed a senior financial executive resume recently, and using leading-edge content and inventive strategies resulted in a ‘cool’ (her words) result. As well, we seriously addressed her top brand areas related to her target goal in the financial arena; i.e., she isn’t described as ‘just another cookie-cutter senior financial executive.’ We explored gradations of her career identity and pinpointed just the right words to paint her picture.

These strategies and techniques might be considered unusual for what many consider a conservative industry (finance).

Moreover, a technology leader who landed successfully at Dell after we investigated and spun his story into a bold, unique brand with hard-hitting results and sobering references to corporate challenges he tackled and won, earned approval by recruiters and decision-makers alike for his ability to successfully vie for their attention.

In summary, I encourage those in career transition to unfetter their minds when it comes to building their career resume, and consider their options, versus limitations, and confidently steer their career marketing vehicle.

By Jacqui Barrett