Resume Tips for Those Reentering the Workforce

by Web Admin

Whether you’re a parent who’s taken time off to raise children or you find yourself without an industry and job, you need to understand how to craft your resume for maximum impact.

One of the most important point to consider to update your skills before you look for a new job. On top of that, you can learn new skills for the new economy and reality.

 

You Can’t Always Rely on Past Experience

If you’ve worked in the manufacturing sector, you know those great paying positions are long gone. Many will not return. Rather than chasing the few that remain, look to a relatively stable industry such as healthcare for new opportunities. Search job postings to determine what education and certifications you may need. On your resume, list the ones you’ve obtained and those you’re seeking. With more and more employers using scanning software to screen out candidates, you’ll need to include industry keywords so you won’t be excluded from an opportunity.

 

Your Resume Should Maximise Strengths and Minimise Weaknesses

One of the weaknesses, understandably, will be a lengthy time out of work. Countless internet articles state how employers worry about how the long term unemployed can adequately fill a new position. Skills get rusty. Knowledge becomes dated. You already know to sharpen your skills and knowledge before you apply. However, how you present this data to an employer is critical.

 

Functional versus Reverse-Chronological Resumes

You may read well-meaning advice about using a functional format. That is, a resume style in which you list your job responsibilities first without ever stating where you used them. This section is followed by a quick glance of your Professional Experience. Here, you would list only your former employers’ names, locations and your various job titles. Absolutely no other information is given.

Avoid functional formats at all cost. Here’s why:

• You’re forcing the hiring manager to guess where you gained/used your skills and knowledge. Most won’t bother. They’ll move on to the next candidate who gives them a clear picture as to what was achieved at each position.
• Hiring managers know that job hoppers and the long-term unemployed use functional formats to hide gaps in work history. You’re not fooling anyone with this design.

 

Use a Combination Style Resume

A combination format is one that uses the best of the functional and the reverse-chronological style resume. After your opening summary, you’d include your education (if you’ve acquired recent certifications or a degree in a new specialty), followed by a skills section. This gives the hiring manager a more complete picture of how recent your knowledge is and what you actually did with what you know.

Following the skills section, you would then list your work history, with bullets of your tasks and results of them beneath each employer. Yes, you will still have the employment gap, but it will be softened considerably by the new resume format and the achievements you’ve showcased.

 

Returning to the workforce is rarely easy. However, you can reduce the time spent in searching for a job by updating your skills, acquiring new ones and using the correct resume format.

 

If you would like to know more about Perth Resume’s professional resume and cover letter writing services, please email us at [email protected] or contact 1300 574 435

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