Sunday, March 15, 2020
Resume Tips for Consultants Transitioning into a Corporate Role -
Resume Tips for Consultants Transitioning into a Corporate Role -After a very successful career consulting for Fortune 500 clients on a wide variety of projects, Mike faced a different sort of challenge how to condense his experience into a resume that reflected the depth and breadth of his consulting work. He strugglumineszenzdiode to share his accomplishments in a way that generated employer interest while also getting through applicant tracking systems. When he finally called me he was ready to throw in the towel, exasperated with how difficult it had become to write about his own career. I explained that he shouldnt feel bad, most of us struggle to write about urselves. Were simply too close to our own experiences to process them objectively.So how do you write a resume for a corporate role if youve been consulting as an independent professional, meaning someone who has consulted with clients of their own?Targeting is CrucialI tapped into the expertise of two of my top executive resume writers to hear their best advice. Matilda Cole said this is the most difficult resume to write. Writing a resume to achieve this goal takes time and a skilled writer to weed out less-relevant items from your work history while highlighting the best ones.The mora targeted the resume is to the specific job, the better the chance of getting invited to the interview, said Cole. Even with a great resume, consultants will likely need to conduct heavy networking and proactively reach out to hiring managers and employers. The good thing is many consultants have experience with business development and already have solid networking and outreach skills.If you fall into this category, youll also want to read our blog on career change resumes for additional tips.Dive Deep, BrieflyCole also said consultants need to probe deeper into previous consulting projects since they likely wont have job titles or descriptions that swiftly translate their experience level or duties. Consultants need to make it easy for someone reviewing their resume to assess apples-to-apples titles and qualifications quickly.The writer also needs to find ways to highlight the advantages of a consulting backgroundadaptability, quickly building rapport and working relationships, the ability to seek out and collect information fast, diversity of experience, exposure to best practices, etc.while also addressing challenges to negative perceptions, said Cole.Quantify EverythingWhatever specific challenge, action, and results you choose to include in your resume, Chelsea Kerwin, another executive resume writer for Great Resumes Fast, said the results should be quantified. Here are some easy tips for translating results into figures to boost your value for potential employers Use All Numbers Available How many people were on the team you led? How long did the project take? Did you meet the deadline/budget? If you exceeded the deadline/budget, by how much? Include Your GPA This is really important f or consultants because its a way of quantifying your academic achievements. Provide Quantified Outcomes For example, show how you positively contributed to cost savings, revenue growth, productivity improvements, client satisfaction or renewal rates, website traffic, market share penetration, sales, employee engagement, employee retention, etc. Compare Your Performance Give your metrics versus the metrics of others in terms such as business units, past performance, competitor performance, etc. Use Percentages for Lower Stats If the numbers arent on your side, use percentages. For example, if actual revenue growth will seem like small potatoes, talk in percentages to avoid positioning yourself poorly.Challenges of Consulting ResumesOne of the biggest challenges consultants face when writing their resume is employers dont like job-hopping, moving from one position to the next in a short period of time. This is especially true when businesses employ applicant tracking systems (ATS) to review resumes. To address this challenge, Cole suggested lumping together the full duration of any consulting period. She said this will downplay the movement due to the project-based nature of consulting.There are other stigmas consultants must overcome when crafting an effective resume, according to Cole. She said many larger employers dont like to hire consultants for a variety of reasons including Conformity Can they adapt to our way or will they go rogue? Will there be attendance issues since theyre used to making their own schedule? Will they follow our process/rules? Loyalty / Long-Term Relationships Consultants only have to work with people they dont get along with for a brief period, whereas employees need to resolve conflict for the long-term. Teamwork Can they play well in the sandbox, especially if they have no control over whos invited to the sandbox? Manageability Theyre used to being their own boss. Will they accept direction and authority well? Compensation Consultants typically get paid much higher rates than an employer would be able to pay. Longevity Can they stick with the job through the ups and downs, including boring stages? Can we provide enough variety to prevent boredom? Unknown Factor Can we verify the consulting work with actual examples? Maybe they were just unemployed during this consulting period.The key to overcoming many of these challenges is to address them head-on with direct examples of your previous work. Be sure to show your ability to adapt, work as a member of a team, and accept direction by providing specific examples of how you have faced such challenges in your previous work as a consultant. Save the discussion of other topics such as compensation for the follow-up call or interview where you have more time and space.Dont be discouraged if you cant get enough distance from your own experience to incorporate these tips into your resume. Often its easier for an objective outsider to condense your consulting roles and achievements into a resume that will attract employer interest especially if they have expertise in exactly that, like we offer here at Great Resumes Fast. Please dont hesitate to contact us at our office at 1800.991.5187 or through our website Great Resumes Fast.
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
7 Things Professional People Make Sure They Do at Work
7 Things Professional People Make Sure They Do at Work What does it mean or look like to be professional? While theres not one single answer, and your perception of what makes someone professional may differ from your moms or your spouses, there are some habits and behaviors that constitute professionalism no matter what the circumstances. Whether youre new to the workforce or youre in a later stage of your career, youll benefit from honing your professional demeanor and habits. Not koranvers of where to start? Here are seven things all professional people make sure they do at work1. Manage their time efficientlyFor most of us, managing our time efficiently is a work in progress. While maximizing our time may always be a priority, putting effective time management strategies into practice is easier said than done. At work, time management is particularly important if you tend to get distracted and slack on your job responsibilities, people will notice and you may be less likely to get the promotion youve been eyeing. Luckily, there are several actionable time management tips that professionals swear by, including using productivity apps and blocking your schedule.Read moraIf you want to be seen as professional, you need to prioritize meeting deadlines. This goes hand and hand with effective time management if you become skilled at managing your time, your ability to meet deadlines will improve. Meanwhile, if you consistently miss deadlines, your colleagues and your manager will likely see you as unreliable or even lazy. There are some surefire ways to ensure youll meet deadlines, like prioritizing your assignments, knowing how and when to say no, delegating, and asking for help.Read more Honing your teamwork organization skills, scheduling skills, and resource coordination skills (among others) will help you eliminate problems, promote positive habits, and make for a more cohesive working environment.Read more People in your network are more likely to see you as professional if they have an easy time communicating with you. Whether youre writing a quick email, negotiating for a promotion or offering feedback to a direct report, the way you communicate your message will determine whether or not that message gets heard. Moreover, your communication style will impact how others perceive you and, in turn, how likely they are to want to work with you, promote you, recommend you or hire you.Read more professional image.Read more 7. Dress appropriatelyWhether your companys dress code is formal or casual, chances are theres some sense of whats standard and acceptable work wear. If your colleagues tend to wear corporate-looking suits or dresses, dont show up to work in jean cut-off shorts. There are ways to get creative and express your style no matter how formal or informal your colleagues dress but no matter where you work, you probably want to avoid looking like you rolled out of bed and didnt change before heading to the office.Read more --
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Pros and Cons of a Lunch Interview - Spark Hire
zu gunsten vons and Cons of a Lunch einstellungsgesprch - Spark HireAt times, a traditional job interview style can become monotlageonous and uninspiring. At times, the position a candidate is applying for may call for an interviewing atmosphere more conducive to casual chatter and comfortable seating. And at times, some employers simply prefer an interview that is outside the office. In any case, a lunch interview is an entirely different ball game for both the interviewer and the interviewee. As an employer, what are some pros and cons of using a lunch interview over a traditional, in-the-office interview?Pro A restaurant or caf offers a relaxed space. At a lunch interview, an employer can afford to take more time and relax some while questioning a candidate. The less-professional and stiff-necked atmosphere of a restaurant or caf encourages small talk and chit-chat not necessarily related to the job or the candidates qualifications. As any employer knows, sometimes the things you pick up about a persons life, hobbies, or relationships during small talk can tell you immeasurably more than a resume can. A lunch interview offers ample time to take advantage of the informal space outside of the confines and demands of the office to get to your candidate on a different level.Con You may have an overly-nervous candidate on your hands. In rebuttal to the point above, for a candidate, there is so much that could go wrong during a lunch interview. Theyre walking in wondering if they should order a drink, what they should choose off the menu, and how much it should cost. Should they linger over their meal, hem and haw over dessert, offer to pay the tab? While you set the tone for the interview as the employer, the uncontrollable factors for a candidate in a lunch interview far exceed those found in a typical interviewing space. This could make the meeting uncomfortable or the candidate less confident and you may not get an honest preview of their true worth as an empl oyee.Pro Small details become important. Youre able to see things about the candidate that you would not witness in a traditional interview. Are they lost in the particular details of a dish and very picky about the choice of food? Do they order expensive dishes? Are they unkind about a small mistake with their order or are they thankful and generous with the wait staff? Do they quickly make themselves comfortable with a glass of wine or do they stick with non-alcoholic beverages? All of unterstellung things will inevitably mean different things to different employers, but a candidates small actions can speak volumes about their personality and what kind of employee they might be.Con You have little control over the environment. When not in the office, you leave space for unexpected situations, uncontrollable due to the fact that youre surrounded by other patrons whom you do not know and service employees who may or may not be having a good day. As the one conducting the interview, you can hamper this potential threat to your interviewing success by choosing a venue that you know well. However, this still cannot account for everything, such as another patron getting angry or out of hand in the restaurant, or the food being prepared poorly, which could potentially make your relaxed space more awkward.Are lunch interviews too impractical for you or are they a nice change of pace to a monotonous interviewing process? Leave a comment below to weigh in.IMAGE Courtesy of Flickr by Osamu Kaneko
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