How to Position Your Resume if You’ve Been Fired or Laid Off

from ExecuNet

 
In difficult times the employment market is extremely competitive; especially when you are trying to catch the attention of an executive recruiter or hiring manager. These tips will help you get the interview you are looking for regardless if you have been downsized:

Relevant Experience – if your experience has varied but you have great exposure to what a specific job is looking for HIGHLIGHT that experience or more importantly move it to the first few bullets on your resume.

Recent Successes – employers want high impact players that make a difference and your success needs to be clearly written on your resume. Briefly describe what you have accomplished and the impact it had on your business.

Reasons for Change – in today’s job market it has become more common to see a resume with multiple jobs in a few years or see one from a job seeker who has not been employed for a few months. The assumption is always negative so take that out of the equation by letting potential employers know about those situations on your resume.

Tailor your Career Highlights or Summary – If you have a Highlights or Summary section on your resume tailor it for the job you are applying for. There is no point in applying for a job and having a resume with highlights that have little to do with the job that they applied for. This will not open many doors.

Format – make sure that your resume is easy to read or easy to scan. The odds of your resume being read in its entirety are slim. When resumes are received they are visually scanned and people look for key words, titles and previous employers. People need to see a clear and professional document. Resumes with bullet points are much easier to read than those written in paragraphs. Always make sure your font style and size is consistent throughout.

Spelling and Grammar – This is obvious but so important! Make sure you spell check your resume and always have someone else proofread your resume.
Remember the purpose of your resume is to get you in front of an executive recruiter or hiring manager. Your resume does not (and should not) tell everything about you but needs to tell them why you will be an asset. It should be a clear representation of who you are and what you bring to the table. It will open doors to executive recruiters and then it is up to you to sell yourself.

(ExecuNet is a trusted executive network committed to the career-long success of the $100K+ executive, providing network opportunities and critical insights to accelerate your executive career and job search success.)