Bouncing Back After Losing a Job of 20 Years
In work, as in life, nothing is guaranteed. You can do everything to succeed in your job, but companies can still find their way into cost cutting. There is no such thing as a risk-free career. Career success is not about ignoring these risks, but about taking direct control over your decision making and readiness to minimize the potential damage when a job loss occurs.
The potential for change is always around the corner. Job loss is recognized as a primary vector for several negative impacts on individuals and households including mental health, financial stability, health outcomes and social consequences. Economic downturns can trigger mass downsizing and restructuring; anyone at any time can be let go.
The oil and gas sector has taken a series of hits over the past decade, with waves of policy and regulatory changes, supply and demand shifts and pressure to invest in energy transition. Many highly educated and experienced workers were displaced. One person whom we helped had been employed over 21 years as a reservoir engineer. A brilliant and successful person, who hadn’t had to find a job in over two decades and hadn’t updated their resumé in over 10 years. What next? Where to begin?
Challenging your mindset
When people are dealt a setback, everyone responds differently. Some need time to process, some jump straight away into something to distract them and some grieve.
For our client, we observed a combination of complex emotions and questions. Rather than jumping into the process of building a resumé, we proposed she take some time to reflect and consider what she may want next and how her experience and education could support that.
This provided a tangible approach to dealing with the job loss, while focusing on actions she could control. It is important when any job loss (or major life change) happens, that there is an opportunity to process, but avoid the impulse to beat yourself up or become negative.
Challenging that mindset and focusing on tangible things allows you to concentrate your energy on building progress toward your next venture. In our client’s case, she came prepared. A week after our initial meeting she energized and had ideas about where she wanted to go next.
No experience too small
When we initially met with her, she was worried about what she viewed as her narrow experience as an engineer. After working through a series of questions we provided, she realized that her capabilities extend beyond the reservoir and into data and information technology.
These skills, combined with her practical knowledge of the industry and logistics made for a potent combination. Working through the questions and reflecting on her achievements and skills made this possible and boosted her confidence.
Our client agreed at this point to a full resumé rebuild and LinkedIn profile update. It was a full custom re-write and she trusted us to cast her experience and skills in support of her new career aspirations.
Extending our value
We had given a timeline of 5 days to figure it out and turn it around. We started with research into target job profiles and requirements. She provided a few postings as reference, but we dug deeper.
We then cross-checked her education and credentials with those relevant in data science. Once we had everything set, we began drafting – she had the first version within 3 days. After a few adjustments and final formatting, two versions were delivered, one with a lean toward her industry and one leaning more technical for applying on positions in other industries.
Lastly, a checklist of changes was provided for her to make on her LinkedIn profile along with a list of key people to follow and a strategy for managing her content.
Successful transition and the value of support
One month after these changes, our client already had 8 interviews and two job offers. She had done the hard work, challenged her mindset and engaged professional support for assistance. This strategy paid off. Lessons were learned, challenges were overcome and success was achieved.
Moving Up the Ladder in a Major Corporation
Refreshed resumé opens up new opportunities
Research shows that large companies tend to hire and promote from within up to 50% of the time and prefer hiring internal candidates for promotions due to retention and productivity. But competition for these roles is fierce and it is common to find a large pool of internal applicants for any given key leadership role. Our client from a large telecommunications company is a high-performing individual contributor with five-years tenure and a track record of positive contributions to various projects. When he approached us, he had already applied to two leadership positions and didn’t get an interview. Knowing that his reputation and performance results were good, he started to question his resumé.
The first review
Our review of the resumé turned up a few initial insights and concerns. What we noticed first was the resumé’s length of four pages. This is a common mistake; people err on the side of completeness and write exhaustively about experience and education, often including unnecessary details. We also noticed the voice and tone, passive language which did not convey confidence in his abilities and contributions. Leaders must be able to convey confidence in both written and verbal communication; a lack of confidence in the resumé can be an immediate red flag. Lastly, we took note of the absence of any content pointing toward leadership capabilities.
Yes, a resumé should convey your experience and contributions, but written and indicated in a manner that guides hiring managers to the conclusion that you are the best fit for the job. As a guide for evaluating resumé quality in our clients, we use our four tiered resumé matrix.
Drafting and Finalizing
After reviewing the resumé, we had an initial discussion about the positions he wanted to apply for. There were two open manager positions for which he felt he could compete. First, we developed the strategy for the new resumé. We would highlight leadership qualities and readiness, reframe accomplishments to be measurable and specific, tone and voice that demonstrates responsibility for actions. Additionally, we considered the specifics of the application process for his company including submission guidelines and any other expectations. We then began the writing process:
Structured outline and content arrangement
Elimination of inconsistent and irrelevant content
Editing and proofing
Sent to client for review
Clarifications and adjustments
Results
With a newly revamped resumé under his belt, our client set off applying for two management positions. One of the two resulted in a callback for an interview and thanks to his new toolkit, the client is now in his second year of leadership in that position.
Changing Passions, Changing Careers
Several months ago, a client approached us with a bold request. She wanted to transition out of her current position as an esthetician – a job she’d held for more than a decade – into an administrative role with a much larger company. Our initial reaction was confusion as she seemed to have dedicated a good portion of her working life to esthetics.
On paper, she had all the experience and credentials. She had been at a high-end salon for quite a while. In our discussions, she seemed convinced that a change was needed. She had lost her passion for the work; it was time for a change.
Burnt out and bummed out
Burn out has been defined as “a state of emotional, mental and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress, most often caused by problems at work.” Bummed out has a less clinical definition but relates to being in low spirits, depressed, weighted down, worried. The combination of the two makes for a not too happy daily existence. This is how our client described her situation. Years of being in the industry and dealing with the high demands of the work had taken its toll and she no longer had the energy or commitment to do the work. She decided to act.
Taking a practical approach
The big question was: what skills and abilities translate from esthetics to the office? Through a quick email exchange and researching job postings, we conducted a skills mapping exercise:
Most of the skills transferred easily between roles with a lot of overlap – this is the good news. There were two areas where gaps could be found:
Office knowledge (systems, procedures)
Vendor management (ordering supplies, negotiating contracts etc.)
When we spoke about these gaps to determine a plan to close them, new information emerged.
The client had worked with office software in her current role, often helping to reconcile daily books, using scheduling software and had even written some of the standard operating procedures for the salon. This information was missing from her existing resume as she didn’t see it as relevant to the esthetics services she was providing. Additionally, when covering for the owner, she did the ordering, inventory counts and worked with many of the suppliers to confirm deliveries. All of these skills were related to her target role but were not represented in her current resume. By taking a step-by-step practical approach, we were able to help her uncover these skills and boost her credibility.
It's not unusual for people to forget about and/or omit certain content from their resume. However, when looking at a significant change of roles, it is critical to thoughtfully assess and evaluate where your existing experience can translate to your target role.
Focused rewrite
The new resume became the foundation for change. Experience and skills were cast in a new light, creating a focus on new opportunities and roles.
A hybrid or combination format resume was chosen due to the flexibility of showcasing consistency in work experience while simultaneously highlighting transferable skills.
The result
Three months later, we checked in to see how she was doing. At this point she was a month into her new job as an administrative assistant at a university hospital.
She told us she expected to be working for a business, but when she saw the position at the hospital, she realized that she liked the idea of working in an environment dedicated to helping people. Her passion for care and wellness was still there and this was a perfect fit.
Returning to Work After A Long Absence
When returning to work after a long break, a broader strategy and approach is often required. The more senior the role you are trying to secure, the more effort and strategy will be needed in terms of networking and communication.
For our client, an accountant, a 10-year break meant getting re-acquainted with industry changes including regulatory and professional. Reconnecting with professional associations and local professional groups helped greatly with networking and getting job leads.
A great resume is a piece in the puzzle, but it’s not the entire picture.
Functional resumés in similar scenarios
In rare circumstances such as this, a functional resume is appropriate. There is no denying or hiding a large gap in work experience. When we initially proposed this to our client, she was naturally skeptical. But the reality is that a traditional chronological format simply highlights the gaps in work experience first, rather than the skills and capabilities she brought to the table.
Experience in life, volunteering, caregiving are all ways to propose to potential employers that you they can expect you will be a fit and can meet their requirements.
Skills and capabilities
It is important not to create a long list of keywords on your resume. For this client, she had kept up professional affiliations and had taken a couple of relevant courses along the way. Highlighting these in the resume is helpful in supporting credibility and adding relevant skills and capabilities enhances credibility further. The key is being selective and relevant. We accomplished this through skills mapping and research into target jobs. Skills mapping allowed us to take an inventory of all the skills she had previously acquired during her employment gap. Researching target jobs and her industry provided the filter we needed to ensure only appropriate skills got listed and how to position them for maximum impact.
The bottom line
Returning to work after a long absence is challenging, but not impossible, especially if you invest in a comprehensive strategy. Don’t rely only on your resume. Speaking of resumes, functional (and hybrid) resumes are complex and challenging to write. We do not recommend using them unless your personal situation requires it. It is helpful to engage with a professional and/or an editor for support.
Pursuit of a Career Changing Promotion
In this era of automation, we’ve thought a lot about the impact of online job postings, job boards and applicant tracking systems (ATS) have on a person’s ability to be competitive.
Can a person seeking a promotion effectively compete and get noticed?
Or is it the case where a resume being submitted online is no longer sufficient and the key to success (especially when looking for a promotion) is networking and relationships?
Networking and relationship building is time-consuming and requires a lot of effort with its fair share of dead-ends and frustration. There are also lots of opinions on networking, how to network, where and when to network and the types of people to network with which can be confusing and hard to follow.
But the real challenge on relying only on networking is that it’s a quid pro quo game. To get, you usually must have something to give. Not great when you are looking for a job. It is understandable why so many people avoid it. But can a resume makeover be enough to get noticed and invited to interview?
The answer is yes, if these 4 keys to success are followed:
Tailoring your content
Focus on quantifiable achievements (especially important for those advancing into or forward in leadership)
Consistency in content and presentation (resumés, LinkedIn and references)
Strategic use of keywords
Over the years, we have worked with several people who want to get promoted and/or need a change of position but feel stuck in their current role and are hitting dead ends applying online.
The issue isn’t that they didn’t spend enough time networking. The issue is that their resume was inadequate and was sabotaging their chances of getting noticed. Here are three examples. In each we share their situation, our observations and the changes we proposed (and made) to assist.
Notice that in each situation, there are a combination of problems and solutions. It is important to remember the saying “what got you here, won’t get you there”. When seeking a promotion, your professional image matters most and that is primarily reflected on your resume. Having a poorly formatted resume that contains mistakes, is not concise and doesn’t represent the experience required for your target role tells hiring managers you aren’t ready for next step.
On the other hand having a clean, well-formatted and focused resume demonstrates to hiring managers that you know how to communicate, and that you’ve invested time to consider the job posting before applying, getting you off on the right start and helping you stand out from others.