​The most successful jobseekers I worked with in 2019 and how you can learn their secrets to advance your career in 2020

With 2019 nearing its end, I’ve started thinking about my achievements this year.  No doubt many of you have been doing the same thing!  It seems more people than ever are realising the importance of having a stand-out resume, and as such, I’ve been fortunate to work with a pretty wonderful bunch of people this year. 

Clients often contact me after I’ve worked with them on their resume writing or applications, sometimes days, weeks or even months (hello government employees!) after the fact, to share the good news that their resume or application has been successful.  This is absolutely one of the highlights of my job.

While this year I’ve enjoyed working with a whole range of people from diverse backgrounds and industries, on reflection, some particular stand-out clients also highlight some of the latest resume trends.  I hope these experiences may help you in your own applications.   

The Project Manager Who Beat Hundreds of Applicants
The Project Manager’s old resume was – to be blunt – a mess.  At almost 9 pages, it was filled with flowery, generic language, not to mention spelling and grammar mistakes.  Rather than highlight his key achievements relevant to the role, it detailed various generic skills such as ‘teamwork’ and ‘organisational skills’.  We completely overhauled it, reducing it to 2 pages, matching his skills and experience to the specific role he wanted and redeveloping his achievements into concise, pithy dot points.  Result?  He beat 287 other job-seekers and secured the role.
Take-home messages:

1. Keep it brief (ideally 2-3 pages).
2. Ensure it is a professional document.
3. Show - instead of tell - about your achievements, through using keyword-rich, achievement-focused content.

 
The Electrician Who Scored a Mining Leadership Role
I sometimes have customers tell me that they ‘aren’t really sure’ what type of job they want, or that they are interested in multiple fields.  This can make it difficult to write them an effective resume, since their resumes are unable to be truly targeted to a particular area. The Electrician knew what he wanted – to become a Supervisor in the mining industry, though he worried he didn’t yet have the experience.  He’d had a diverse work history, spending some time working as a divemaster in Thailand (lucky him!) and various other jobs, before commencing his electrical apprenticeship.  His resume reflected his diverse history, and was not targeted to the type of work he wanted.  I helped him overhaul his resume to emphasise the skills and experience that mining jobs look for.  I also researched and included relevant keywords.  Result?  He was called in for an interview.  Although he didn’t get the particular job he had applied for, the recruiters were impressed and offered him a slightly different role.

Take-home messages:

1. Know what you want, and go after it.
2. Target your resume to the job you want.
3. Use ATS keywords.

The Employee who Scored a Coveted Government role
This woman was someone who had been eagerly pursuing government roles in administration, but the competition was fierce.  She came to me when despite numerous applications, she wasn’t getting any call backs and didn’t know where she was going wrong.  I helped her with a selection criteria application, and assisted her to identify and develop several strong examples that highlighted the skills they were looking for.  Sure enough, she got an interview.
Take-home messages:

1. Selection criteria can be tricky!  Understand what government panels look for, and that this can be very different to jobs in the private sector.
2. Ask for feedback.  Government roles will usually offer some sort of feedback to unsuccessful candidates.  You can use this to better meet their requirements next time.

Remember, if you have any queries about resumes or selection criteria, please do get in touch.  And keep on sending me updates as you progress.  In the end, I’m successful when you’re successful!  I also love word-of-mouth referrals so please continue sending them through!

Happy new year everyone.  May 2020 be prosperous and successful for you all!

Nicole