Spring is finally in sight and what better way to start the season than with a refreshed resume? This week on The Stress-Less Career Show, we’re talking about resumes with our designated Work You Love resume writer, Jessica Saragovi! Jessica came on the show to share her tips for writing both a resume and a LinkedIn profile that will land you that next big interview.
Jessica’s first tip for crafting a great resume and LinkedIn profile is a key step in your job search. Her advice is to consider your strengths. “What's the combination of different strengths that you offer a company that you are looking for in your job... Be clear on that and confident. Own who you are own your strengths.” This tip applies to both your resume and your LinkedIn profile, but Jessica also mentioned the different ways you can use both to support your job search. While your resume probably won’t change too much, your LinkedIn is a different story. “Take advantage of [LinkedIn] being a dynamic media. Try out different phrases to push yourself a little bit more to show your personality, and speak in the “I” voice.”
Crafting a resume and LinkedIn requires a careful strategy to put your best foot forward for the job you want, especially if you are looking for a job in a different industry. You may have a lot of skills in experience in one field, but little to none in the field you are looking to go into. Jessica gave some useful suggestions for how to approach your resume when you are moving towards a new industry.
“First, focus on the transferable skills that you do have and the ones that you will like to use... Where do you add the value? What's the combination of skills that you have that I guarantee no one else has?”
You may find, according to Jessica that these transferrable skills may be a combination of hard skills and soft skills. “Hard skills are tangible and measurable and they're usually job-specific. Soft skills are personality-based. Usually, it's who you are at home and who you are in the office… Harder to measure and you take them from job to job,” Jessica noted. However, both can be used to set you apart in your resume and beyond.
For those of us out there who might be looking for a job within the same industry, but really want to shift away from the current job they have or have had in the past, Jessica also had some useful tips for making your resume work for that goal.
“Identify your skills, your general basic skills that you have. Then, classify them into which ones do you really like to do - and those are your strengths - which ones you're neutral on, and which ones you just don't want to do; and really focus on which ones are your strengths.”
These strengths are going to be the keywords that you anchor your resume and LinkedIn profile around. Jessica stressed that you should highlight these strengths anywhere you can - in your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn, and more. “I think that's important that you have an understanding of where your passion lies. At the end of the day, you want a career that uses your strengths and that you really enjoy. Your day goes by so much quicker when you're doing things that you enjoy.”
If crafting a stellar resume is something you have been struggling with for ages, Jessica is offering a complimentary 15-minute resume review session just for you. In this session, you will get personal feedback from Jessica on your resume and ways to improve it to put your best self out there in your job search. You can reach out to her to schedule a session here.
You can also pick up a free 5-minute moving meditation from me here that will help you break out of resume and job search overwhelm so you show up to interviews and networking events feeling refreshed and ready.