Resume Therapy: The Thing to Try When You’re Done Trying – December 6, 2021
Finding yourself out of work for weeks, months—even years—was hard enough back in pre-pandemic days when re-entering the workforce was more of a numbers game. Staying persistent would tend to pay off, as would taking time to earn a certification within your chosen field. If you weren’t earning steady dollars, chasing them through freelance work or contract assignments closed the gap until an offer came along.
That was until the gap itself widened beyond recognition.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 3 million people (more than a third of the total unemployed), have been out of work for at least six months, and that’s likely a very low estimate. In New York City alone, two out of three unemployed workers have been without jobs for six months. For a quarter, it’s been a full year or more. Perhaps more telling is new data from Pew Research Center that pins the number of self-employed in the U.S. at nearly 15 million.
The change in workplace dynamics caused by the pandemic, in reality, has flipped the script.
Many of those who took to the flexibility and independence of remote work aren’t willing to give it back. The desperation on behalf of many employers have pushed some to promise similar benefits and higher starting wages, but not enough to reassert balance. All of it fuels the trend of experienced professionals losing interest in the traditional job search; and subsequently, the most important tool in it: the resume.
Yet, there’s strong reason for reassessment, even if you do count yourself as part of “The Great Resignation.”
- Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). More than 90% of major employers now use them, meaning that submissions don’t get through without including the exact keywords used in the job description. Typically, most ATS’ will also reject candidates whose resumes reflect an unresolved span of time in work history.
If and when you’re ready to rejoin the job search, Resume Professors has the resources to help overcome those obstacles (including running every resume through our own ATS to keep it in the running). - Presenting Your Best, Even Better. After a certain point, it is not a matter of experience and qualifications; but rather, how you present them on paper that earns an in-person interview. About 85% of employers say they give greater consideration to carefully prepared resumes, customized to the position.
Many hiring managers want to see a part of your personality so they can get a better feel for how you might fit in. More often than not, the hardest part is putting it all into words. Resume Professors makes it easy. - A Professional Snapshot of Value. Just as the resume provides the means for reflecting on the past, it offers a platform for strategizing your next steps in the present. That can help build confidence, sharpen focus, and shape direction—whether that’s in pursuit of an entrepreneurial role or a salaried position.
Preparing for an unexpected downturn takes more than setting aside savings. It also takes conditioning your mindset in advance. Resume Professors helps you prep your elevator pitch should you find yourself in a pinch.
In today’s workplace, nothing is guaranteed and anxiety is everywhere. Established professionals are discovering age has become a liability and that compensation hasn’t always tracked with the evolution of their talent (despite what our parents always told us). Others who got their first jobs during the Great Recession and put their dreams on hold now bear the brunt of burnout without the financial reward.
That many have stopped trying is no surprise. Letting it stay that way would be.
A little resume therapy is worth a try.
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