“Work is Essential: Strategies for Reopening Your Job Search” – May 20, 2020
Now, a couple of months into the general COVID-19 lockdown, the sense of growing frustration with social distancing and non-essential business restrictions continues to grow across the country and, really, around the world as well. Per the CDC’s latest guidelines, people are being encouraged to wear masks anytime they leave the home, whether it’s to walk the dogs in public places, pick up groceries, or put gas in the car.
But that doesn’t cover the problems at hand.
Not for those who report for work … at work.
Just a couple of months ago, the idea of working from home was thought of as a convenience. Now it’s commonplace. And yet, that hardly comes as a comfort to anyone working in the hospitality, entertainment, sports, or tourism industries. Even special events aren’t so special when the bride is no longer the only veiled person in the room.
Nobody can predict when it will end.
That doesn’t mean you can’t prepare.
What to do first when you’re not sure what comes next
Only a couple of months ago, the nation was looking at close to near-full employment. At that time, strategies for moving up the ladder were more important than merely getting on it. Professional resume preparation was a key advantage in career advancement. Today, the resume is likely an essential tool for career reentry.
In early May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed more 20 million job losses the previous month, with an overall unemployment rate closing in on 15 percent. Forbes says the real number is even more disquieting.
Although modest economic activity—with most people practicing some form of social distancing—has returned in many places, few experts believe a “V-shaped” recovery is probable. Or, for that matter, even possible. Here are a few things to consider at the front end:
- Pick a lane. Being able to specifically articulate what you want to do and why you’re qualified to do it will need to take center stage in your next resume. Clarify the position you have in mind, as well as the industry, right from the start. If you were biding your time in a stop-gap role before the pandemic, use this opportunity to showcase a resurgence of your initiative.
- Word play. Think of keywords a bit like the highlight reel of your resume. The automatic tracking systems (ATS) used by 95% of today’s Fortune 500 companies do. Should your list fall short of the required number of matching terms, so will your submission. At Resume Professors, we’ve set ourselves apart by investing in our own ATS. That gives us the edge—to give you the edge!
- Let’s talk. Everyone has a unique story to tell. But we’ve found that you’ve got to hear it before you can write it. Founder Ed McGoldrick asks every client to complete a questionnaire that sets the table for discussion in a direct back-and-forth strategy session over the phone. He gives his undivided attention to your needs and wants to help you craft documents you can believe in as much as you believe in yourself.
Your resume will be right, or we’ll rewrite it as many times as it takes, until you are 100% satisfied, guaranteed! - By hand. The personal nature of what we do means that we put a little bit of our own heart and soul into every resume package we prepare. The words we use reflect what you’ve written and said to us, but we strive to elevate them to a higher level to pinpoint—in precise and meaningful language—those things you could never put into words otherwise.
Every cover letter is singularly composed from start-to-finish, providing you with the perfect elevator pitch.
With rare exceptions, just about all of us have about had our patience tested by now. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus and subsequent mitigation efforts will remain part of the way we live, work, and play for the foreseeable future.
We’ve all waited long enough—if not for the end of social distancing and other restrictions—at least for the end of doing nothing about it.
A new resume is essential.
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