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Working Past Retirement

How do you define “senior citizen”? Many people judge by retirement age, somewhere around 62 or older. Yet working past retirement has become more and more common. The American Advisors Group discovered that 18% of seniors plan to work past age 70, 12% plan to work for the rest of their lives, and 46% plan on joining the gig economy or working part time.

If you fall into any of those groups, you want to update your resume and LinkedIn profile to demonstrate:

  • Continual learning. Whether you take a course, qualify for a certificate, or participate in company training, your willingness to learn is important, so be sure to highlight it in your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • Up-to-date knowledge and skills. Companies appreciate candidates who keep up with technology, regulations, and current cultural trends, such as collaboration and equality, inclusion, and diversity (EID). In some industries, new acronyms and terms arise periodically; make sure you know what they mean and how to use them in your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • Eagerness, energy, and flexibility. Hiring managers and recruiters will be evaluating your ability to contribute to a company physically and emotionally as well as through skills. You might have to work for a boss who is younger than you, for multiple bosses, or with a more diverse team than you are used to. Your resume and LinkedIn profile should offer examples of your adaptable and energetic approach to new experiences and challenges.
  • Remote or part-time availability. If you only want remote or part-time work or prefer minimal travel, provide that information on your resume or LinkedIn profile—if it is relevant to the jobs you are applying for. These days, many companies specify in their job postings whether a position is fully or partially remote or totally on-site, full-time or part-time, and with or without travel requirements. The job posting may also indicate other requirements that may or may not be negotiable.

It may not be easy for seniors to find jobs even in this economy, as many of the “help wanted” signs are for positions that require a lot of standing, repetitive motion, or other physical requirements that seniors find more difficult to meet. But Robin’s Resumes® will help you create a resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile that will make the most of the experience, knowledge, and skills that you offer. Contact us today.

The Value of a Job Seeking Holiday

Looking for a job is difficult, whether you are employed or not. You may be pressured by personal finances, family, and friends; you may be frustrated by a company’s slow decision making or the lack of any response to your resumes or interviews.

Time for a break.

Take 24 hours to forget about your job search completely, and when the 24 hours are over, consider whether the following shifts in your methodology and outlook might help:

  • Change your networking method. If you have been mainly connecting with people online, try face-to-face; if face-to-face, try online. Sometimes simply breaking a pattern refreshes a job search.
  • Broaden your search. Look at the jobs you are applying for and consider whether you have limited yourself to a certain job title, industry, or even geographic area. If your limits are too tight, you may be shutting yourself out of jobs you are qualified for and would enjoy.
  • Thank someone. Thank a hiring manager or recruiter in your cover email for considering your application; thank interviewers for their time; thank the people you network with for their interest and conversation; thank your family/friends/associates for their patience and suggestions. A “thank you” creates stronger bonds.
  • Take a fresh look at your resume. Is it targeted for the job you want? Is it specific about what you have accomplished in the past? Did you proofread it? (Do not rely solely on online spelling and grammar checkers; they miss and often randomly change important words.) Is it simply but professionally formatted?
  • Ask for professional help. You may need a consult with a certified career transition coach; you may need the insight of a professional resume writer. Asking for help could save you from weeks of unemployment or unhappiness in your current job.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we are prepared to help you find a new outlook and renewed momentum during your job search. Contact us today.

Manufacturing Resumes: What Makes Them Different?

Every so often, the internet becomes swamped with recommendations that people take a closer look at manufacturing jobs. But often no explanation is given about those jobs—leaving readers with a vague image of someone on an assembly line drilling one bolt into one hole.

In truth, the term “manufacturing jobs” covers operations, finances, supervision, research and development, IT, maintenance, supply chain management, vendor relations, quality control, inspection, Lean manufacturing, change management, design and development, and much more. That is a wide range of potential jobs.

So what exactly makes a manufacturing resume different?

First, specific industry experience may be much more important. Transitioning from one industry to another may be easier for someone in finance (money is money) than for someone in quality control (since regulations differ for different industries).

Second, experience with specific machines or processes may be important. For example, automobile manufacturing is different from medical tubing or semiconductor manufacturing.

Third, many manufacturing positions require special licensing, certifications, or training. The resume should highlight those.

Fourth, many manufacturing jobs these days are global. Therefore, a manufacturing resumes should highlight experience with global operations, travel outside the company, diversity initiatives, or foreign languages may be a big selling point on a resume.

Finally, manufacturing companies are constantly changing. A manufacturing resume should highlight any experience with change: a new process, software, machine, technique, or regulation; new and evolving markets, whether domestic or international; or mergers and acquisitions.

Most of this information should appear in abbreviated form in the resume summary because of its importance. The body of the resume should give more details and examples, focusing on results: “Increased average output by 10% by re-organizing workstations for greater efficiency.”

In other respects, a manufacturing resume should meet the same high standards for any other job in any other industry. Contact Robin’s Resumes® to help ensure that your resume—for a manufacturing position or any other—is of the highest quality.

Apply for Jobs That Match Your Skills

I recommend that you apply only for jobs where you meet all the job requirements and required skills.

  1. If a job is for a company that contracts with the federal government, then by law all hired applicants must have the required experience listed in a job announcement, or the company is subject to cancellation of their government contracts.
  2. If a company hires someone without required experience as listed on the job announcement, the company is subject to civil rights/discrimination charges. This has been the law in the United States since 2006.
  3. If the skill is a key one for the job, the resume might pass the ATS but it is still likely to be rejected by the hiring manager.
  4. Even if you get an interview, you may not get the job. These days, many IT jobs require that you take a test to prove your competency with the technology. If you state you can easily learn a new technology, but fail the test, you will not get the job.
  5. The time you spend applying for a job that you have a low probability of getting can be better spent networking, learning the missing skills, or finding a job that fits your current skill set.
  6. Even if you get the job, you may not be able to perform well. Despite your belief that you can learn a new task or technology quickly, you may find yourself floundering.

Sometimes, if you have a networking contact, a company will consider you for a job without all the required skills (they can rewrite and re-post the job announcement). If you don’t have a networking contact, and you really want the job, you can apply for the job – but do not spend too much time on the application. The likelihood of getting the job, especially if you are missing a key skill, will be low. If you decide to apply for the job, you must show that you are capable of learning that skill, as you have learned so many in the past. For example, you can state in your resume that you used XYZ software (similar to ZYX software) and explain how you used it.

For more advice on applying for jobs that match your skills, please contact me at Robin’s Resumes®.

Four Ways to Charge Up Your Tired Resume

If you have been sending out your resume for a while without success, it may begin to feel stale to you, let alone hiring managers and recruiters. Maybe it is time to take a fresh look at the contents and give new life to your tired resume.

  1. Make sure your resume emphasizes real accomplishments, not empty clichés (for example, “highly motivated and strategic-minded professional production supervisor”). Accomplishments such as solving your current employer’s production problems or learning new processes or taking post-college courses show motivation. Accomplishments such as increasing sales 20%, lowering costs $20 million, increasing productivity or efficiency 15%, handling mergers and acquisitions, or serving and retaining customers show that you are responsive to the company’s strategy. Be sure to include quantification where possible.
  2. Make sure your resume focuses on the job you want—not the jobs you had in the past. That means looking at your career to emphasize the accomplishments, skills, and education that prepared you for the job you want. Cut back on or remove information that may make you proud but is badly dated (for example, technology that no one uses anymore except if it shows your path for current technologies) or irrelevant.
  3. Make sure your resume uses words that convey interest and progress in your own career. If every bullet point starts with “responsible for” or “performed,” you should consider whether words such as “led,” “reported,” “delivered,” “supported,” “planned,” or “produced” might restore energy to your tired resume. You must be honest about your role but there are countless synonyms for performing work.
  4. Make sure your resume gives you credit for all you have accomplished. If your resume is a bare-bones list of past jobs or tasks, no hiring manager or recruiter will be interested. You must move beyond the thought that “anyone can do what I do.” The true point is that no one except you has had your exact experience. Once you realize what it is that sets you apart from other candidates, your tired resume will truly come to life.

Are you having trouble identifying accomplishments, focusing on the job you want, writing interesting job descriptions, and recognizing your value to an employer? It is time to bring in a professional resume writer who will help you create a resume that gives you pride and makes hiring managers and recruiters take notice. Contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

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