Have a scattered job history? Here is how to transform your resume into a compelling value proposition

I hear this lot of time from a lot of professionals that their job history is scattered & they face an uphill task in presenting their value to prospective employers. 

For professionals who have worked for different industries, have jobs which on the surface seem unrelated or have confusing job titles, writing that winning resume & LinkedIn profile is challenging. However, with a strategy connecting some dots/missing links, your career document will not leave readers confused. 

Here is how to tackle different circumstances:

1. Roles seems unrelated: When you are looking for a new/attractive opportunity, most of us have career stories which feel unconnected & disjointed. They find it hard to showcase how such seemingly unrelated roles can be presented in a way that portrays their profile to be a good fit. Focus on uncovering the commonalities between your current/past job & the target job to showcase the potential employer how your experience is similar & can create value/solve their pain point. Your best shot should be to connect the dots by diving deep to uncover the skills you used to register success in disparate roles.
2. Job titles seem unrelated: Job titles vary from company to company & a lot of prospective employers form an impression /opinion when they browse the job titles of job seekers.In lot of cases, such job titles do not explain what you actually do. I generally recommend my clients to tweek the career title for clarity. For instance if you are working as Manager- loans & are looking to take up the next role in sales. Essentially, your job was of sales- increasing the loan book size but it did not reflect in the title. You should rather revise your career title from loan officer to Loan(sales) officer. Focus on providing clarity with Ambiguous job titles.
3. Industry seems unrelated: If you have job history with frequent industry jumps, do not worry. Rather use it to your advantage. Change language in your summary/branding statement to showcase that your skills have been successfully used across industries. You can  boost your chances of doing well during LinkedIn searches and Applicant Tracking System (ATS) tests by including a list of industries where you’ve worked. Focus on telling how you have used your skills to achieve success in the industries you have worked

Above described strategies will provide clarity & throw light on your distorted & scattered career history & would ensure that reader will have clear understanding on how your job roles /history aligns with your career goals & how your skills /expertise can be best utilised to generate benefits for their organisations.

As the founder and executive resume coach  at Sushant Kumar Ventures, I offer customized executive resume and LinkedIn profile writing services for modern day job seeker. Sign up here for our services/free consult.