Why Strategy is critical in your job search

Strategy planning not just for fishMaybe you read some career blogs and you wonder why they keep talking about strategy. After all, all you need to get a job is a resume. That’s just something you throw your job history on and call it good, right? One size fits all. You don’t need much else, right?

Sorry, no! Wrong answers. A resume is so much more than your job history. When I craft a resume for a client, we begin with a strategic planning session where we discuss the client goals, look at formatting options and strategies used in other resumes, and find the best solution for that client. The goals and strategy change for each client. One client may be looking for an internal promotion. Another client is ready to make a career change. Still others are looking to rise to the next level in their career. Others want to land the next executive role. And others are ready to forge their way into the land of entrepreneurship.

Job search or career change is a journey!

It starts with the resume specifically designed with the strategy in mind that you need to reach your target. Highlighting your best accomplishments and weaving your accomplishments interlaced with key words appropriate for your target is one part of the resume strategy. Finding the specifics that quantify and qualify your successes makes your reader see your value.

Injecting the specific items that work with the roles you want is part of the job search strategy. Some of my clients need a technology snapshot because either Technology is key to their success in an actual information technology role or perhaps they want to prove that they already understand the tools that would help in the next role. Every section of the resume is a deliberate and strategic choice. One person needs specific sections like community leadership because they are in a business development or outreach role, for someone else, it doesn’t matter. A construction manager or project manager may want to list the projects in a chart to delineate their successes.

Your strategy will be different with each target

The strategy always changes with the target and affects everything including the colors used in a resume. I rarely use the color red for someone in a financial role because you don’t want to be in the red. However, firefighters tend to love to use red. An engineer who is designing green products may want to use green. Blue always seems to have corporate feel.

But it doesn’t stop there. The wise careerist knows that you partner the resume with a targeted cover letter that further explains what qualities you bring to that particular position. Onward to LinkedIn and LinkedIn coaching that teaches the job seeker or entrepreneur how to market themselves correctly on this critical professional social network platform.

Strategy in career moves is critical. You are the one who knows where you want to go but you need to plan your strategy to get you there.

Need help? While job search is often painful, as a Certified Master Resume Writer, I take the pain out of writing your resume and even make it fun with a personalized, interactive process. Explore my resume packages:  [maxbutton id=”7″]

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Julie Walraven, Design Resumes

Julie Walraven

Professional Resume Writer

Here are ways I can help you land your dream job.

You may be halfway across the country or the world. When you work with me, we share coffee, laughs, and concerns. This turns the scary job search into creative, consultative writing and learning sessions.