Many people believe, somewhat unfairly, that it must be much easier for a person who has 15-20 years working experience to write a winning resume than it is for a graduate or someone who is just starting out in their career path.
In fact the very opposite is true.
With a wealth of working experience behind you, it can be difficult to decide which pieces of information need to be included in your resume and which skills and achievements you need to portray.
For individuals with a mature career, recruiters are generally looking for resumes that demonstrates successful and varied managerial skills, potentially spanning a range of industries. Whilst you may not have held a specific managerial role previously, you must be able to demonstrate that you have used successful managerial skills, in some capacity, in the past.
Often the roles that are appealing to individuals with a mature resumes are focused on developing business plans and strategies, forging teams and motivating others to deliver successful outcomes. The technical skills and knowledge that are learnt in your earlier career tend to be less important than managerial skills, reputation and the ability to influence.
Part of the challenge for some individuals in creating a winning mature resume is demonstrating that they are ready to move from a smaller ’technical’ focus to a broader ’bigger picture’ focus. This includes being able to demonstrate political astuteness, commercial awareness and strong ’people’ and interpersonal skills.
So, let’s look at the key aspects needed to pull together a fantastic mature resume:
The Checklist
- Personal contact details – Name, Address, Telephone Numbers and an Email address.
- A career objective – One or two short lines that state your overarching career aim.
- A strong competency statement – Two or three paragraphs that focus on your skills, experience and personal attributes. These should be supported by real examples of your abilities and should demonstrate managerial or leadership skills, commercial astuteness and interpersonal skills.
- Full educational qualifications.
- Details of all relevant jobs.
- Full details of two, appropriate referees.
Ensure you have listed your key responsibilities and achievements for each role. An emphasis on sustained achievement is key, along with demonstrable energy, enthusiasm and strategic thinking. You’re on your way to be a mature career worker. What this means is that when you need to start looking for a job there are special considerations you need to take about resume writting Because a resume is the first step to get a job in any company.
