WorkWise Q&A: Moving, Resume

MOVING

Q: Dear Dr. Culp, When should you realize that you're going to have to move to get a job in your field? I relocated 150 miles from home for a job ten years ago. I left that job about three years ago and have been freelancing ever since. I really want to go back into a full-time position, but there aren't many jobs in my field to be had. Should I move back to the city where advertising/marketing jobs are more abundant? Potential Refugee

A: Dear Potential, Move only when you’ve hit a wall. You will know it when you:

• develop innovative, creative proposals, including telecommuting;

• sense that if you were able to land anything locally, it would be only a short-term solution to a long-term problem;

• fail to build a network after all of the trying in the world;

• fail to persuade even savvy employers that you can change careers successfully by applying advertising/marketing skills in other departments, such as sales or public relations; or

• clash with your environment based on personal style or culture.

Don’t blame location for lack of opportunity unless you’ve done everything you possibly can to create it. mlc

RESUME

Q: Dr. Culp, Is my Resume style current or am I out of date. I haven't been in the Job Market for quite a while and the Resume information I researched is all over the place. The templates that suppossedly illustrate a modern format, seem to be geared for multiple employers, not a single employer with multiple positions. I've attached a copy. Direct

A: Dear Direct, You’re correct to ask the question, because your e-mail to me has a number of errors, including words capitalized a la the 19th century.

A three-page “tell-all” resume leaves little for an employer to want to discuss with you. Your second language fluency is hidden, as is your educational background. Develop a resume that says, “Less is more.”

View early jobs as bridges to your current work. Just list them. If you’re staying within the industry, the people who read your resume will know about junior positions.

Assess functional headings to pull semi-extraneous information together and reduce your resume of lists. Look for patterns and connections for such headings as Community Engagement, Communication and Special Activities. You have the stuff. Be imaginative with it.

Dr. Mildred L. Culp welcomes your questions at culp@workwise.net. Copyright 2009 Passage Media.