Your Mid-Career Resume: An Invitation to a Conversation

Your Mid-Career Resume: An Invitation to a Conversation

A NOTE ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER

"Community" is a paradigm that I've been thinking about a lot over the past few months. Emailing articles to all of my subscribers over the years has been great, but it's time to kick it up a notch.

If you've got career questions, or you're undergoing change and transition, many of you probably want more than an article now and then.

The Mid-Career Lab is the next step in providing you with a place to go to get those answers, share experiences, connect,  and engage directly with others going through the same career challenges.

While I appreciate you being a subscriber, the number one thing that's going to help you in your career is having conversations with other people who can support you, critique you, and connect you.

If you're open and are drawn to this idea, please consider joining the Mid-Career Lab community. It's just starting out, but with your help, we can make an impact and help a lot of people. to all of my subscribers over the years has been great, but it's time to kick it up a notch.

Join the Mid-Career Lab

Now let's talk about something practical and topical: a different take on the meaning and value of your resume in the era of LinkedIn, getting ghosted by recruiters, and ageism in general...

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are no one’s friend. They use arbitrary criteria programmed by someone to exclude submitted resumes from application databases. We know why this is not good for applicants, whose experience and talents make them more valuable than skills-only criteria. But it’s not good for companies either, as they’re missing out on employees who may be more resourceful, innovative, dependable, and loyal than can be determined by an algorithm.

Having your resume spit out by an ATS strikes fear into many job seekers (of all generations). While your mid-career resume may not pass muster with various ATS screens, it is not intended to play the ATS game.

Instead, think of your mid-career resume as a conversation-starter. You want to find ways to engage with recruiters and hiring managers directly - not through the anonymous maw of some online job submission system.

Which leads me to the next point.

Is The Resume Still a Thing?

While resumes are going to be around for a while, I believe they are ultimately outdated, outmoded, and destined for the “circular file” of the institution of job search. So bear this in mind when you are taking the time to agonize over redrafting and updating yours.

In the old days, your resume was the only instrument you could use to get you in the door. It was (and, for now, remains) a standardized format that leveled the playing field for job seekers and the recruiters and hiring managers who reviewed their applications.

But Seriously, Isn’t LinkedIn Your Mid-Career Resume?

The average recruiter spends 7 seconds skimming a paper (or pdf) resume. On Linkedin, recruiters spend up to 25x more time reviewing your profile.

LinkedIn is the first place recruiters will go to check you out. With so much more information on LinkedIn (and a robust software suite targeted specifically at recruiters), LinkedIn has captured the job application workflow and made resumes secondary.

Accordingly, you want your mid-career resume and your LinkedIn Experience section to match up. You’ll want to sync them bullet for bullet.

Today, your resume functions as your leave-behind. It’s the document that recruiters and hiring managers use to track you in their system. They have to start a file on you, so the resume is still the one thing they can actually file somewhere (whether on paper or digitally).

So it remains an important component of the job search process: when you sit down for your interview and you see your interviewer pick up your resume, you want to make sure they get the right impression.

But Wait: Before You Update..

With age comes experience and (hopefully) wisdom. Now that you’ve been around the block a few times, you need to make the case for why this matters.

When you’re older, you’re expected to have things figured out. Don’t expect that your willingness to work or your openness to taking on any role is a reason to hire you. Instead, it’s up to you to identify and articulate your value and how you want to apply it. You have to more clearly define what you deliver.

Your Resume Has to Tell a Story.

Stories sell. Your resume has to evoke the growth and insights that you have gathered over the years and how you have used them to take on increasingly complex or impactful responsibilities. Your resume has to connect the dots and lay out a compelling narrative of steadily increasing capability and capacity.

You Can’t Compete on Skills

As a mid-career professional, you want to compete on strategy, insight, leadership abilities, and core skills. Your resume should emphasize these qualities to distinguish you and push the conversation onto a higher level.

Don’t Hide Your Age

Disregard the misguided advice of so many (younger and… ageist?) coaches and recruiters to leave dates off your education or omit anything older than ten years on your mid-career resume.

The moment they meet you on Zoom or in person, they’re going to know you’re “older.” If that’s really a problem for them, do you actually want to go to work for a company or a team where you’re not appreciated for what you bring to the job?

Yes, summarize the early years of your career with fewer bullets in a section at the bottom or your resume. But experience matters. Don't short-change your value.

Read the updated article on my Blog



🗞️Recent Headlines That Caught My Eye

How to age better than your parents

Are boomers and genx-ers going to learn from their parents' experience and update their attitude about ageing? Or not? (Washington Post)

A surprisingly large percentage of hiring managers don't want to hire Gen Zers — or older workers

Some hiring managers show bias against both Gen Z and older job seekers, according to a survey by Resume Builder. This kind of bias can't go on for much longer.

(Business Insider)

‘HR is not your friend’: why frustrated workers are hiring reps of their own

Why did we believe HR when they said they were here to help us be better? Did they really care about us or were they just shilling for the Company? (you already know what I think, lol).

(The Guardian)

📖 On My Nightstand...

(click on the image for more info about the book)

April's Book Recommendation

The Good News & The Bad News About Being a Generalist

If you are tired of being told that your experience doesn't matter and that you don't have "up-to-date" skills (or you're worried about that...), David Epstein makes a great case for why generalists rule the world (or should). 

But in today's job market, your skills and solution-based approach will get you the job - NOT the great range of your experience.

However, once you have the job, being a generalist will ensure your success...

If you ever find that you're the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.

- Austin Kleon

Thanks for reading!

Share your thoughts and suggestions below!

Clarke L.

Program Manager | PMO Consultant #OlderNotObsolete

8mo

Great motivation, John! Thanks for sharing!!!!!

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