News How can I create a targeted resume and interview script to land my dream job?

[Dadface]

What is this balderdash?

Sorry swat4life, I was just having a silly moment.I think you need to be a cockney with a strange sense of humour to understand it but even I didn't find it funny on second reading.What I do find funny is your comment,it sums up my literary masterpiece wonderfully.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

As an employer, I hate to tell you bud but I'd be quite hesitant to hire you just based on your attitude.

This is part of my problem you see. Anyone not in the field of security will not understand. The first time I interviewed for a security position after gaining experience I had no problems. When I tried to break out of this industry and interviewed with other jobs they just didn't understand. The whole time I was painfully aware that my attempts at relating my previous experience to the new context and trying to explain the vast difference involved when the interviewer found my answers lacking were hurting me. I had hoped my attempts at making such different things relate would show my understanding of my previous job and of the job I was seeking but they haven't so far.
You know even at my last job as inhouse security for a college the Human Resources Director thought I had a poor attitude and simply would not follow direction when I tried to explain to him that my department head had asked me to do something that went directly against training I received as dictated by the state. When I realized he didn't understand my job and cited for him the appropriate material from the state he ignored me. Ha! What a great Human Resources Director eh?

I can certainly make my job better and more effective. I can not simply institute new policies and procedures however. I must do what I am told and how I am told to do it to the best of my ability which leaves little wiggle room to do things differently on my own initiative. If you don't believe me ask anyone who works in an entry level law enforcement type position. I have to run ideas by my boss and have them approved. I have already mentioned that I have run ideas by them and they are stuborn and that I intend to continue running ideas by them.

Your common interview questions are good. There is a common one I always have trouble with though. "Could you give me a particular example from your previous job where you showed great customer service skills?" Customer service in this job is quite different since I do not come in contact with the client very often. I primarily deal with the clients clients and even that I only do on an as-necessary basis. And there's the quantification of results issue again. How do I objectively quantify the benefits to my client (or their cleints) when I deal with rowdy drunken marines who are threatening to kick my ***? Or when I calm down a man who is threatening to go get his gun because he is convinced there is a prowler on his roof and that 'prowler' turns out to be the 16 year old son of his neighbour who was just goofing off? This is what I do. This is where my significant successes are. How do you quantify that?
I have actually been thinking about it for a while since my last interview and so far the best example I can come up with is when I helped a woman who had lost her five year old son. I took her back to her apartment immediately (I work primarily at apartment complexs) because it is generally true that when a child wanders away and they return to find their parents are not at home, because they have gone off looking for them, the child wanders off again and becomes anxious at not being able to find their parents. On the way I asked her what her son looked like, how old he was, how long he had been missing, where she had last seen him, where she believed he may have gone, and if she was aware of anyone he may have gone away with. When we reached her home I had her double check her apartment (I am not allowed inside) and had her call the police when she didn't find him. While she was on the phone I searched the nearby area and spoke with her neighbours then returned to stay with her and keep her calm. Eventually her daughter found him asleep under his bed. lol
So I have shown that I know my job and can think clearly in an emergency type situation with an anxious person. I have also shown my assessment, based on job appropriate knowledge, that the child was likely in or near the residence was ultimately correct.
I have to hope that an interviewer won't see my answer as just an endearing story meant to impress them without delivering any quantifiable benefit. I really need to come up with something better. Preferably actually get my employer to institute one of my ideas.

Note that my focus on the hurdles I face may seem to be evidence of a poor attitude and unwillingness to put in effort but if I had no problematic hurdles to overcome I would not have any reason to seek advice. I need to identify my problems before I can formulate solutions and in so far I have indentified the problems but have been unable to come up with what I would consider optimal solutions.

Do you have any advice on how to construct a good resume without any quantifiable results to trumpet? I'm quite honest when I say that this is a real problem and not just a lack of thoughfulness or thinking outside the box on my part.

Moonie's comment is what I already try to do...

The key, however you approach it, is to show that you did more than just show up and follow your boss' instructions...even if you're in a position where you had no leverage to do things differently. You need to show you had your brain engaged and understood your job well enough to know what impact it had.

My first bullet under my current employer is

-Privided a sense of safety for our clients and their customers with sensitivity to the particular needs of individual clients.

It really does nothing more than explain my job but by my description I am attempting to convey that I not only understand what is required of me but what my duty is to our clients and that this makes me more capable of providing for them in a meaningful way.

What do you think?

 

[ViewsofMars]

A "Letter of Recommendation" from each previous employer attached to a resume cuts through the red tape. At least that is what I've found to be true.

 

[Moonbear]

My first bullet under my current employer is

-Privided a sense of safety for our clients and their customers with sensitivity to the particular needs of individual clients.

It really does nothing more than explain my job but by my description I am attempting to convey that I not only understand what is required of me but what my duty is to our clients and that this makes me more capable of providing for them in a meaningful way.

What do you think?

Instead of provided a "sense of safety," I'd suggest saying something more direct like, "provided increased safety for..." Make it sound like it was more than just smoke and mirrors and you actually were providing safety (even if we know that 90% of a security guard's job is to create more of a feeling of safety than actual safety, that's not what someone wants to read on a resume). Sensitivity is a good word. I'd modify it to, "with sensitivity to the diverse needs of clients." It means the same thing, but dealing with diversity is something that can translate into a lot of other workplaces and hits on some of those keywords for client-oriented positions.

As for the other issues, when you're applying for positions in other fields/industries, think about what you really have to offer in those fields. Do you have any experience that translates into skills for those fields? THAT is what needs to be highlighted. If need be, downplay your experience in security. You can explain in interviews that one of the reasons why you're looking for a new job is you are the sort of person who comes up with new ideas for improving things (give an example of something you would have liked to change in your current job, but couldn't) but that field is too restricted by regulations for you to effect those changes. Let them know you're looking for something that is a better fit for you, where your supervisors would be more willing to consider a well-thought-out suggestion for improvement, and perhaps even allow you to gain added responsibility in implementing new ideas.

It may very well be the case that for your own aspirations, your current job is a dead end. If that's true, you'll have to be more creative about finding ways to improve your skill set and put more relevant work on your resume. I often suggest volunteer work for finding these skills when the lack of them is an obstacle to finding a paid job to acquire them (that old catch-22). Sometimes you can take a course to get some of the skills or knowledge base you need for a job too.

On your answer about customer-service related responsibilities, that's actually something you probably have a ton more experience with than you realize. I'm going to guess that you deal with a lot of people at their worst moments, when they are agitated, stressed, upset, or flat-out mad, whether it's because they are the victim of a crime, have lost something invaluable to them, or have just been caught red-handed as the perpetrator of a crime. Your job is to maintain control of the situation and keep everyone calm, including yourself, while they are in an emotional turmoil. This is basically what anyone in customer service needs to be able to do as well. Afterall, it's easy to deal with the happy client, but having the experience in keeping an irate client calm and being able to keep yourself calm to diffuse the situation is invaluable for customer service, and something most applicants will not be able to do.

Nobody should have just one resume. There is no generic one-size-fits-all format for a resume. Unfortunately, a lot of books and websites will try to tell you there is. Write one of those, and that's a good way to not get a job. Instead, tailor your resume for each specific job you apply for. That means knowing what the requirements are and the workplace environment...as much as you can find out before sending the application in. Trying to write a catch-all resume is what tends to result in overly vague, generic, hand-waving type statements. Even as I try to write examples, it's tough without a specific job in mind.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Thank you Moonie.

I took some basic training for Microsoft Word and Access in an online course for my last job. I play it up in my resume but never used all of the knowledge I gained so it has mostly been forgotten. I'd like to find another online course for a refresher.

My major concern with my customer service experience is that I don't think it crosses over well. The strategies and desired results differ between fields. Its good enough but I would like to find something better.


Swat: I just noticed that while I expressed appreciation for your advice I never actually said "Thank you".
Thank you. :-)

 

[maze]

Actually I seriously mean no way to quantify it. I work as a security guard.

What about the number of theft reports? A statement like "zero thefts under my watch" or "crime rate reduced 50% under my watch" would be very strong.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

What about the number of theft reports? A statement like "zero thefts under my watch" or "crime rate reduced 50% under my watch" would be very strong.

We don't have crime rate data unfortunately. I would have to get my company, my co-workers, and our clients all to cooperate on the effort. My data alone does not mean much. I would need reports from residents who choose report to managment instead of security (which happens alot), reports from other employees, and probably even the police department. Otherwise its just amatuer hour and will more likely look bad than good. Its an idea I can pitch to my bosses. I'm not sure how they would take it.

 

[swat4life]

Swat: I just noticed that while I expressed appreciation for your advice I never actually said "Thank you".
Thank you. :-)

Hey - sure no problem! Also, I hope I didn't come across as overly critical in the previous comment. I guess I sort of got the feeling that you had already "accepted defeat" and I was saying that that attitude isn't productive.

If I were you I'd take a bit of a 50,000ft view and actually write out some stuff like:

1) what kind of job do I REALLY WANT (let your linear logic go here; in other words don't look at what makes sense based on your current situation; use your imagination to help you come to understand exactly what's ideal FOR YOU).

This is NOT IDLE FANCY - one can miss a lot of opportunities by failing to address challenges this way. One of the best jobs I ever had back when I first got out of school, I CREATED. I knew what I wanted to do (i.e. I knew what kind of activities I wanted to do, what kind of problems I wanted to solve, etc.). I boldly (even though I was a bit fearful) got in contact with the CEO of the company ( a small tech company in CT at the time) and asked for a meeting by mentioning someone I knew he knew. In 45 minutes, I told him how I had researched everything about his company and I had a list of a good 5 strategies that could be used to meet the goals he talked about in the press. I then showed him exactly how I could help him do that. He hired me on the spot. I got to set my own salary and there wasn't even a job description - I CAME UP WITH IT, LOL.

This is just a tangible story to demonstrate to you that the likelihood of your being supremely satisfied in a job is ABSOLUTELY tied to whether or not you enjoy it - and you have to KNOW WHAT YOU WANT FIRST. Make sense?

On to (2)
If you are currently applying for a certain set of jobs, do something VERY SIMPLE:
find out what they want, and give it to them!

By that I mean you have to work on your elevator speech old chap. If you are applying for XYZ jobs, find out what one needs to know or do to be successful in that job, THEN TWEAK YOUR EXPERIENCES TO FIT THOSE NEEDS.

Don't be overly verbose about stuff. Want to know a secret? Most smart bosses basically look for smarts and the ability to learn quick more so than mundane skills. A smart, proactive person can be taught to do almost ANYTHING. And since things are changing so fast, yeah someone may know xyz software package now, but what about in 2 years?

Better to have a smart, quick learner on board.

If you care to you can post what kind of positions you are looking for here then I'm sure some folks can help you clearly understand what they are looking for so you give them what they want.

As an example of the guy I helped out in the last post I did, he was a THEATRE MAJOR and got a job as an aircraft inspector. Do the two sound related?!

Of course not. But I helped him show those people what they needed to hear, he went into the interview knowing all about the company and what they wanted to accomplished and he demonstrated that he was a smart, proactive guy that could get the job done (remember I told you about the "targetted answers") so the rest is history.In sum, you may want to finalize:
1) a clear sense of what you want in a job
2) a clear sense of what the companies are looking for - sometimes it's stated and sometimes it's subtle - you must understand both!
3) a targeted resume that shows exactly how your skills match the needs of the company
4) an interview script - and I do mean script. Write it out and memorize it.

This stuff works and I know it to be the case. Lastly, you really have to sometimes dumb down stuff. Sorry to sound supercilious but this is the physics forum right, lol.

It sounds a bit like you are over thinking some stuff and I've totally been there. You just need a nicely done paint-by-numbers resume, that tells people what they want to hear, an interview script that let's people hear what they want/need to hear, a good looking suit and confidence. The average job these days unless you are looking to smash particles at CERN, you can cross apply one's skills with ease.

...mind moving faster than my fingers so I hope the gist of it gets communicated!