Experience
Mike Baker has been working in information technology, or IT, for more than 26 years.Career goals
Mike is a professional-level job seeker with a specialty in project management. With a strong professional career, Mike describes himself as a "COBOL wizard in a Java world."Mike has spent the past eight years consulting on various projects, but his real desire is to land a stable, interesting, permanent position with opportunities for analysis, coding and customer interface.
Mike C. Baker
Profile: Mike Baker has been working in information technology, or IT, for more than 26 years.
The problem: Mike's approach has been reactive and passive -- going after already-posted jobs with the same resume.
The plan: Mike should consider getting additional certification or training to adapt to changes in his field.
Obstacles
Mike's resume reads like a technical manual, yet he has used it as an introduction of him and his skills.Recruiters and human resources professionals spend about 10 seconds reading a resume -- that is, if a human reads it. If your resume doesn't introduce you well within the first half of the first page, you are out of the running.
The gap is between Mike's experience, education, and skills, and the job requirements. As he stated in his self-description, he's a COBOL guy in a Java world. This, along with an increasing requirement for project management certification, seems to keep him out of the running.
Because he gladly accepts consulting gigs and his resume is static, recruiters may not understand the true value of his brand.
Mike's approach has been reactive and passive, going after already-posted jobs with the same resume. And the ambivalence, or unstated conflict, between the two goals seems to telegraph as uncertainty or disinterest.
Prepared by Linda Dominguez, master executive coach, CEO of Executive Coaching and Resource Network and author of "How to Shine at Work" and "The Manager's Step-by-Step Guide to Outsourcing."
Next: The plan.