Karl, 38, had been working as a travel operations manager since 2017. But he was laid off during the pandemic. “The tourism industry seems to have died,” Karl writes. So he’s pivoting his career to pursue a role in ESG – environmental, social and corporate governance. “Ideally, my job has a greater purpose than just a paychecheque. The world is facing lots of challenges, so helping solve them in some way is desirable.”
The organization Karl previously worked at was new and growing, so he enjoyed the opportunity to problem-solve. His next role would involve a mix of planning and executing projects. “I’m not a huge fan of sitting at a desk, but I know some desk time is necessary,” Karl says. “I also enjoy variety, so I would like to move around, work with different people and be in different spaces.” Karl is open to work in most industries, but he’s interested in finance, based on recent job postings at major banks. He’s uncertain about how to best position himself for such a role. “My work experience is unusual and I don’t think my skills jump off the page compared to someone who has worked at a bank for 10 years,” says Karl. He’s worried that his resume doesn’t have the right keywords and is looking for a strategy to help his application get flagged and viewed by the right people. So we reached out to career coach Angie Bjornson of CareerCycles and Dominique Barker, head of sustainability advisory in global investment banking at CIBC, to review Karl’s resume and offer their advice for his next steps.
THE RESUME
WHAT THE CAREER COACH SAYS
While Ms. Bjornson appreciates Karl’s organized resume, she says he should work toward customizing it to the right audience. “There is a missed opportunity to market his natural interests as they relate to the target job and market,” she says. “What activities or training has he been involved in which would help the reader to ‘connect the dots’ to the target job or industry?”.
To accomplish this, Karl can add a profile to the top of his resume, which includes the position and industry he’s seeking employment in, along with four to six points that help draw the reader’s attention to applicable skills and experience throughout the resume.
For specificity, Karl should also indicate when positions were contract roles. He can also tighten up his resume by focusing on his employment history from the past 10 years. Karl can consider adding recent studies, even if it’s informal learning through Coursera, for example. Ms. Bjornson also recommends moving the core competencies section close to the end of the resume, or better yet, incorporating them into an extracurricular or volunteer activities section.
Should Karl consider pivoting away from ESG roles, Ms. Bjornson believes he could qualify for positions in business development, operations management or as a product specialist in responsible investments. But Ms. Bjornson recognizes a growing need for ESG roles, and thinks that Karl is headed in the right direction.
WHAT THE INDUSTRY EXPERT SAYS
According to Ms. Barker, Karl’s resume demonstrates that he is results-driven and competent. But she has a few suggestions for improvement. First, she believes the core competencies section should be removed. “I think he can weave his skills and competencies into the narrative description of his previous experience,” Ms. Barker suggests.
Overall, Ms. Barker recommends editing down Karl’s resume by eliminating older and irrelevant job postings, such as his event co-ordinator and brand ambassador work. “He may be worried about showing a gap in time in his CV,” Ms. Barker explains. “This used to be the case 20 years ago, but today, employers are much more understanding that life gets in the way of work and having a gap is a non-issue.”
While Karl has experience with management and stakeholder relations, Ms. Barker notes that his environmental experience is lacking. “There is an imperative for banks to move the agenda forward on climate,” she explains. Karl should look toward adding or highlighting experience here, or taking on opportunities that help build his knowledge and experience in this sector.
Should Karl choose to expand his scope outside of ESG, Ms. Barker believes that Karl is qualified for work in commercial banking, marketing and brand promotion. Ms. Barker has one final note for Karl and other job applicants concerned about AI seeking out specific words in a CV. “Inserting words could hurt you because the CV might look inauthentic to an actual human eye,” she explains. CIBC doesn’t use software to scan their resumes. So Karl should take the time to ensure his incorporation of keywords from a job description is done in a natural way.
THE NEW RESUME
Karl has added a profile to his resume to further express his desire for work in ESG, and to help flag relevant experiences as they come up. He has also removed the core competencies section of his resume and has expanded his extracurricular section to complement his profile statement. He has removed irrelevant roles, such as his work as a brand ambassador. Karl hopes this will create better flow to his resume, and a consistent progression of his narrative in ESG.
UPDATE
After we posted data analyst Sarah’s resume online, two hiring managers reached out in response to the column. She has since landed a full-time role as a visualization and report developer with one of the connections, a scientific assessment company.
INTERESTED IN HAVING YOUR RESUME REVIEWED?
E-mail us with your resume at globecareers@globeandmail.com with ‘Resume Review’ in the subject line and we’ll ask a career coach and an expert in your field to provide their feedback. Emails without the correct subject line may not be answered. Names and some details are changed to protect the privacy of the persons profiled.
We’re especially interested in hearing from those who have had their employment impacted by COVID-19. On the flipside, if you’re a hiring manager interested in reaching out to the person profiled, we encourage you to contact us as well. You can find all our resume reviews here.
Stay ahead in your career. We have a weekly Careers newsletter to give you guidance and tips on career management, leadership, business education and more. Sign up today.