What To Do When You’ve Had A Variety Of Jobs
A challenge that a lot of job seekers face is the fact that they have held a variety of non-related jobs. Take Susan for example. Susan started her career as an administrative assistant, moved into pharmaceutical sales, shifted to real estate during the boom and is now looking to re-launch her career as a medical assistant after having finished a training program. “How do I show all these different jobs on my resume and still make an impression?” she asks me.
The answer is to showcase the transferable skills from all of her jobs that are relevant to the position. You start by listing the 3-5 core skills that employers want for the desired job. Don’t know what they are? Just go to Indeed.com and read a number of ads and see what employers are asking for and you will be able to quickly build this list.
In this case a good list would be:
- Excellent interpersonal skills in working with a variety of patients and personnel
- Strong attention to detail
- Accuracy in verbal and written communications
- Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment
- Medical knowledge, skills and abilities which can include injections, operating EKG and other devices, and medical coding techniques.
Now the last skill she should have from her recent training, but the others are things she clearly demonstrated in her past jobs. So instead of focusing on her sales abilities as a real estate agent, she can focus on her ability to ensure compliance in a highly regulated environment by paying strict attention and accurately filling out the copious paperwork involved in real estate transactions. This translates to a bullet on the resume as follows:
- Noted for attention to detail and accuracy in completing over 75 applications and achieving 100% approval.
- Demonstrated the ability to allay clients’ fears, confusion and trepidation.
- Recognized for ability to build rapport with a variety of multi-cultural and demographically diverse clients.
Get the picture? The key is to identify the top skills that an employer is seeking, and using that as a theme, highlight these same skills in your diverse jobs.
