How To Make An Employer Sit up And Pay Attention! - By: Paul Bowley

Teresa came to see me because she had been answering ads with no meaningful results.

At thirty two, Teresa wanted a change from her civil service position as Assistant Superintendent in an East Coast correctional facility. She worried because her identification with government, especially her career in the correctional system, would be a drawback in the private sector.

She was right.

"However," she said, "I felt that if I posted my resume on several job sites and emailed enough of them, someone out there was sure to find value in my background."

A year and some 150 resumes later, she was totally discouraged. She had received a few nibbles--a couple sales jobs, an Amway distributorship and a call from a security alarm company--"opportunities" distinctly beneath her expectations and her current $58,000 earnings.

It was clearly a poor return on her career investment.

"They're not going to come looking for you," I informed her. "The fact that you have excellent credentials working for the State doesn't mean anything to a private sector employer. By now you're probably ready to settle for another civil service job."

"No!" she exclaimed. "I want to get into the business world while I still have a chance to build a solid career there. "

"That's an intelligent decision," I said. "But YOU have to take the initiative to make an employer pay attention to you. You have to be a salesperson for yourself. And a prospective employer must see you in a way that's going to make bottom-line sense.

"It's not what you did for the State that counts. It's how well you can be perceived as making a contribution to your next employer that will make the difference."

"So what do I do?" she queried.

"You've got to translate your experience with the State into language an employer in business will understand. You've got to show him/her it's profitable to bring you on board."

Teresa nodded. "And how do I do that?"

"You start by taking a long, hard look at what you've got going for you. Then you package those capabilities so that someone else will sit up and pay attention to you," I explained.

Teresa's problem is a common one. Getting locked into a single career ladder without any awareness of the dynamics of the job marketplace and the expectations of prospective employers is not limited to civil service. The same thing occurs in private sector job searches, as well.

Positions have become so specialized and industry-specific that career movement becomes problematic . . . unless you have a new way to think of your career and a way of packaging your skills that can get a prospective employer's heart started.

About the Author

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