Get Hired For Your Potential

Companies tend to look for individuals who have done the exact job in which they are looking to fill, which can present a challenge for candidates who are seeking that next step in their career or want to explore roles outside of their niche. If a candidate is hired to do the exact same thing they have already done, the lack of a new challenge may lead to a misalignment of goals, thus leaving the candidate seeking yet another new position. To avoid this cycle and to be successful in obtaining a position that either allows you to change careers or take that next step, you need to demonstrate that you are capable of being successful in a role that provides growth and responsibilities that have not fallen under your prevue previously.

Do a reality check. Is the transition you are looking to make reasonable? Can you effectively make a case for your candidacy or is it just ridiculous? Simply because I work with candidates in the finance field and collaborate on the placement of CFOs, doesn’t mean I’m qualified to take on a CFO role. A sanity check is always a good place to start. Be realistic about the change you are looking to make and ensure the leap is reasonable.

Draft a convincing cover letter. Typically, you create your story and sell yourself in the cover letter. This document need not be a dissertation. Use a bulleted list or font formatting to draw the eye to your key points. Leverage examples of the key skill and requirements they are seeking for the role and provide detailed results and impact to highlight your abilities. Tie everything together so it is obvious to the reader as to why they need to speak with you further. Keep it brief and make your case.

Create a compelling resume that can stand on its own. Recognize your cover letter may never be reviewed. Since the two documents may not be delivered together, the resume needs to independently make a case for your candidacy. Customizing your resume to highlight transferrable skills, will help to get you the interview. If your experience is unrelated or you are trying to move into a leadership role without previously being in a supervisory capacity, create a summary that makes the transition for the reader by highlighting concrete examples of where you’ve successfully shown related attributes, which may include relevant soft skills or informal mentorship roles. Provide context around where you’ve added value to other organizations. There are no hard and fast rules on the sections you must include in your resume. Listing skills on the page will not be enough but crafting sections that demonstrate the skills you need to highlight are key.

For example, I met with an individual this week who is looking to transition their career from a client-facing role to something more analytical in nature. Their resume included a lackluster summary, education, work experience, and volunteerism. Nothing on the resume demonstrated their ability to be successful in an analytics role besides the fact that they recently obtained a degree focused in this area. One can assume the individual went back to school to put them on the right trajectory, but there’s no applicable experience on the page to show a recruiter or hiring manager the value in speaking with this candidate. While in school, this person completed numerous analytics projects working in conjunction with companies that demonstrate impact, skills, and abilities. I recommended they create a section titled ANALYTICS PROJECTS to make it easy for the reader to understand their goal.     

Find an internal champion, if possible. We’ve all heard it– Network. Network. Network. When looking to make a change, or shift your career, meeting with industry experts and finding internal champions within an organization can help you make this transition. If you are targeting a specific organization, make connections with individuals in the role you are seeking to obtain, and understand how they got there and what made them successful. Use this opportunity to learn more about the next step or new area of focus. Have discussions about the transition you are looking to make and ask for their advice on how to best present your case.

For 9 years, I worked with MBA students who returned to school to obtain knowledge and skills to either change careers or accelerate their progress within their area of expertise. These students were successful in demonstrating their value to organizations to obtain roles that otherwise may not have been attainable if they could not effectively communicate their value. Understand the path you are looking to take and determine the moves you need to make to get there. Be deliberate in the information you share and be sure to tie your demonstrated efforts to the success factors of the role you are seeking.