Cheryl, 59, had been working as a manager and administrator in the film, theatre and arts industry for over 40 years. In 2019, she attempted early retirement. “Although I enjoyed it, I soon realized I can’t afford to fully retire until the age of 65,” she writes. So, in early 2020, she started looking for work again, just before COVID-19 hit.
Cheryl’s prior work in the arts industry was severely affected by the pandemic, so she’s now transitioning into non-profit work. “I know that I have an excellent skill set that is transferable to other industries,” she says. “My stress sits with trying to explain that in my résumé.”
Despite her decades of experience, Cheryl is unsure how to convey her arts experience to other industries. She’s also concerned about being judged for her age. So we reached out to career coach Cassandra Jovicic and Maria Rio, director of development and communications at the Stop Community Food Centre, to review Cheryl’s résumé and offer their advice for her career pivot.
The résumé
What the career coach says
Ms. Jovivic has a few suggestions to improve Cheryl’s résumé. To start, she should add a title to her top statement, like “objective” or “professional summary”. The summary should then be revised to incorporate keywords from the job description she’s applying for. “I would pull what she’s listed in her ‘skills’ area into her summary paragraph,” Ms. Jovivic recommends.
Cheryl should also clarify her work timelines. “It seems like she’s worked across multiple roles at the same time, but it’s hard to follow,” she says. While Cheryl has mentioned an award in her résumé, Ms. Jovicic cautions against its inclusion. Because her award is connected to an internship, the reader may associate it with being a recent graduate.
For a successful career pivot, Cheryl should demonstrate how her existing skills apply to jobs of interest. “She needs to prove her value to the business and that her past experience is in line with what they need,” explains Ms. Jovivic. Given Cheryl’s experience, Ms. Jovivic believes that she can apply for managerial roles in senior administration or as a business administrator. Then Cheryl should convey her interest and passion for working in a new industry through her résumé and interview. “She should speak to what’s interesting to her about that particular industry, why that’s a passion for her and why she wants to learn more about it.”
What the industry expert says
Ms. Rio believes that Cheryl should condense her résumé to just one page. “A recruiter or hiring manager wants to see your most relevant experience to that position, so that means cutting information that doesn’t directly match the job posting or isn’t very impactful to your career,” she explains. Ms. Rio also suggests removing information like her knowledge of Ukrainian and her award, unless they’re directly relevant to the role she’s applying for.
Cheryl should also refine her skills section, removing functions like familiarity with Skype and MS Office (which are considered basic admin functions) and add skills that would set her apart as a candidate. Cheryl can also incorporate more accomplishments in her résumé, using what’s called the ‘X-Y-Z formula’ – ‘I accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]’. “You explain what you achieved, how you can measure the impact and what your implementation was,” Ms. Rio explains.
At the Stop, Ms. Rio says the organization places equal or more importance on lived experience than work experience. “We value non-traditional skill sets and career pivots, as long as the passion for the cause and drive is there,” Ms. Rio says. She sees evidence of Cheryl’s administration skills and believes she’d make a good hire in donor relationships or operations management. “I would suggest really outlining why she cares about the cause and what about that non-profit’s work inspires her to devote her skills to it,” Ms. Rio recommends. A cover letter is a good place for Cheryl to share her excitement about an organization’s work. “You need to clearly demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about the intersecting and systemic issues our community members face,” says Ms. Rio. “You need to show the non-profit that you understand their mission, care about the cause and are passionate about making a sustainable impact to help others. This can be more effective than years of relevant experience.”
The new résumé
Cheryl has condensed her résumé from two pages to one by removing irrelevant job experiences, such as the arts company she worked at a decade ago. She also condensed each job description into just a few bullet points, along with removing mention of her award and languages spoken. Finally, she has revised the dates of her work experience to remove any ambiguity about overlapping contracts.
INTERESTED IN HAVING YOUR résumé REVIEWED?
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Andrea Yu