What can you do with your resume when you’re ready for the next-level role in your career, but your resume’s work history reveals that you’ve never had the job title for the role you’re targeting?
Most people dealing with this dilemma are taking the career ladder path, which typically means they want to move from an individual contributor role into mid-level management or from mid-level management into executive leadership.
If one of these scenarios describes you, and you’re dealing with this resume dilemma, check out the following resume writing tips to help you convey the message that you’re ready and qualified for an aspirational career move.
Tip 1: Professional Development
You probably already know that you should include on your resume the classes, degree programs, certificates, microcredentials, etc. that you’ve completed that demonstrate your commitment to gaining knowledge for the role you’re targeting. However, what should you do if you haven’t completed the training or education yet?
For example, maybe you’re taking professional education classes through your local university. In case you don’t know, most major universities offer programs for continuing professional education classes that you can take online or on campus. These are not degree programs, of course, but they still come with university level prestige.
So, let’s say you’re one class away from completing the Management Fundamentals Certificate Program for aspiring managers offered by The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Professional Education, a program in which you take four classes within four to six months. Or let’s say you’ve taken two of the four courses required to earn the Certificate of Leadership Excellence in Executive Development through Harvard University. Even though you’re not finished yet, you should go ahead and add the program to your resume with a statement that it is still in progress, and if you have an expected completion date, you can add it too if you’d like.
Going back to the Harvard example, you might word it like this in the Education & Training section of your resume: Harvard Certificate of Leadership Excellence in Executive Development – in progress
Tip 2: Key Words/Phrases
In the summary section of your resume, be sure to include key words/phrases that match the role you’re targeting.
For example, if you’re aiming for a mid-level management role and you have acquired the necessary managerial competencies such as those shown below, then be sure to include those key words/phrases that apply to you.
You can choose to arrange it all into a section that can be formatted as a table with two or three columns like this…
Or you might arrange it all into a list that can be formatted in a few rows centered on the page like this…
Tip 3: Success Stories
Insert a few success stories into the summary section that demonstrate your readiness for the next level.
For example, let’s say you have an individual contributor job title, but you want to move into a management role. Below are possible situations that, if applicable, could contain success stories for you to use.
- Have you worked as a team lead?
- Have you served as the leader on any special projects or initiatives within your organization?
- Have you volunteered in a leadership role with an external organization (e.g., committee chair in a professional association, volunteer leader in a nonprofit, etc.)?
- Have you ever stepped up to lead the team on an interim basis for your manager, and it has happened frequently and/or for a significant length of time (e.g., while your manager was on medical leave)?
Or maybe you’re a mid-level manager who is ready for a role with higher strategic-level responsibility. Below are possible situations that, if applicable, could contain success stories for you to use.
- Have you provided strategic level input to any or all of the members of the executive team, and has your input been taken seriously and perhaps even been implemented?
- Have you done strategic-level industry research, market competitive analysis, and/or other such strategic-level information gathering to present to executive leadership?
- Have you gone beyond your organization and engaged others throughout your industry – perhaps, you’ve cultivated a network of other leaders in your industry?
- Have you served as a board member, board vice-president, or board president of a professional association or nonprofit organization?
To learn more about how to develop accomplishment statements for your resume, as well as how to place them within the summary section of your resume, read How To Make An Average Resume More Memorable.