Randi Frank HR Consulting

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Career Changes – Is it possible to completely change my career?

This is a very difficult question.  It really depends upon your current career and your future career.  It also depends on your competition and the type of companies and organizations recruiting for your chosen new career.

  • Some positions are easy for transition such as a nurse who rather be an EMT and on the front lines.  The skills and knowledge are perfect for a transition and in fact any Ambulance Service would love to have a nurse on their staff.
  • However, if you want to go from being a social worker to being a nurse you will have to go back to school since one can not become a nurse without the appropriate degree even if you already have a masters in social work.
  • If you are applying for a position that you have never done and all the other candidates have been doing the job for 5-10 years it will be very hard to pass the recruiters screening process since the employer would rather have a candidate with experience then one they would have to train and don’t know could adopt to such a different position.
  • However, there are some very innovative firms and organizations that are looking for the right type of person and not a person with specific experience.  These firms will recruit for certain skills, personalities, values, and ethics of candidates and then train them. For example, some of the large consulting firms go directly to graduate schools and find students that excelled in school and pass certain personality tests then train them to handle consulting projects under senior consultants with years of experience.
  • So, you need to do your research on the new career.  Gather as much information about the career, look at job descriptions, review educational programs about the career, etc. Then research the types of companies that may have the appropriate careers and find out about their recruiting methods and what the advertisements say about the position – are they looking for experience or the right fit. Maybe there is someone you know already in the position you can get to know and ask for advice. There are always career coaches and personal coaches that can assist.  If there is an executive search firm being used – contact them.

Again, review my other blogs on: 

“Tips on preparing resumes” 

“Tips on interviews for candidates” 

“Working with executive search firms”

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Promotions – How do you prepare for your next promotion?

  1. First you want to update your current resume – make sure it has all positions listed from the last time you updated the resume.  Make sure you have added all the large projects you have handled since the last update. Check to see it has the correct dates and new skills you have gained.
  2. Learn more about the position you are interested in for that promotion. Find the job description and read it for the important qualifications, skills, knowledge, abilities and education needed for the position.
  3. Make sure you have 70% of the skills and qualifications requested before you apply for the promotion.  If not, look for educational opportunities to gain the appropriate skill, knowledge and abilities.  If education isn’t needed then maybe it is experience. Volunteer with your current employer to take on more responsibilities that show you can handle the larger projects or the advanced skills.  Maybe there are opportunities for mentorship or shadowing programs at your organization so you can understand the needed responsibilities for the promotion
  4. Determine if there is the ability for a promotion with your current employer or if you will have to look for another firm or company for the right opportunity. If there is a position in your organization then make sure your supervisors know of you interest and show them your updated resume. If you will need to look for another organization then do your research about the places to find the appropriate position for you and follow the tips on my various blogs about :

“Tips on preparing resumes”

“Tips on interviewing for candidates” 

“cover letters” and 

“Working with executive search firms”

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Should you write a Cover Letter?

As you know I handle a lot of executive searches and recruitment projects as part of the services provided by Randi Frank Consulting, LLC.  People always ask if they should write a cover letter with their resume when applying for a new position/job.  If the advertisement says please provide a cover letter and resume then always provide a cover letter. If it is not mentioned then you have a choice.

  1. If you have a very standard resume and it is not tailored for the specific position for which you are applying then you want to use the cover letter to address specific issues related to the job. For example, you want to mention the title of the position for which you are applying and cover a number of points related to the qualifications such as experience and education. You may also need to show in your letter why you feel your qualified for the position based on the skills you have acquired in past positions even if it is not the same title of the job for which you are applying. If you are applying for a Managers position and none of your job titles include the manager title then your letter can highlight your project management experience in which you coordinated with about 3 departments or 10 employees.  If you were a manager in a volunteer position then you can also address that in the cover letter. The objective of the cover letter is show your enthusiasm and to indicated why you think you are qualified for this specific position.
  2. If your resume is specifically tailored for the position in which you are applying and you have all the same titles in past positions and have listed all the skills, experience and education for the job – then maybe a cover letter is not needed.  However, you may want to do a short cover letter to let the recruiters know why you are interested in the position such as moving to the area, ready for a new and larger challenge or even not wanting to move with your current firm to another state.
  3. If your have any gaps of time in your resume when you were not working then a cover letter is needed to explain so they do not eliminate you automatically.

For your information – I do not read cover letters until I check out the resume first to make sure a candidate is qualified.  If they are qualified or partially qualified then I read the cover letter to gather more information about the candidates.  Please see my blog about “Tips on Preparing Resumes” to make sure the recruiter will take a second look at your resume.

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How to Work with Executive Search Firms

You will know that an advertised position is being managed by a consultant/executive search firm if the place for resume submissions is with the firm and not the agency that has advertised the position. If this the case you can call the executive search firm and ask for more details about the position. The firm would have talked to all the stakeholders for the agency including the policy board, the supervisor, employees and other groups that work with the agency. Most executive search firms also post a Profile/Brochure about the position, but it has most of the very positive items and hot topics that are facing the position. But if you want to know the real story about the position, then you should call the executive search firm. They will also be able to tell you if you meet the qualifications before you formally apply for the position. By asking about the details and background first you can put together a cover letter that really addresses the position and even adjust your resume to highlight the most important skills related to the position.

For additional information see Blog about preparing your resume!

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