Sometimes self-employment background doesn't sit well with prospective employers. The self-employed person is often prejudged as being set in his ways, un-moldable, and unable to follow a chain of command. Even worse, the entrepreneurial nature of the self-employed person is sometimes thought of by the prospective employer as a chronic problem, one which, as soon as opportunity knocks again, will pull this prospective employee back into self-employment. Even worse, there's often a fear that this person will ultimately become a competitor, forming his own company, and using his newly acquired tools, tactics, and competitive knowledge against his employer.
Ironically, self-employed people are often the hardest workers, the most highly self-educated in their field, and the most willing to wear any number of hats to get the job done. Despite this, self-employed people are often perceived as a threat.
If you find this to be the case, you may be better off swallowing your pride and giving yourself a title that best describes and matches the title of the position you’re shooting for. Owner/Operator as a title never scores many points with a prospective employer. It sounds too "mom and pop" and gives the impression that the applicant is used to being the boss, not the one to be trained and follow orders.
If, for example, you’ve been self-employed and are looking for a management position, consider giving yourself the title General Manager rather than President or Owner.
If you have a specialized trade skill and have plied this trade within your own company, give yourself the title that best describes what you do and what you want to do. If, for example, you’ve been the owner/operator of a bakery, "owning" isn’t really what you do or what you want to show you do. Your primary skill is probably baking and managing the baking process. So, if you’re looking for a Manager/Head Baker position, make that your title.
This was the approach Janine Shardner took when she decided, after 12 years, to close her gourmet food shop and seek a management position in the food service industry. She knew she needed to take the self-employed flavor out of her resume. See a part of Janine's resume on the next page.
In her summary section, Janine has set the right tone by deferring to her prospective employer, stating that she is "able to bring my employer extensive experience". This line places the emphasis on Janine as an employee, not an owner who is used to running her own show. She goes on to list the broad range of skills and benefits she would bring to an employer
Notice that in her job description for the Gourmet Stop Janine doesn't mention anywhere that she was the owner, only that she "led the business through a period of 18% compounded growth per year," something that any employer would want a manager to do.
She gives herself the title of General Manager, which is what she really was-and what her prospective employer really wants! A final note: If your situation is such that there is no way you can’t show self-employment-for example, your business name is your last name, you’re job seeking in a geographical area where you and your business have been well known, you fear that being unclear about your business ownership on your resume will ultimately be detrimental at the interview or later on in your new job-an effective approach is to use the following line in your cover letter:
My experience running and growing a business has taught me that there are no short cuts to success; hard work and long hours come with the territory. I look forward to applying these same work ethics within your company.
You Worked for the Same Company Two Different Times in Your Career
You can make this work to your advantage. This type of experience will often be perceived as a positive, for it shows one good thing; you must have been a valued employee because your company hired you back.
As a general rule, the fewer jobs you show on your resume the better. So, in a case where you've had the same employer on two occasions, list the overall dates of employment in the left margin, and then the specific dates of each position after each of your job titles. Don't list the company twice, as Anthony Peraldi did in his first resume. When read quickly, it gave the impression that he'd had three employers in four years. It looked like this:
Anthony's new resume, a part of which is shown on page 120, clearly indicates just two employers and progressive experience with his current company. In the left margin he's listed both periods of employment with Seven Seas Ship & Fish Supply. Then he's lumped both jobs under one company heading. This frees up several lines and allows him to list more achievements, because it eliminates the need to repeat the company heading with each period of employment. Further, it gives the impression of progressive, continuous, and hence more valuable experience with one employer, rather than indicating shorter-term, segmented experience, as his old resume did. With his new resume, Anthony was well equipped to hook a new employer.
You Are Working Two Jobs and Don't Know Whether to Show Them Both
When you have a question about whether to put something in or leave something out of your resume, put yourself in the shoes of the reader. Think in terms of the need and greed of your prospective employer.
What would your reaction be if you were a prospective employer reading a resume listing two concurrent jobs? At first thought, you might expect the employer to respond: "Wow, this applicant is a very hard worker."
But if you really think about the need and greed of the person who is going to be hiring you-the person who is going to be paying you his money each week to work for him handling responsibilities for his company-then the reaction is more likely to be this: "This applicant must be worn thin by having to balance the schedule and demands of two jobs. This is a full-time, demanding position I have to fill. I need someone to work for me and me alone. I don’t want to share my employee with some other company."
It is often best to list only one position when you are working two. And it is best to list the position that shows the experience most pertinent to your reader. Even if that position is part time, there's no rule that says you must list it as such on your resume. Simply list the most pertinent of your two positions as your "relevant experience," date it, describe it in the most relevant way possible, and list any achievements associated with that position.
Your prospective employer will be glad to see the quality of your contribution, not the quantity of your employers!
Your Resume Looks like Words, Words, Words, Give it some style!
Take your resume to someone who has a laser printer that can style your resume with such things as holding, italics, different point sizes, and bullets. Ask yourself: What words do I want to draw the reader's attention to? Which words carry the most meaning and value for the reader? These are the words that should be emphasized with bold, italic, or underlining. Many people inappropriately emphasize category headings {Education, Experience, Objective, etc.). These words do absolutely nothing to enhance the value of the candidate. If it's your title you want the reader to see, emphasize that. If it's the name of the company, emphasize that. If it's a particular degree or certification, emphasize that. A word of caution: Don't overemphasize or over-style. The purpose of styling is to draw the readers' eyes to a particular word or phrase. Too much bold or italic print defeats the purpose.
Make a list of the highest-priority areas of your background. Which is the #1 point you want your reader to see? Which is #2? And so forth. Your strongest emphasis should be on these points, in order of their importance. Study Each Word You've Written for Value or Redundancy
Shorten your paragraphs by reducing impotent lead-in phrases. For example, "Maintained responsibility for directing..." can be shortened to "Directed". Likewise, "Position required the use of computer skills…" can be shortened to "Used computer skills..." Avoid Big Block Paragraphs.
They use up white space, appear burdensome, and turn off the reader. Job descriptions form the biggest blocks of text, yet they are the least-read part of any resume. Readers concentrate on titles, specialized skills, and achievements. Don't waste words or space on the obvious parts of your job description. For example, if you’re an airline Flight Attendant, you don't need to say "Responsible for serving the needs and attending to the safety and comfort of passengers." Your readers already know that. Instead, you should concentrate on showing any special skills, training, or achievements that enhance your value as a Flight Attendant. You can do this by using bullets, which will make your resume much more interesting visually and give you more white space. Be sure not to overdo; too many bullets are self-defeating because they run together and lose visual impact. See Barbara's resume on pages 123-124 for an example of a thoughtfully styled and therefore powerful resume.
Notice how Barbara Carson s resume is interesting. It has personality. It has a certain flavor. Throughout the resume she has sprinkled in bold face, italics, and underlining to draw her readers toward certain job or educational highlights. She has prioritized what she wants her readers to see. Her #1 priority is "summa cum laude," so she makes sure it's styled in a way that gets attention. She wants her readers to see her review from her 1992 Student Teaching Report, so she puts this in italics. She was proud of her "key contributions" during her student teaching at the Gossman School, so she places them in their own subcategory in the middle of the resume. They clearly show her creativity as a lesson planner and teacher. Further, under Stone Properties Barbara has underlined Computerized Systems. She wants to show her professional career work with computers because that experience will be an asset in the classroom. Finally, she wants to show the quality of her performance with Stone Properties, so she highlights Outstanding Performance Awards.
Clearly, Barbara will be a good teacher. And one with style!
