Resume Writing Tips For Baby Boomers: You Have Different Job Targets?
It is a really good idea for you as a baby boomer seeking employment, to learn how to write a resume when you have a couple of different job targets.
The baby boomer resume writing business is currently booming! Why is that? Many baby boomers like you are starting to look for new and different jobs. Guess what! The number is going to increase very rapidly in the near future. Perhaps you don't know how to write a resume? When was the last time that you had to write one? There are a lot of baby boomers who are trying to write resumes, with several different job targets in mind, for a variety of reasons.
Ask yourself the following questions:
*Are you tired of your previous job?
*Do you simply want to do something different?
*Maybe you have no real idea what you want to do, or can do, other than the one job that you have done, forever and a day?
Writing a resume when you have only one job target is easy. All you need to do is to include what pertains to that specific job.
*When you have couple of different job targets, it becomes a little bit more complex. How do you know what to include in your resume and what to omit? Baby boomers are in a very unique situation.
You may have been on one job ever since you started to work as a teenager. Perhaps you have never had to look for another job? Of course, this is not always the case. Some jobs are not longer appropriate due to computerization, or the need for more advanced skills and training. Maybe your previous job is simply obsolete. Perhaps you have physical limitations.
So what will you need to do as a baby boomer seeking employment?
First of all, begin by asking yourself what are some possible job targets. Maybe you are being, forced out of the only job that you have ever known. Perhaps that job no longer exists for what ever reason. What are you going to do? Consider other employment options, of course!
Here are some important aspects of resume writing to consider when you have a couple of different job targets:
1. Setting some objectives with respect to employment options:
Ask yourself what is the primary objective of your job search? Are you seeking long term employment? Probably not at this time. Of course, it depends on how you are going to interpret the expression, long term. More than likely you are looking for a semi-retirement job of some kind, or something that will carry you until you are able to take full retirement. Maybe you want to continue to work after you are officially declared a senior citizen. For baby boomers, that is not too far away.
Take a couple of moments and write down the primary objective of your search and then condense it. Is it something for you to do just to fill in time? Does it have to do with advancing your current skills? Are you more interested in learning to do something that you always wanted to do? Or, is it a way of making extra cash for the moment? What your objectives are, will have a lot to do with how you write your baby boomer resume.
Ask yourself whether you are seeking full time employment, or part time employment? Then make a list of the jobs that you feel would be appropriate. There may be only a few. Do some serious research and look at what you think that you may want to do, are physically able to do, or are willing to do.
Be aware that your social security numbers and date of birth are not obligatory on a resume. There really is no way to hide your age, as when you do all of the paperwork for a new job, your information will go on your employment record. You are not trying to hide it, but you do want to get hired. Age may, or may not be, the most important issue.
What are your job expectations?
2. Making a summary of your previous experience:
Take some time and summarize your previous experience carefully, because there is no way that a potential employer is going to read through fifteen pages of past history. What he or she wants to know, is whether you are qualified to take on a specific new job, at this time your life. Do you have the ability? Are you willing to train if you do not have the job skills? How interested are you in this kind of employment? Why do you want to do this kind of work?
In your summary, try to focus on the reasons why your potential employer should hire you. Remember that you will have had years of experience in areas that many younger employers will probably never have. You have a wealth of experience, skills, abilities and talents to draw from. Many of these are very appropriate for any job. What do you have to offer your new employer?
3. Bringing your current academic history to light:
Your academic history will time date you to some extent, but if you have done some recent upgrading, particularly in terms of computer training, a whole new realm of possibility is open to you, with respect to possible employment. If you have obtained computer skills, you have access to immediate training, or research information about any topic that you might encounter, on any one of your possible target jobs.
Is it all right to target specific kinds of employment? Of course it is!
You can include a section that suggests that suitable employment might in the area of sales, data entry, customer relations, or telephone work, etc. Perhaps you have more advanced skills like academic research, or artistic ability. The broader your academic base is, the more likely you are to find employment.
4. Making previous work experience current, with respect to a number of different job targets:
Look at your work history in the light of your immediate future. So you started by bagging apples at age sixteen, for a farmer. At this time in your life, that is not really relevant, or particularly important, if you are trying to obtain employment in an office job, so write your resume accordingly.
Include the last ten to twelve years of work history, in reverse chronological order. What have you been doing during the past year, or for the last five years? How is that going to relate to what you want to do now, or in the immediate future?
Find distinct aspects of your previous employment that offer a number of potential employers several different options. You have a whole gamut of work history to draw from.
5. Expanding your horizon to include other interests and accomplishments:
Your other interests will tell a potential employer what he or she needs to know about you personally. Include courses, certificates, awards, achievements, etc., but stay current with everything that you include on your resume.
What did you ten years ago that you still enjoy doing? Are you a good public relations figure? Have you had a supervisory role in the past? Do you prefer to work with young people, or the elderly? Have you learned that you relate well to children?
*When you have all of your information organized, write a cover letter first. Remember that a good cover letter is extremely important, as it identifies you and gives your prospective employer your contact information. You should include an e-mail address and a web site address, if possible. Make certain that your resume is printed on good quality paper without any errors.
Don't hesitate to e-mail your resume to an employer. Expect to be hired and you probably will find yourself with a number of possible job options. Then it is up to you to decide which one you want to accept.
Good luck, baby boomer! Your decision to target a couple of different jobs has paid off already. Now you know how to help other baby boomers who are also in the same situation write their resumes. Add that to your resume too!