Hi Abbe,
I echo everything Matt has said and would add: Make it as easy as
possible for people to match up the value they are looking for
with what you are offering. This can be tricky and sometimes
involves a degree of mind-reading but there are some strategies
which can help.
- Sell a story of what people can expect to get if they hire
you. The goal is to get them on the "hook" from your first
words.
- Back your story up with examples
- Reflect their terminology in your claims, or at least make it
compatible (eg I tend to talk about "information and knowledge
management" to avoid demarcation arguments)
As an example, this is a framing statement I used for one of my
CVs (this was for an organisational change role):
Stephen Bounds offers strategic thinking and insight into the
improvement of organizational capability and effectiveness from
20 years of experience in management and project delivery, with
a particular focus on Knowledge Management, Information
Management, and Information Technology solutions across the
public and private sector.
Recent projects include leading change workshops for ACT Health,
consultation and development of an information governance
framework to drive systemic improvements at the Australian
Maritime and Safety Authority (AMSA), and developing a knowledge
management strategy at the Grains Research & Development
Corporation (GRDC) to transform how they approached practice
change uptake.
Stephen has a keen awareness of how to work within an
organisation’s culture, manage its process maturity, and
leverage informal knowledge networks. Through active
questioning, deep technical knowledge, a hands-on approach and a
minimum of preconceived ideas for solutions, Stephen has
successfully worked with small, medium and large organisations
to build consensus and collaborate on implementing solutions
that meet their values and desired outcomes.
A good general rule for this kind of statement is no more than 3
paragraphs. To be honest, this is probably at the upper end of
what's reasonable.
Best of luck!
Cheers,
Stephen.
====================================
Stephen Bounds
Executive, Information Management
Cordelta
E: stephen.bounds@...
M: 0401 829 096
====================================
On 25/02/2021 4:08 am, Matt Moore
wrote:
Abbe,
1. A willingness to invite feedback on your CV in a public
forum requires a fair degree of courage - so good on you.
2. Dennis’s comments are spot on - with one exception - I
don’t think there’s much value in starting a blog anymore
(2006 would have been a different story).
3. With my CV and the advice I got from professional
recruiters aligned, some of it was contradictory. My key
takeaway was less content but focused on what the organization
said they were asking for and using terms the hiring manager
would care about (e.g. $ value delivered, $ budget).
4. Many economies are depressed right now which makes
finding a job hard. Not impossible but hard.
5. You can look at 5 different KM job ads with the same
title and see 5 completely different activities being
undertaken - from what is effectively programming to what is
effectively human change management. There are also jobs out
there that are effectively KM roles but do not mention KM at
all.
6. I have had to do this 3 times in the last 2 years. It is
brutal. And luck plays its part. You may go for 4 months
without getting anything and then get 2 job offers at once.
7. The biggest thing for me during the job hunting process
was maintaining a sense of agency. Putting yourself out there
and getting continuously rejected is not fun. So it’s
important to be doing things that remind you that you do have
something going on, even when the world may not agree. That
may be family or community work. I tried to have 4
conversations a week with interesting people. These were not
about begging for a job (I would start the conversation off by
categorically saying I would not ask them for a job and you
could see the person relax). But about learning something and
offering something. “Is there something I can do for you?”
Again this is just my experience and it may vary for others.
Good luck,
Matt Moore
+61 423 784 504
Dear Dennis, thanks so much for your
thoughtful response. I think many people in addition to me
will find this advice helpful.
My voluntary severance package came with 90 days of
outplacement services which I took full advantage of. I
have indeed been working my network as much as possible
but it's funny: my experience seems to be bucking the
trend! That is to say, I've not gotten interviews for jobs
for which I had an internal referral (either formal or
informal) but have gotten interviews for resumés sent as
what I call "cold uploads". I know that's not the norm. I
have around 1,300 LI connections but am always expanding
the list and looking for connections to a particular
company when appropriate.
I agree with you 100% about the resume software; one of
the members of this forum has kindly offered their
feedback already. I have a "base" resume that I tweak for
each job application; this also makes it easy to track
which jobs I've applied for and when by filename.
Re: your comment about a blog: I have created a Confluence
Space in which I've published my articles and experience
around KM. If you like I can send you an invite since I
cannot make the site public under an individual license
agreement.
On a side note, I have a blog where I promote independent
bookstores, books and authors around the world at
www.angryalgonquin.com.
I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who has
reached out to me on gmail or Linkedin. So generous and so
welcome!
