How To Leverage Your Experience When Searching For A New Job

Having years of experience in your field might make you pretty confident when you set out on a job search. However, less-experienced (and usually younger) job seekers still have some advantages, including a greater openness to learning new techniques and a willingness to work for lower pay.

Therefore, if you have a lot of experience in your field, it’s crucial to take advantage of it in your job hunt.

Consider the following tips on how to differentiate yourself from other applicants.

Know the competition

First, it’s important to understand what specific advantages less-experienced workers have over you. Generally speaking, Millennials tend to be more independent, career-driven than some in previous generations. This translates into the perception that these workers are less loyal to their employers, acting a bit like free agents in professional sports.

For you, the experienced job seeker, stressing your desire to stick with a company for many years can make you more appealing than candidates who might jump ship for a better opportunity as well as Baby Boomers, who are fast approaching retirement age.

Maintain your skill set

Next, it’s important to address the perceived biggest perceived weakness of experienced professionals: out-of-date skills. If you aren’t certain about what skills you need to gain or update, ask an honest coworker or go to a group on LinkedIn and ask the people there.

You can also see what skills are currently in-demand by checking job postings for positions similar to yours or positions you’d like to apply to in the future. Likewise, if one of the skills on your resume isn’t a part of most postings, you ought to probably remove it from your resume.

List differs jobs at the same company separately

Job promotions are an indication that your employer recognized your worth and gave you more responsibility. Even lateral moves reveal your employer accepted your ability to succeed in a different role. By separating out a promotion or lateral move as a separate job, you are highlighting those kinds of recognition. Give each position and individual descriptions and lay out distinct time periods for each role.

If you haven’t been promoted or moved laterally at a previous employer, show ways you grew within the position and made a difference as you gained experience.

Customize to your job target

If you have been working for some time, you probably have a laundry list of professional skills, achievements, certifications and recognitions. While listing all of these in a resume or cover letter can be impressive, a better strategy is to pick and choose what you list in a way that targets your current employment goal. For instance, if you are currently trying to get into management, you can leave out mundane responsibilities while being sure to include any projects you headed up or committees where you played a lead role.

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At Software Management Consultants, we help job seekers at many different points in their respective careers. Please contact us today to find out how we can help you achieve your next employment objective or search for new jobs here.