Let’s assume that your construct confirmed your suspicion that you would be well suited for a career in property management, what are the next steps. How do you put together a resume which will convince the people hiring that you are a good bet in property management even though you may not have as much experience in the field as some of the other applicants for the same position?
Resumes and marketing yourself is a vast subject and to do yourself justice you will really want to take advantage of some of the information that is out there which will take you to a much higher level of detail than we will here.
We do, though, have a lot of experience in the hiring side of things . . . both from the perspective of the employer as well as the employee.
In today’s wide-open Internet world, the possibilities for you to market yourself to countless numbers of people are nearly endless. It is really just marketing. Experts tell us that you only have seven seconds to make your first impression and that is why a great format for communicating to the decision makers is so important . . . scratch that . . . it’s imperative.
In my travels I have finally come across a resume format that literally turns heads. I’ve even had interviewers at the end of an interview say to me, “This resume looks great, it really got my attention. Where did you get it?” So in the spirit of sharing my stuff, I am sharing it with you.
Resume:
First you start with what I call the “Billboard” section of the resume. Remember the 7 seconds to make a great first impression? That’s what the billboard is all about. Please refer to our sample resume in the appendix at the end of this chapter to see what I am talking about.
Billboard – This at the top of your resume and it is going to give a quick snapshot of who this great applicant is (you). It will contain the title of the general position you are seeking and then a short (perhaps two lines) summary of who you are and how wonderful you are. Next part is just words in bold type that describe your skills and talents. Below this section is a section describing even more incredible skills and talents you have. I say that a bit tongue in cheek, but it is true, you need to be selling yourself and this is the place to do it.
Selected Career Highlights – This is where you list the previous positions you have held at various companies. Be careful here. Remember, you are not going to write this, as you would have when you were looking for another job in your old industry. You are changing industries so you need to find similarities between your previous positions and the one you are seeking. If you were a purchasing manager for a medical supply company and you want to be a property manager, you will want to find the things like: Balanced multiple projects simultaneously or Relate quickly and easily with all diversities, personalities and business levels. Tell what you did, such as: Contracted with major pharmaceutical companies balancing multiple priorities continually.
Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want to put words in your mouth and I don’t want you to be dishonest. Tell the truth or you won’t be able to own it. Be sure and tell the part of the truth that won’t distract them and will show them the part of you that they want.
Be sure to limit your information per company to four or five bullet points in your first listing and less for the subsequent listing. This is of course unless one of your subsequent listing has the most in common with the position you are seeking.
You will want to continue to list previous positions to show at least the last five years of employment and, ideally, your entire career. You will need to balance this with length of your resume. Perfect world length is one page; I think 2 is OK, but I recommend that you not go over that.
Other Relevant Experience, I use this section in my resume for a position I held many years before the last job listing on my resume because it showed particular relevance to the position I was seeking but, did not fall into comfortable chronological order with the others.
Education – Just list the schools attended and degrees earned. If you didn’t finish college, as I did not, just list the schools you attended. I don’t call attention to the fact that I didn’t get my degree. The people looking at this are smart and will ask you about it if it is important to them. If it is a non-starter for them, then it is.
Professional – List your licenses, any and all Trade Associations you belong to, or special training seminars you have attended, and computer skills along with particular software you are proficient with.
Personal – You don’t want to make this too long or too personal. Just list your marital status – any children and what you like to do on your time off. Sitting on the sofa sucking down beers while watching the game probably wouldn’t be a good idea!
References – I subscribe to the idea that in your first exposure to folks, your mission is to make that great first impression. It is not to overwhelm them with paper work. I don’t include references with my resume but I do tell them that I will provide excellent ones if they would like. Again, if this is an important issue for them, they will ask.
Hopefully, this has been helpful to you. For more information and resources about transitioning your career to Property Management go to our website.
See you next time!!
PatandKrisLarkin.com 