Recently a friend of mine sent me her resume for an overall quick critique. She had been working with her school career counselor on reworking it to target industry/jobs she wanted to get into. Unfortunately, she was advised to use a functional resume by the career counselor.
I got a request from a reader of my column to see if I had any contacts in San Diego that could help her with both resume and career coaching. By the time she and I had finished evaluating what she was looking for, she had found a ‘great career coach’ that was also helping her revamp her resume. I told her to please make sure that her coach has recent *recruiting experience* in the last six to seven years to make sure her resume is advice is current.
I am saying this because so many people turn to career coaches for all things job related, and unless they have experience with Applicant Tracking Systems and complex Boolean searches, coupled with an understanding of federal laws from the OFCCP, chances are they are giving *outdated* advice. Well-intentioned, but definitely not up to what is going on in today’s world of recruiting including compliance issues that have literally changed the way candidates are evaluated, and our tools/technology shifts in the last decade.
Here is the bottom line. I, as a recruiter, can give some career coaching. I can help a candidate look at their skills and education and suggest potential career avenues and the companies and industries that may be hiring, and what I know near-future trends are. But if someone needs a true life coach, someone to help them with a holistic approach to their integrated career/life, then I’m probably not qualified. (I know people who are.) By the same token, a career coach who has not been a recent *recruiter* and not intimately familiar with all facets of the job is not generally qualified to give advice on resume construction.
So please, when you are looking for career transition advice, ask *experts*.