They say variety is the spice of life—but it can be donright poisonous to your career path. Maybe it took you a hile to figure out your passion, so you dabbled in this and that. Perhaps you made a fe detours in light of the tough job market. Or maybe you’re one of the millions of people juggling distinct part-time gigs rather than one full-time role.
有人说多样化让生活更有情趣——但这可能十分不利于你的职业生涯。也许你是需要一段时间去弄清楚你的激情所在,所以你涉猎于职场的各个方面。也许你是因为严峻的就业市场形式而走了一些弯路。或者,也许你是像很多人一样,应付着不同的兼职工作,而不去做一份全职工作。
Exploring different options can ork in your favor because it broadens your experience and exposes you to a variety of fields. Problem is, hen you apply for a position you really ant that speaks to your skill set and professional goals, hiring managers might pass you up in favor of candidates ho took a more linear route.
尝试不同的选择会对你有利,因为这丰富了你的经验,让你接触到各种各样的领域。但问题是,当你真正想申请到那份满足你各种技能和职业目标的工作时,招聘经理可能会拒绝你,反而更青睐于那些专一的应聘者。
Career experts are seeing an increase in jack-of-all-trades job hunters, something they attribute to a couple of different factors. "Because of all the layoffs during the recession, orkers ere forced to take jobs they didn’t really ant that might not have been the best fit," says Hannah Man, career strategist at Career Sherpa. The go-getter spirit of the millennial generation also es into play. If millennials don’t receive promotions as quickly as they’d like, they tend to move on to a more desirable position, says Man, even if it’s not exactly on their career trajectory.
职业专家看到现在杂而不精的求职者越来越多,他们将这一现象归因于几个不同的因素。在Career Sherpa公司工作的职业策划师汉娜摩根说: “由于经济衰退期间全面的裁员,工人被迫从事他们十分不想要的工作,这份工作并不是最适合他们的。”在千禧一代里有积极进取精神的人也开始起作用。如果千禧一代不能很快得到他们所想要的晋升,他们往往会转向更理想的位置。摩根说,即使这并不符合他们的职业轨迹。
Yet despite all the job hopefuls ith generalist backgrounds, employers are increasingly seeking candidates ho have specialized expertise. Since there’s no longer an expectation of lifetime employment ith a single pany, many panies aren’t mitted to developing and training employees, Man says. "They kno someone is out there ho has the exact skills they ant, and it makes their lives easier not to train them," she says.
摩根说,但尽管所有的工作候选人都属于通才,雇主却会偏向寻求拥有专门技能的候选人。由于不再期望他们会在单个公司终身工作,很多企业都不会致力于加强员工的技能和培训员工。“他们知道有人正在离开原本的公司,而这些人具备他们所想要的技能,这让他们的工作生活更容易而不用去培养他们,”她说。
If your resume features some seemingly unconnected positions, the trick is to eave them together into a cohesive narrative that assures employers you possess the skills they’re after and gets them excited about hiring you. Here are strategies that can help you do just that—so you can transform your job-hopper history from a liability to an advantage.
如果你的简历上有一些看似无关的职位,诀窍是你要将他们以一个连贯的叙述编织在一起,以此让你的雇主相信你有他们正需要的技能并且让他们很高兴能够雇用你。这里有一些策略,可以帮助你做到这一点。这样你就可以将你的跳槽历史从劣势转变为优势。
SPIN YOUR BRAND
说出对你有利的简历内容
Take a hard look at here you’ve been career-ise and here you ant to go. Then begin to paint a picture for hiring managers that explains hy your job history actually has been a logical progression, although your path has been circuitous. For example, you had one job in marketing and another in accounting because ultimately you ant to manage a pany, and you sought experience in both departments to round out your knoledge.
认真考虑下工作方面你已经做过了的以及你想往哪个方向发展,然后开始为你的招聘经理描述出一幅蓝图,说清虽然你的道路是曲折的,但你的工作经历其实一直是一个合乎逻辑的发展。例如,你曾做过市场营销,也曾做过会计,因为你最终想要管理一家公司,所以你在这两个部门摸索经验来完善自己的知识。
Once you bridge each job to the next, make light of the benefits of having a generalist background. Rather than something to play don, you recast it as a marketable skill. "Let’s say an employer ants someone ho es up to speed quickly," Man says. "A job-hopper has done that." In your resume and cover letter, brand yourself as someone ho makes a fast impact in the orkplace.
一旦你把一个工作和下面一个工作结合起来,就不用太在意自己通才的背景了。与其轻描淡写,不如将它重塑成适合市场的技能。摩根说:“如果雇主希望雇佣那些能快速跟上节奏的人,那么一个经常更换职业的人就能做到这点。”在你的简历和求职信中,试着把你自己说成能够在工作上快速产生影响的人。
In addition, "generalists can provide a broad perspective to the business, hich can be very valuable," says Sharlyn Lauby, an author, speaker, and president of consulting firm ITM Group. "But anizations still need generalists to produce—so make sure your resume can sho specific results, and quantify them henever possible." Including a line like "mastered ne operating procedures and increased efficiency by 15% ithin three months" highlights ho you’ve made a speedy, measurable improvement.
,“通才在商业上往往能有一个广阔的视野,这是非常有价值的,”一个既是作家、演讲家,也是咨询公司ITM集团总裁的莎朗.洛碧说,“但企业仍然需要培养通才,所以一定要确保你的简历展示了具体的结果,并且尽可能的对其量化。”包括像这样的话“精通新的操作流程,三个月内提高了15%的效率”可以凸显你做出了一个快速且明显的改进。
Without those details, your resume could send the rong message. "If you are not specific about your contributions in each role on your resume, some readers may assume the reason you keep moving from job to job is that you aren’t succeeding or you don’t kno hat you ant to do," says Miriam Salpeter, oner of Keppie Careers. "Instead of just creating a laundry list of the tasks you’ve done in each role, incorporate detailed explanations of skills you used and outline your acplishments."
如果没有这些细节,你的简历可能会传递出一个错误的信息。“如果你在你的简历上没有具体说明每个角色的贡献,有些读者可能会认为你之所以一直在从一个工作换到另一个工作是因为你没有成功,或者你不知道你想要做什么,”拥有Keppie Careers公司的米利亚姆.萨尔皮特说,“不要仅仅是将你每个角色完成的任务列了一箩筐,要给出你使用技能的具体且详细的解释并概括你的成就。”
She suggests reading through your resume, and for every item listed, ask yourself, "So hat?" Your bullet points should bring to light explicit, ideally quantifiable outes that you’ve achieved.
她建议仔细自己的简历,然后列出每一项,反问自己“那又怎么样?”你的重点应该放在你已经取得的清楚明确的,理想的量化结果上。
TIE THINGS TOGETHER
将事情结合在一起
Remember that recruiters get dozens of job applications daily, and if they don’t immediately see that you fit the description of the employee they’re looking for, they may move on. "Candidates need to help recruiters help them," Lauby says. Your resume and cover letter need to make connections that tell the plete story.
请记住,招聘人员每天会得到几十个求职申请,如果他们不能立即看出你与他们正要找的员工描述相符,他们可能会改看其他的求职信。“这既方便了招聘人员,也帮助了求职者自己,”劳比说。你的简历和求职信需要建立连接来讲述完整的故事。
The best ay to do that is to tailor your resume and cover letter to fit the job description. Many job hunters simply skim the pany’s posting, slightly teak their resume accordingly, and shoot it off to HR. But if you ant to set the hiring manager’s mind at ease about your ide-ranging history, don’t gloss over this crucial piece of info. "The job description explains point-blank hat the employer is looking for," Man says. "What you talk about on your resume has to match up exactly."
要做到这一点,最好的方法是调整你的简历和求职信来符合工作要求。很多求职者只是浏览了下公司所发布的信息,相应微调了下自己的简历,然后就把它发给了人力资源部。如果你想让你的招聘经理对你广泛的经历放心,那就不要掩饰信息的这个关键部分。 “工作要求直截了当地说明了雇主需要什么样的求职者,”摩根说,“在简历上你所谈论的必须与之精确匹配。”
Of course, e aren’t suggesting that you regurgitate the same language used in the description; instead, include a separate, concrete example from your experience that speaks to each requirement. For instance, Man suggests that if the job posting mentions that the candidate must be able to generate ne business, one of the bullet points on your resume should touch on a moment hen you did precisely that.
,我们并不建议你照搬工作要求中用到的同样的话;相反,你的简历要包括一个来源于你经历的,不同且具体的例子来证明你符合每一项要求。例如,摩根认为如果招聘广告中提到求职者必须能够创造新的业务,那么在你的简历里其中一个要点就要提到你恰好有一段时间这样做过。
The looser the connection, the more creative thinking required on your part—e.g., you developed outreach to a ne munity or improved customer relations ith a key client, leading them to remend your services to others. "It’s possible you have a very similar experience in a different industry," Man says. The goal is to find a mon point of intersection beteen your past and the position you’re applying for.
前后工作经历衔接得越不紧密,就需要你有更多的创意想法。例如,你开发外展服务到一个新的社区或与一个重要客户增进了客户关系,这导致他们把你的服务推荐给其他人。“有可能你在不同的行业也有非常类似的经历,”摩根说。我们的目标是在你的过去和你申请的职位之间找到一个交叉的共同点。
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR INTERVIEW TIME
利用你的面试时间
If you have the sense that your ork history might be problematic for the employer you’re meeting ith, it’s a good idea to address it. "Kno hat your elephants in the room are," Man says.
如果你意识到对于正在面试你的雇主而言你的工作经历还存在着问题,最好的办法是着手解决它。“知道问题所在就要去处理,”摩根说。
When asked about your experience and qualifications, explain ho your past jobs have taught you to use the particular skills that the hiring manager is looking for. For example, your tech skills are top-notch because job-hopping forced you to quickly master many programs. Acclimating to different ork environments has polished your team building and collaboration smarts, hich helped enhance the business. Clarify that you moved around because you naturally seek challenges and the opportunity to make a measurable impact. "Say, ‘I as looking for a greater challenge in the orkplace, so I moved on to find that challenge and make an impact more quickly,’" Man suggests.
当问及你的经验和资历时,请说明你过去的工作是如何教会你使用该特殊技能,这项技能又恰恰是招聘经理正在寻找的。例如,你的技术能力是一流的,因为跳槽强迫你迅速掌握许多项目。对不同工作环境的适应已经改善了你的团队建设和合作技能,这有助于提升你的业务。你要说清楚你之所以换工作是因为你天性追求挑战,并且渴望遇到能产生重大影响的机会。“可以说,‘我一直在工作上寻找更大的挑战,所以我不断地跳槽去寻找那种挑战,然后很快就起到了作用。’”摩根建议。
If the employer directly asks about your short-term track record, it could be a sign that she orries you might jump ship if you join her team. "Emphasize that you contribute your utmost in every job," Salpeter says. "Then elaborate on the skills you’ll bring to her anization, hy you’re so excited about the position, and ho ell prepared you are to contribute on day one."
如果雇主直接询问你短期的业绩记录,这可能是因为她担心你如果加入她的团队可能会跳槽。“你需要强调在每一个岗位都做出了最大的贡献,”萨尔皮特说。“然后你再详细说明你能给她的企业带来的技能,为什么你对这个职位如此激动,以及在第一天你准备如何来做好贡献。”
LEAN IN TO SOCIAL MEDIA
依靠社交媒体
Pay close attention to the summary portion of LinkedIn, here you can clarify your top skills as ell as the direction you hope to head in career-ise before employers even get to the actual resume listing your experience. Salpeter suggests phrasing things in a ay that sets you up as a challenge seeker ho gets results fast. Eliminate doubt about your mitment to the job by saying something like, "I’ve had the opportunity to use xyz expertise to acplish [fill in the blank] in various roles over the past several years. Working in different environments kept my skills sharp and alloed me to stay on the cutting edge. As a result, my employers see that I’m able to acplish more in a short period of time than many people ho have been at the anization long term. I’m alays continuing to learn, and hope to ork for a pany that ill allo me to gro and contribute at increasing levels over time."
密切关注LinkedIn(领英)的部分,在那里你甚至可以在雇主得到列有你经验的真实履历,你可以阐明你的顶级技能以及你在工作上希望去发展的方向。萨尔皮特建议,表述时将你设定为一个追求挑战,能快速得到结果的人。消除招聘人员对你工作所做贡献的怀疑,通过说一些如“在过去的几年中,我不得不使用XXX专业知识来实现各种角色中的XXX,在不同的环境中工作可以提高我的技术,并使我一直处在前沿。这样一来,我的雇主就能看到我在短期内比长期待在企业里的许多人都要完成的多。我总是不断地,并希望能为公司效力,这会促进我的成长,久而久之我就会有所提高。
“Social media can also help foster the impression of mitment—something that a too-broad background might imply you’re lacking. "Use your Titter feed or actively participate in a LinkedIn group to demonstrate your professional kno-ho and interest," Salpeter says. "Consistently sharing insights, articles, and resources ith people shos that you’re ell informed about the field and you follo it closely."
“社交媒体也可以促进形成奉献精神,有些背景过于宽泛可能意味着你正缺乏这个。使用Titter(推特)在LinkedIn上输入或积极参加LinkedIn(领英团队)来表现出你的专业知识和兴趣,”萨尔皮特说。“始终如一地与他人分享见解,文章和资源将会表明你充分了解该领域,并且紧跟其步伐。”
Once you put all these techniques in play, hiring managers should be able to clearly understand the rationale behind your all-over-the-map job choices and see ho they fit naturally together. You’ll be perceived as perhaps an even more poerful candidate than someone ho’s climbed the ladder ith laser-like focus.
一旦你把所有的这些技巧都运用上,招聘经理就能从你全部的工作选择背后了解得清清楚楚,并且看到他们都很自然地联系在一起。比起那些专注于步步高升的人,你甚至会被视为更有实力的一位求职者。