Cover Letter & Resume Guidelines for Experienced Job Seekers

We often hear from readers and job seekers who fall into the category of entry-level. This may mean early career builders or new graduates who have never held a professional job before. But we also hear from other types of applicants, including advanced, professional mid-career job seekers who are striving for the upper ranks of their chosen industries. Here are a few application moves that may have more value for individuals in the second group.

Table Of Contents

Don’t Become Overwhelmed by Your Own Track Record

After fifteen years in the workplace, you’ve accumulated plenty of home runs. Your awards, publications, major responsibilities, and successfully completed projects may number in the dozens or even hundreds. But keep one key fact in mind: If you’re overwhelmed by all of this, your readers will be too. And if they’re overwhelmed, they won’t remember the most important details. So learn to summarize and lean heavily on the delete key. When it comes to anything but your most impressive and recent accomplishments, cut, summarize, and cut some more. If you leave only the very top items, your readers will assume or infer the rest.

Organize by Relevance, Not Chronology

You may have held one or two jobs in the recent past that were merely placeholders or temporary positions that helped you pay the bills while you continued your search. Don’t let these jobs send the wrong message or derail your resume. If you’ve been working in the legal, business, or healthcare field for years but you’ve been sweeping floors for the past few months to make ends meet, omit this job from your resume. Place your most relevant position at the top of your work history instead.

Show Off Without Putting Off

Make the most of your accomplishments, but find a way to do so without being arrogant. The best way to do this is to add personality to your cover letter to balance out the laundry-list effect. Share some information about your personal passions and motivations and how these passions drove your career to its current point. This will humanize you and add life and likability to your profile. Now that you understand how to present your skills and employment history, apply your knowledge and create your own standout, professional resume with our easy-to-use Resume Builder.