Morgan, 47, worked as a product marketing manager for an international travel agency but was laid off in August 2020 due to COVID-19. Before that, she held marketing and event management roles with the government and in the medical, finance and non-profit industries. Since her layoff, Morgan has applied for over 30 jobs but has yet to land her next role. She’s interested in brand marketing, event management, product management and marketing manager roles.
For her next role, Morgan hopes to find a company with room to grow into a leadership position. “They would provide a comfortable and flexible work environment so that employees can perform at their best,” she says. So we reached out to career coach Shauna Vassell of Koncave Coaching and Consulting and Barret Van Allen, marketing director at CIBC, to review Morgan’s resume and offer their advice.Ms. Vassell’s first piece of advice is for Morgan to trim her resume down from three pages to two.
Since Morgan’s experience spans multiple industries, Ms. Vassell says it’s worth having a few versions of her resume ready to send out. “That way, her resume can be specific and relevant.” Based on her skills and prior experience, Ms. Vassell believes that Morgan is well-positioned for a senior branding manager.
Morgan should then edit the opening paragraph of her resume. “Take keywords from the posting and use them to tell her story,” Mr. Van Allen suggests. She could think about how a co-worker or family member might describe her while incorporating those keywords.