Erik, 40, has been working for the same security products company for 16 years. “I’ve progressed steadily, but feel like I’ve hit a plateau at the director level,” Erik writes. “It’s time for a change. There might be a midlife crisis lurking too. If I don’t move soon, will it be too late?” While Erik was thinking of leaving well before the pandemic, COVID-19 has added some frustrations, such as a temporary pay cut.
While Erik has expressed interest in focusing on internal communications, Ms. Meisner notes that he only mentions communications in general. “Since this can include many different subsets of comms in addition to internal comms, Erik needs to specify.” She says. “He needs to go through his resume and replace every mention of ‘communications’ with ‘internal communications’.”
Like Ms. Meisner, Mr. Chahdi also recommends keeping a resume under two pages. Erik can accomplish this by focusing just on the last 10 years of his work experience. “When called for an interview, Erik can always share more insights into anything beyond the 10-year mark that he feels has relevance to his overall story and the role he’s applying for,” Mr. Chahdi advises.
When Erik reaches the interview stage, Mr. Chahdi encourages him to be ready with a story to share about his overall career, how he showed continued growth and how his next role will contribute to his overall career."The natural question Erik can expect is, “Why change companies now?” he says. “Erik’s answer needs to be a continuation of his story.