New to an area and sending out resumes

I just moved to a new town to get married. I left my last job on excellent terms and I'm trying to determine the best way to get my name in the industry here.

I am overqualified for most of the jobs I have seen posted but would like to send my resume to the companies to see my qualifications and get noticed possibly for other jobs.

Should I create an introduction letter and just send my resume? Also, I'm willing to take a lesser position to help get established in this area but how do I explain that without appearing desperate?
Thanks.

Lucy in Austin, Texas said: I just moved to a new town to get married. I left my last job on excellent terms and I'm trying to determine the best way to get my name in the industry here.

I am overqualified for most of the jobs I have seen posted but would like to send my resume to the companies to see my qualifications and get noticed possibly for other jobs.

Should I create an introduction letter and just send my resume? Also, I'm willing to take a lesser position to help get established in this area but how do I explain that without appearing desperate?
Thanks.

Howdy Lucy,

It's always best to have a target position in mind.
You don't REALLY want to send out a 'broadcast'
one size fits all document...

However if your geography negates what you can
and can't do check these tips out:

Firstly, Keep all of your qualifications and
experiences primed and up-to-date on your resume
(no reason to "short change" yourself...

Secondly, One of the most misunderstood and poorly
used tactics in resume writing - is giving a REASON WHY.

You're in a fortunate position you have a GOOD reason
why - you moved to get MARRIED!

Which fits in perfectly - So somewhere in your resume
or even in your cover letter (prefreably after you've
built up VALUE by dropping in all of your accomplishments
and skills, and the reader is starting to worry that they
won't be able to court you into working with them)
- you would say something
like:

"At this stage of my life I want to take some time away
from [whatever your key role was] Here's why..."

BINGO! You've just defused any objections and positioned
yourself as best possible choice!

Let me know if this helps.

Ben

P.S.

If you're still having difficulty gripping
some of the fundamentals check out

--> www.squidoo.com/resumeassistant

For a POWERFUL article on buidling a
pre-prep resume structure.

yourresumeassistant.com

Thanks for the good ideas---I will definitely use these as I work on my job search.

Lucy

There aren't a lot of companies that will hire people on in "lower" positions because they are afraid that you won't be happy and won't stick around. My husband has been dealing with this. He's overqualified because he has a graduate degree, yet he wants to get back into his original field and would gladly do so taking a lesser position.

It's just tough.

What you can do is rework your resume so that it doesn't look so much like you have conquered the world. :) I hate to use the phrase "dumb it down", but that's essentially what you'd be doing.

Also, consider using a functional resume format like the one on this site:

www.professional-resume-example.com/functional-resume-format.html

You can tailor it better to highlight just what you want - and get more creative doing so.

Good luck.

~C.J.

You should NEVER "dumb down" your RESUME...

EVER...

That's terrible advice it's all how you
structure your resume.

www.yourresumeassistant.com

Hi all,

Thanx for resume writing inputs.I think a powerful resume is the key factor for attracting employers.

Like lucy,i am an engineer with 6+ experience in top tier industry as functional buss analyst and im from asia and recently relocated to bay area,california post marriage.
I have posted my resume in leading job portals,still unable to fetch jobs....may be i do not have experience working in usa?though employers r impressed with my skill sets they turn down for usa exp.

Can someone provide insight on this? any pointers for good hun hunters in bay area for analyst job. Thanks in advance.
cheers!!

Sorry, no name resume assistant, but it has to be done in some cases. You can't just fit everyone into a happy little box. There are times that you have to make adjustments based on what the market will support. Be real. If you are changing careers or an older worker, making constructive changes to your resume is critical. I worked with a gentleman just yesterday who is bright, experienced and... well.... graying nicely. ;) I deleted his oldest employment listings as they dated him even though he did great work for those companies. It's a tough job market and anything you can do to make yourself more marketable is not only acceptable, it's required.

You must live in a great area if you don't have to really work with people to help them get their resumes in shape for the job market. I work with people all over the country and on the east coast, especially, it's awful.

You must be seriously out of touch if you don't think people have to get creative with their resumes.

~Carla

I have to agree. Not that you need to 'dumb down' a resume - but frankly, no one cares what anyone was doing 15 years ago. They want relevant recent experience and skills, so there's no reason to keep way-past employment histories on your resume.

CJV in Dallas, Texas said: Sorry, no name resume assistant, but it has to be done in some cases. You can't just fit everyone into a happy little box. There are times that you have to make adjustments based on what the market will support. Be real. If you are changing careers or an older worker, making constructive changes to your resume is critical. I worked with a gentleman just yesterday who is bright, experienced and... well.... graying nicely. ;) I deleted his oldest employment listings as they dated him even though he did great work for those companies. It's a tough job market and anything you can do to make yourself more marketable is not only acceptable, it's required.

You must live in a great area if you don't have to really work with people to help them get their resumes in shape for the job market. I work with people all over the country and on the east coast, especially, it's awful.

You must be seriously out of touch if you don't think people have to get creative with their resumes.

~Carla

You seem to have misinterpretated my comment - I disagreed with your advice to "dumb down" a resume...

And I stand by that!

But shaving years of irrelavant employment history of your resume, in order to not appear "too old" is a smart tactical decision.

And I didn't say anywhere that I disagreed with that, and I'm certainly not trying to "fit everyone into a happy little box".

Here's something I do agree with you on:

"It's a tough job market and anything you can do to make yourself more marketable is not only acceptable, it's required".

Damn right - and because I'm "not out of touch" this is something that I have to do on a regular basis, what that means is the "cut n paste" resume templates aren't working!

So let's get on with doing something about it, helping people out and keeping it constructive.

Best,

Ben (No name "No Name Resume Assistant":-)

Resume Assistant in BH, California said: Hey Carla, I just saw this post... You seem to have misinterpretated my comment - I disagreed with your advice to "dumb down" a resume...

And I stand by that!

But shaving years of irrelavant employment history of your resume, in order to not appear "too old" is a smart tactical decision.

And I didn't say anywhere that I disagreed with that, and I'm certainly not trying to "fit everyone into a happy little box".

Here's something I do agree with you on:

"It's a tough job market and anything you can do to make yourself more marketable is not only acceptable, it's required".

Damn right - and because I'm "not out of touch" this is something that I have to do on a regular basis, what that means is the "cut n paste" resume templates aren't working!

So let's get on with doing something about it, helping people out and keeping it constructive.

Best,

Ben (No name "No Name Resume Assistant":-)

Amen to that.

Hi Lucy,

The important thing is that your resume best represents and markets you for the type of position you want (or need) right now. It is a living document that can be edited to your needs and should be changed as needed.

If you want a position that is at a lower level than you are used to, I absolutely see nothing wrong with "dumbing down" your resume.