Jump the Job Ladder and Fast Track Your Career

Break the mold
It’s all too common when searching for jobs that we scan advertisements for something we know we can do - a vacancy that matches our skills and current expertise. Nearly all job seekers I have consulted are guilty of this. It comes down to a lack of confidence, societal conformity and the inability to think BIG.

In essence, applying to jobs that match your skill set, sees you moving sideways on the job ladder, possibly into a new industry and organizational culture, but the challenges, remuneration and promotional opportunities are likely to be the same.

Know exactly where you want to be
My advice, look for jobs where you can see yourself in 2 years time – assume you already had the promotion. The process is visionary. It inspires one to think forward and visualize where you want to be.

"It is an effective tool for jumping the career ladder and realizing your career advancement goals in a condensed time frame".

How do you get there?
Think BIG and think outside the square. For each of the skill sets or experiences required for the position advertised, break them down individually and brainstorm. Many of the required skills you probably already have. However, it’s unlikely you’ve acknowledged you have these skills, nor is it likely you’ve formally acknowledged them in your current resume.

Brainstorm and map it out
For each advertised skill, brainstorm your current activities and then draw relevant examples to promote yourself for that particular skill.

An example would be an advert requiring experience in CRM ‘Customer Relationship Management’. When broken down, CRM encompasses such tasks as; general customer communications, customer reviews, meetings, feedback reviews, relationship building (both formal and informal). Most people have had such experiences and therefore ARE experienced in CRM.

Accentuate your resume -prove you’ve got what they want
Once each of the skills is interpreted in this manner, it is important to then re-structure your resume to directly address each skill or experience in both the ‘Summary of Skills’ section (refer below) and again in the ‘Employment History Section’, where the experience is elaborated and (where possible), quantified to aid credibility (using percentages %, numbers # , and dollar $ terms).

Summary of Skills

Example relating to CRM

CRM: customer communications, customer reviews, customer satisfaction surveys, post sale follow-up, feedback, relationship building.

Employment History

Example relating to CRM

Responsible for the management of 21 clients to the value of $1.3M
Developed customer complaint protocol resulting in 100% satisfaction post-complaint
Developed customer feedback protocol encouraging feedback during and post job. Result = greater transparency, increased customer satisfaction, improved competitor awareness, and generation of ‘new product development’ leads
Improved customer satisfaction by 23% over a 12 months (from 76% to 99%)
Increased client base by 13% in 2 month period, via short term lead generation strategy
Built and maintained customer satisfaction through consistently high quality customer service, organized social activities and personal rapport.

Jumping the job ladder – it’s easy
By targeting positions that appear too advanced, then breaking them down, the possibility of advancing ones career becomes an achievable reality. It is an effective tool at jumping the career ladder and realizing your career advancement goals in a condensed time frame.

Fleur Wiig has a Master's Degree in Management and Business, and has spent her career working in the fields of Recruitment, Marketing and Business Consultancy. She has resume-related website with useful resume writing tips, information and modern, eye-catching resume templates.

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