The fourth candidate in the Great Résumé Makeover is a senior-level banking professional seeking career advancement in a different area within her industry.

"The original résumé lacked the impact and attention-grabbing effect that someone at her level deserved."
—Abby Locke
Before & After #4
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Here was a case where a good candidate looked weak on paper. With a vague objective and generic summary of qualifications, the résumé lacked focus: it was unclear not only what positions she sought but also which she was qualified for. In addition, despite success throughout her career, there were no quantifiable achievements to differentiate her from her competition or interest a potential employer.

The new résumé has a title header that clearly identifies her target positions. A brief summary hones in on her strengths and areas of expertise. Including a comprehensive list of keywords that relate to her targeted positions helps to qualify her immediately as a viable candidate. Finally, improving the visual layout and highlighting her quantifiable achievements sets her apart from the competition.
The nips, tucks, and knock-it-offs
•When preparing a career transition résumé, be sure to focus on and highlight transferable skills relevant to the new position.

•Clearly define the value you bring to the new position, using the performance achieved in previous positions to make your case.

•Adding quantifiable achievements helps distinguish you from the competition, and can help add credibility to compensate for any lack of experience at the level or job category you're seeking.

•Take the time to make the layout appealing; the formatting you choose should also organize information so that highlights come to the fore.
This Week's Makeover Pro:



Abby Locke
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About Abby Locke
Abby M. Locke is the founder and president of Premier Writing Solutions (www.premierwriting.com), an executive résumé-writing and personal branding services company located in Washington, DC. The company supports senior-level finance, government, technology, and military professionals with 15+ years' experience who are in career transition.

She has served as a Résumé Advisor at Women-for-Hire career fairs, is a regular contributor to career publications, and is also the Résumé Expert for Rachel's Network, an environmentalist women's association in Washington, DC. Her résumé samples have been published in "Nail the Résumé! Great Tips for Creating Dynamic Résumés and Same-Day Résumés."