The Next Steps – Fighting with Numbers

So, I have now stepped out of my comfort zone and have started the transition. What I am struggling with at the moment is how to translate my skills and experiences onto a paper. Yes, it is that resume and cv that is just starting at me on the other monitor. The blinking cursor taunting me as I ponder what to write.

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

What makes this difficult for me is my career has largely been defined in a more qualitative way and the paper is screaming for numbers; sales up 20%, cost savings of 15%, recruited 8 new employees, operational efficiency maximized by 12% and so on. As I work in the world of softer issues my skills have much more to do with culture, comfort, and adaptability than hard numbers favored by today’s job search algorithms.

I feel I bring much more to the table than just numbers. Now, how can I get that on paper?

The Transition Ebb and Flow

I somewhat took my current position out of necessity. I had just moved back to the U.S. after living for nearly a decade abroad, had a kid on the way, and the job market had not fully recovered from the 2008 recession so opportunities were few and far between.

It was not the easiest decision for me to take as it meant putting aside some of my true interests; Latin America, Spanish language, multi-cultural understanding, international business, etc. But, with a lot of personal things happening obtaining something stable did outweigh overall career and job interests.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

This is not to say that things were all so bad. In the start it was nice to have a steady paycheck and have some consistency in my life for the first time in a while. However, I became complacent and now I feel that I am paying the price. I have sat too long in one spot and as I look to start making inroads back into my true interests the obstacles are bigger than when I first moved back to the U.S. those many year’s ago.

Now, I have been put into a box based on my recent experience and skills that I have developed over the last 5 years. Not that this is bad it just complicates matters as I am looking to moving into a new type of role. All the recruiters and algorithms focus on these skills and experience and not on what I have done in the past and all my career experience brings to the table.

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