Great Travel News Syndicate

By ELIZABETH GARONE

Many workers who lost jobs in the hardest-hit sectors of the economy are now looking to change careers. But crafting a résumé that shows the benefits of hiring an industry outsider can be challenging.

In this installment of The Résumé Doctor, three recruiting experts critique a résumé from a job hunter eying a move into facilities management from commercial construction.

• The Job Seeker: Mark Peterson, 47, of Woodbury, Minn., was laid off in July from a senior project manager/sales position at a small commercial-construction company where he had worked for 19 years. Though he was hired in November as a senior project manager for a rival firm, the contract job is commission-based and doesn’t include medical or other benefits. He says the position is unlikely to yield a salary anywhere close to his prior annual income of around $125,000.

• The Objective: Mr. Peterson is seeking a mid- to senior-level executive position in facilities management. Mr. Peterson would like to stay in the Minneapolis metro area and is seeking a minimum annual salary of $85,000, significantly lower than his previous salary but on par with what he expects in the current economy. If the economy were to improve, he says he would be looking for $100,000 to $125,000.

“Any company that has a large campus or multiple buildings to manage could work well for me,” he says.

• The Experts: Offering feedback on Mr. Peterson’s résumé are Ken Rose, a senior client partner in Chicago for executive-search firm Korn/Ferry International Inc.; Nanci D’Alessandro, a vice president and national account executive in New York for commercial real-estate firm Grubb & Ellis

; and Julia Hicks, director of human resources at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. Universities are one of his target employers because of their many buildings to manage.

• The Résumé: Mr. Peterson has kept his fairly standard résumé to one page. He leads with his contact information, followed by a summary statement and 11 areas of expertise. The résumé goes on to describe his career in reverse chronological order with bullet points and concludes with details of his education and training.

• The Positives: Our experts were impressed with some of the accomplishments cited in Mr. Peterson’s résumé. They also gave it kudos for being clutter-free despite its short length.

• The Advice: Much of the information that hiring managers want to see—such as the size and scope of projects he worked on and certifications he holds—is there, our experts agree. What Mr. Peterson needs to do is revamp the layout so it is more pleasing to the eye and easier to quickly scan, they say.

Right now, the résumé is formatted with a significant amount of white space in some areas and in other places, text is bunched together. Most of all, he needs to direct his résumé away from construction and more toward facilities management by highlighting his transferable skills when describing his former positions.

“Quite frankly, I would have overlooked this résumé, and it would not have made my list,” says Ms. D’Alessandro. “The résumé is still very much geared to construction.”

For starters, our experts recommend Mr. Peterson get rid of the “Management Professional” title at the very top. “There’s really no point to giving yourself a title or categorizing yourself,” says Mr. Rose. “Your professional experience and training should stand on its own.”

Likewise, our experts agree Mr. Peterson should revamp his summary statement. As it is, it is unclear and it doesn’t even mention facilities management, they say. “It needs to be more focused on what he is trying to achieve and it should show his strengths,” says Ms. D’Alessandro.

For Ms. Hicks, the summary statement “needs to be more specific about what he can offer and not what he is seeking from an employer.”

Mr. Rose usually counsels his clients against including a summary statement. But he says he would make an exception for someone looking to change careers. “Otherwise, the person looking at his résumé is going to ask, ‘Why is this drywall guy sending this to me?’ ” he says.

The next section of Mr. Peterson’s résumé features a list describing his areas of expertise. Ms. D’Alessandro and Ms. Hicks said they both like it, but they said it should be shortened to six bullets from the current 11. They suggest formatting the section into two or three columns rather than one to make it more visually appealing. “When the list gets too long, the reader loses focus on the most important skills he is trying to convey,” says Ms. Hicks.

By contrast, Mr. Rose considers the list “a waste of valuable real estate” and suggests deleting it. He says he prefers résumés that highlight strengths with tangible accomplishments in the work-history section. “There really is no value-add in a list like that,” he says. “Hiring authorities don’t really trust your assessment of yourself.”

While there are mixed feelings among the experts about including a list of skills, all agree that when used, it needs to be concise and contain only those skills that can help a candidate stand out from the competition.

For the section that lists past employers, our experts want to know more about Mulcahy Inc., where Mr. Peterson spent 19 years. This is especially important for job seekers who have experience at a small or midsize firm that might not be known outside of its particular state or region. “What kind of company is it?” says Mr. Rose. “It could be a multinational, or it could be Mr. Mulcahy, his son and Mark.”

Our experts also want to see more details about what Mr. Peterson did at Mulcahy. “Did he hold the same position for all 19 years, or was there career progression while he was there?” asks Ms. Hicks.

“If there were multiple positions, you would want to show that,” says Ms. D’Alessandro.

She suggests adding subsections under a particular company. Even if Mr. Peterson held only one or two positions at Mulcahy, he should still break up his time there in order to show the breadth of his job as well as career progression, she adds.

Our experts also didn’t like how Mr. Peterson’s résumé displays his past accomplishments. He lists seven, single-spaced bullet points, each packed with responsibilities and accomplishments, for the time he spent at Mulcahy. “They need to be spread out more with additional bullet points, so they are not just a mass of verbiage,” says Mr. Rose.

Further, Ms. Hicks says that Mr. Peterson could have done a better job of explaining his major career accomplishments.

For example, rather than listing the companies he had contracts with by name, she says she would have liked to see the different industries they’re in, because this would show his breadth of experience.

Perhaps most important, our experts say he is missing out on an opportunity to highlight experience that would prove highly relevant to a job in facilities management. In two of his early positions, he mentions the field in bullet points that describe his responsibilities but doesn’t elaborate.

“A lot of people make the mistake that if it happened 20 years ago, no one cares about it,” says Mr. Rose. “But you accomplished things back then that show career advancement.”

Including early stints can be especially important for prospective career changers, he adds. Mr. Peterson “should leverage some of that experience so he won’t come across as a complete newcomer,” says Mr. Rose.

In the education and training section, our experts were critical of Mr. Peterson for citing uncommon acronyms for all but one of the certifications he listed. Instead, they would have preferred to see these spelled out. Ms. Hicks also suggests Mr. Peterson show when he obtained the certifications, especially if he got any in recent years. Including dates would also show that he’s “up-to-date on what’s going on in the industry,” adds Ms. D’Alessandro.

Further, our experts noted that Mr. Peterson should have gone into detail about what may be the most valuable credential he has for a job in facilities management—Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Having a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) designation demonstrates significant knowledge in green building practices and would transfer well to facilities management. It could also mean the difference between Mr. Peterson’s résumé going to the top and bottom of the pile, says Ms. D’Alessandro.

Finally, our experts said that to fit the extra information, Mr. Peterson may need to expand his résumé to two pages from one, and that doing so would be acceptable for such a senior-level job hunter.

“With 25 years of experience, you cannot articulate the depth of your experience in a one-page résumé,” says Ms. D’Alessandro.

Write to Elizabeth Garone at cjeditor@dowjones.com

By JOE WALKER

New college graduates may be entering the worst job market in decades, but there are still some majors that pay off—and all of them are in the applied sciences.

A new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers finds that eight of the top 10 best-paid majors are in engineering, with petroleum engineering topping off the list at $86,220.See Table.

“Petroleum engineering has been at the top for the last three years,” said Edwin Koc, director of strategic and foundation research at NACE. “The oil industry for the last couple of years has been a bit more active and a bit better off than some of the other sectors. Texas had a better employment picture than other locations, and a lot of the [petroleum engineering job] offers came out of Texas schools.”

Computer science was the fourth most lucrative degree, with graduates starting at $61,205 on average. The average salary for computer science majors has increased by at least 5% each year since 2007, said Mr. Koc.

The other non-engineering major in the top ten is information sciences and systems, with an average starting salary of $54,038. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, this field will add 155,800 jobs between 2008 and 2018, an increase of 53.4%, the second fastest growing career in the data the BLS offers and well above the average job growth for all professions of 10.1%

The BLS projects biomedical engineering jobs to increase by an astounding 72%–the top-growing field–from 16,000 in 2008 to 27,600 in 2018. The NACE survey did not record enough offers for jobs in this field to include it in the top ten, but Mr. Koc said that the major commands a salary comparable to chemical engineering, $65,142.

Not only do engineering majors earn the most, but the field is expected to grow at a fast clip over the next eight years with 178,300 jobs added by 2018. The BLS report expects growth in civil engineering to be particularly large “as a greater emphasis is placed on improving the nation’s infrastructure.”

Still, even specialized, in-demand graduates like engineering majors are finding it difficult to find employment in this economy. NACE found that only 42% of engineering majors found jobs in 2009, versus 70% in 2007.

This is the first of four quarterly reports that NACE will release on the class of 2010, but so far things are not looking good for liberal arts majors, whose average starting salary has decreased 11% since last year, down from $36,445 to $32,555.

Recent college graduates have been hit hard in the current recession. Their annual unemployment rate in 2009 was 9.1%, the highest it has been since 1982.

NACE’s salary figures are based on 1,558 job offers received by college seniors at about 180 colleges and universities nationwide. Both December 2009 graduates and May 2010 graduates are included. This is the first of four quarterly reports that NACE will release on the class of 2010. A major had to have at least 20 job offers to be included in the top ten.

By ALEXANDRA LEVIT

I’m frequently asked how to make the transition from working in an organization to striking out on one’s own. But here’s a question that’s rarely discussed: What if you’re an entrepreneur or solo practitioner and must decide whether to return to the business world? Can you — and should you — go from your living room back to the boardroom?

Jessica Smith, 33 years old, of Sacramento, Calif., left her career at a major consulting firm to stay home with her young son. She developed a robust online marketing and business-development practice that allowed her to witness her son’s milestones, but eventually found herself wishing she could work in an office again.

Building on the success of her blog, jessicaknows.com, Ms. Smith secured a vice president position at international communications firm Fleishman-Hillard, and her husband became the at-home parent.

A Better Fit

Once you’ve gone through the trouble of starting a business, you may feel like it’s a step back to work for someone else again. But depending on your lifestyle and personal preferences, employment at a company may simply be a better fit at this point in time. So before you dismiss the idea entirely, you should consider the benefits that office work provides.

First, adhering to deadlines without giving in to distractions like TiVo or the cheesecake in the fridge requires focus and willpower. If this isn’t your strong suit, you might be more productive with a regimented company schedule. Set office hours might also make it easier to sustain a fulfilling family life.

“Having a clear boundary between my office and my home means that family time is quality time,” says Ms. Smith.

Although I now work from home full time, I definitely miss aspects of my corporate job. I enjoy getting dressed up and commuting to work because it puts me in a frame of mind to conduct business.

I also like the paycheck that reliably arrived twice a month. And Twitter and Webinars can’t replace the camaraderie that develops in an office environment.

“Being part of a larger organization offers the ability to work with team members and see our ideas come to fruition together,” Ms. Smith concurs.

Talk About It

A move from the living room to the boardroom is one that should be thoughtfully discussed with those it affects the most — namely your partner and close family members.

And don’t make a decision rashly. Just because your business isn’t going well in the recession doesn’t mean you made a mistake in launching it. Try to envision its trajectory over the long term to see if it’s a venture you feel comfortable giving up.

Your move to an established organization should make sense in the context of the brand you’ve invested the time and energy to create.

“Don’t take the first role that presents itself,” advises Ms. Smith. “You need to be sure that your mission and values line up with those of the company you plan to work for.”

Finally, build in an adequate transition period so that provisions are made for existing customers and you aren’t leaving anyone high and dry.

Write to Alexandra Levit at reinvent@wsj.com

By CHARLES WHEELAN

Getty Images

Look to your left and then to your right. Is that pretty girl Phi Beta Kappa? Marry her.

Class of 2012,

I became sick of commencement speeches at about your age. My first job out of college was writing speeches for the governor of Maine. Every spring, I would offer extraordinary tidbits of wisdom to 22-year-olds—which was quite a feat given that I was 23 at the time. In the decades since, I’ve spent most of my career teaching economics and public policy. In particular, I’ve studied happiness and well-being, about which we now know a great deal. And I’ve found that the saccharine and over-optimistic words of the typical commencement address hold few of the lessons young people really need to hear about what lies ahead. Here, then, is what I wish someone had told the Class of 1988:

1. Your time in fraternity basements was well spent.

The same goes for the time you spent playing intramural sports, working on the school newspaper or just hanging with friends. Research tells us that one of the most important causal factors associated with happiness and well-being is your meaningful connections with other human beings. Look around today. Certainly one benchmark of your postgraduation success should be how many of these people are still your close friends in 10 or 20 years.

Charles Wheelan checks in on Mean Street with some advice for the Class of 2012: pay very close attention, because there are key things you need to know that you won’t learn by simply donning a cap and gown. Photo: AP.

2. Some of your worst days lie ahead. Graduation is a happy day. But my job is to tell you that if you are going to do anything worthwhile, you will face periods of grinding self-doubt and failure. Be prepared to work through them. I’ll spare you my personal details, other than to say that one year after college graduation I had no job, less than $500 in assets, and I was living with an elderly retired couple. The only difference between when I graduated and today is that now no one can afford to retire.

3. Don’t make the world worse. I know that I’m supposed to tell you to aspire to great things. But I’m going to lower the bar here: Just don’t use your prodigious talents to mess things up. Too many smart people are doing that already. And if you really want to cause social mayhem, it helps to have an Ivy League degree. You are smart and motivated and creative. Everyone will tell you that you can change the world. They are right, but remember that “changing the world” also can include things like skirting financial regulations and selling unhealthy foods to increasingly obese children. I am not asking you to cure cancer. I am just asking you not to spread it.

4. Marry someone smarter than you are. When I was getting a Ph.D., my wife Leah had a steady income. When she wanted to start a software company, I had a job with health benefits. (To clarify, having a “spouse with benefits” is different from having a “friend with benefits.”) You will do better in life if you have a second economic oar in the water. I also want to alert you to the fact that commencement is like shooting smart fish in a barrel. The Phi Beta Kappa members will have pink-and-blue ribbons on their gowns. The summa cum laude graduates have their names printed in the program. Seize the opportunity!

Successful people are often asked to deliver a university or college’s graduation speech, Here are some words of wisdom offered in commencement speeches over the last few years from President Obama, Conan O’Brien, Hillary Clinton, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Carter.

5. Help stop the Little League arms race. Kids’ sports are becoming ridiculously structured and competitive. What happened to playing baseball because it’s fun? We are systematically creating races out of things that ought to be a journey. We know that success isn’t about simply running faster than everyone else in some predetermined direction. Yet the message we are sending from birth is that if you don’t make the traveling soccer team or get into the “right” school, then you will somehow finish life with fewer points than everyone else. That’s not right. You’ll never read the following obituary: “Bob Smith died yesterday at the age of 74. He finished life in 186th place.”

6. Read obituaries. They are just like biographies, only shorter. They remind us that interesting, successful people rarely lead orderly, linear lives.

7. Your parents don’t want what is best for you. They want what is good for you, which isn’t always the same thing. There is a natural instinct to protect our children from risk and discomfort, and therefore to urge safe choices. Theodore Roosevelt—soldier, explorer, president—once remarked, “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Great quote, but I am willing to bet that Teddy’s mother wanted him to be a doctor or a lawyer.

8. Don’t model your life after a circus animal. Performing animals do tricks because their trainers throw them peanuts or small fish for doing so. You should aspire to do better. You will be a friend, a parent, a coach, an employee—and so on. But only in your job will you be explicitly evaluated and rewarded for your performance. Don’t let your life decisions be distorted by the fact that your boss is the only one tossing you peanuts. If you leave a work task undone in order to meet a friend for dinner, then you are “shirking” your work. But it’s also true that if you cancel dinner to finish your work, then you are shirking your friendship. That’s just not how we usually think of it.

9. It’s all borrowed time. You shouldn’t take anything for granted, not even tomorrow. I offer you the “hit by a bus” rule. Would I regret spending my life this way if I were to get hit by a bus next week or next year? And the important corollary: Does this path lead to a life I will be happy with and proud of in 10 or 20 years if I don’t get hit by a bus.

10. Don’t try to be great. Being great involves luck and other circumstances beyond your control. The less you think about being great, the more likely it is to happen. And if it doesn’t, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being solid.

Good luck and congratulations.

— Adapted from “10½ Things No Commencement Speaker Has Ever Said,” by Charles Wheelan. To be published May 7 by W.W. Norton & Co.

A version of this article appeared April 28, 2012, on page C3 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: 10 Things Your Commencement Speaker Won’t Tell You.