SOLWorld

Sharing and building Solution Focused practice in organisations

I am in a career transition mode and searching for a new employer. The recession or the "jobless recovery" (as economists label it) has been somewhat slow.

Rather than getting discouraged, I want to add a dash a optimism and hope and figure out how I can use a SF approach for my job searching process.

I have talked to a couple of recruiters who opined that the tranditional resume no longer works in this labor market. Instead they recommend that a candidate should position himself or herself to vividly demonstrate to an employer how (s)he can solve the potential employer's "problem".

A related aspect of my overarching question is whether it is possible to reframe a resume to be solution focused.

Thanks for sharing any insight as well as any leads to employers who might be hiring.

Ramu

Views: 206

Replies to This Discussion

Dear Ramu - yes, to "reframe" a resume (or a CV) in a solution focused way is an interesting idea to think about...
And, I also ask myself: How is it possible to recognize, that a CV is "SF"?
Does such a CV (written for a specific job offer) demonstrate how (s)he can solve the potential employer's "problem"?
Well, this might IMHO be a difference compared with "traditional" CV's. And, on the other hand, this is not "new". To describe (in a short way) how (s)he can solve the potential employer's "problem" is usually (in my experience in Switzerland and Germany) part of the "covering letter", not of the CV.

But it seems, that there are some important different "traditions" in different countries. So, e.g., I read in http://www.jobera.com/job-resumes-cvs/international-resumes-cvs/uni... this:
"In the United States, the term resume is used instead of CV. In short, the resume is an American-style CV, which details the most recent job first and highlights the main aspects of your career. It is less structured, in a narrative style and more brief than a CV. It is also more subjective. The main feature of United States resume is the objective and/or goal of your career. Clear, precise and operational “Career Objective” should use short and punchy sentences filled with action verbs and power words. It contains information about the function, the level of responsibility and the type of enterprise you would like to work for. Follow the career objective with a “Work Experience”. Bear in mind, that looking for a job in the USA, is much like selling a product. You are selling yourself, so again use power words and action verbs that describe your achievements and accomplishments i.e. experienced, managed, developed, coordinated etc."

In Germany a "typical" CV is different, based on http://www.jobera.com/job-resumes-cvs/international-resumes-cvs/ger...:
"The German CV is always in chronological order - ending with the most recent job. Typewrite your German CV on one to maximum two pages in A4 format, depending on the length of your work experience. Germans respect perfectionism in all areas of business, so your CV should be concise, precise as possible and clear.
Having work experience (including apprenticeships) is one of the main selection criteria in Germany. List responsibilities you had in each job with dates, their locations and your titles - emphasizing areas relevant to the position for which you are applying.
Make your CV more effective by providing examples to illustrate your achievements. Use power words and action verbs such as contributed, organized, demonstrated, trained, managed, developed, coordinated etc. Bullet point these at the start of a sentence for maximum impact.
Make sure that there are no “gaps” in your German CV. However, if “gaps” exists, ensure to mention the reason. Carefully consider what to leave out of your CV and exclude anything that might give prospective employers a chance to discriminate against you."


Maybe a good "SF Approach" to write a resume or a CV might be to respect the "traditions" of the different countries instead of writing it in a "SF stile" which is not in line with that "traditions".

How far is my comment useful for you?

Good luck!
Hans-Peter
Did you ask yourself about the outcome of this job search before beginning? Wouldn't a solution-focused approach focus on the outcome and then work backwards to how you achieved it?

Rodney

RSS

Badge

Loading…

Notes

Jumpstart into Solution Focus

You want to learn more about "Solution Focus"?

You prefer a "step by step" introduction instead to start with reading some
voluminous books?

You would appreciate to have a complete "helicopter view" on SF after the first step…

Continue

Created by Hans-Peter Korn Dec 25, 2009 at 10:25am. Last updated by Mark McKergow Nov 3, 2014.

Making the most of SOLWorld.ning.com

If you’ve just arrived at SOLWorld.org (the SOLWorld ning group), you may be looking at all the features and wondering where to start.  This note might be helpful…

 …

Continue

Created by Mark McKergow Jun 3, 2008 at 4:55pm. Last updated by Jesper H Christiansen Aug 22, 2017.

Open Space at SOLworld conferences

SOLworld Open Space instructions as it was used at the 2011 conference, by Mark McKergow

Continue

Created by Katalin Hankovszky Dec 30, 2015 at 10:18pm. Last updated by Katalin Hankovszky Dec 30, 2015.

SOLWorld Resources

Welcome to the SOLWorld Resources section.  This part of the site features information about the SOLWorld network, our past events and materials from our previous website.  It will take some time to update all the information, so thanks for your patience. 

Information in this part of the site is 'read-only'.  If you want to start discussions, please go to the Forum or Groups. …

Continue

Created by Mark McKergow May 12, 2008 at 4:08pm. Last updated by Mark McKergow Dec 2, 2022.

© 2024   Created by Mark McKergow.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service