I recently coached a client who was an Enrolled Nurse and had become redundant after 20 years with the one employer. “Joan” was devastated and unsure of what to do next. Her resumé had not been updated for over 10 years, and she did not have super proficient computing skills.
So, after meeting with Joan and asking loads of questions about her work, knowledge and experience, I prepared a modern resumé. She loved it and asked me to print out five copies for her (that’s because her printer at home was not working). I was curious to know why Joan did not want to email her brand new resumé to a healthcare recruiter. Her response was “I door knocked to get my current job and I will do it again because it worked in the past”.
Joan was indeed persistent and set a goal to walk into five Nursing Homes within her local area and drop off her printed resumé. I kept in touch with Joan over the following few weeks, as I was keen to learn how her non-digital approach worked.
Guess what she landed an interview! She was contacted one day after submitting her resumé. The job was not advertised, the organisation needed a part-time Enrolled Nurse to start in January, and she was the perfect candidate.
There is merit to face-to-face introductions when searching for a new job. Don’t be afraid to walk into a company and submit your resumé over the counter. In every moment of life, opportunities are limitless. So be courageous and determined and take a leaf out Joan’s book.
PS: Joan is loving her new job too!