Forging a Career Path - When the Path is Unclear

Not having a clear career path when entering the job market can create a fuzzy resume. A resume should be clear, and written to be geared towards the job in which you desire. However, an unclear career path can show on your general resume by seeming untargeted and will most likely branch off into many different, unrelated experiences. Your uncertainty will affect the way you write your resume because you will have to be extra cautious to make your resume appear organized and focused. 

In "How to Write a Professional Knockout Resume to Differentiate Yourself," Joseph Akpan and Charles Notar remind readers that “some employers  will  scan  a  resume  for only  a  few  seconds  to  see  if  the  applicant is  the  best  fit  for  the  job” (881). And for this reason, an obscure, unfocused resume from an unclear career path can cause it to be easily tossed out.  When in a situation where an unclear career path is associated, the objective needs to be extra concentrated and appealing.  Akpan and Notar encourage readers to “make  sure  to  target  your  objective  to the  job  position  in  which  you  are  applying, [because] good,  thoughtful  objectives  will  attract  a recruiter' s  attention  and  may  open  the  door for  the  interview” (884). The writer must also be careful when providing the employer with work experiences, because it isn’t hard for an employer to notice employment gaps and consistent job hopping. Pick and choose work experiences that will complement and fit the job in which you are applying for. 

Sometimes it may seem like the more work experiences you have, the better chance you have of getting the job, but that isn’t always the case. Resume writing with an unclear career path requires extra careful writing skills to keep the resume sharpened.

Works Cited

Akpan, Joseph, and Charles E. Notar. "How To Write A Professional Knockout Resume To Differentiate Yourself." College Student Journal 46.4 (2012): 880-891. ERIC. Web. 8 June 2015.