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Advancing
Yourself: by Gloria Reisman The question I am most often asked by consultants and permanent job seekers is: "How can I get more money and more challenging projects?" Take a look at a route that I recently mapped out for a senior consultant. Maybe you can use some of these ideas to create a roadmap of your own. Consultant Profile A senior training developer, instructional designer and technical writer with over 20 years in the financial services industry, this consultant has managed projects and people in both permanent and consulting positions. Step 1. Analyze resume & portfolio Reisman’s analysis: This consultant has a strong background in the development and delivery of soft skills training and end user training for proprietary software; good project management skills excellent people skills; less technical in document publishing, Web development, and online training development. Reisman’s Recommendations: This consultant should explore more technology-based projects that draw on her background and strengths, such as:
Reisman's Roadmap: Review projects and experience in your portfolio to identify your major strengths. This reveals the types of project you will find challenging and enjoyable. What jumps out at people from your current resume? Is this accurate? Does it convey what you consider to be your true strengths? Step 2. Show resumes to trusted clients and colleagues, write a strong resume summary Reisman’s analysis: Obtaining feedback on resumes ensures that the document highlights the consultant's added value and expertise. A resume should capture the consultant's uniqueness, and "position" him or her using a resume profile or summary. Reisman’s Recommendations: Here are some examples of resume summaries: INFORMATION DESIGNER Top-notch technical expert with extensive experience in information development and delivery, with a knack for organizing and simplifying complex technical information. Specialist in designing solutions for tough documentation problems using a wide variety of existing and emerging documentation technologies. Flexible resource that can do interface design one day, help coding the next, and then jump to website development without missing a beat. Trainer with formal classroom instruction experience as well as custom one-on-one mentoring in FrameMaker, RoboHelp, Doc-to-Help, and Windows help. LEADER IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Innovative, pragmatic, successful manager with a twenty year progressive career path in manufacturing and service organizations. Unique combination of financial acumen, and operational perspective. Extensive system proficiency, expertise in providing cost effective, and operationally efficient solutions. Self-starter, motivated by continual challenge, able to inspire, influence and communicate effectively. Reisman's Roadmap: Include a summary in your resume that communicates the special skills, knowledge and experience you bring to an organization. Step 3. Identify your goals Reisman’s analysis: To get what you want out of your next project, and position yourself for future projects, you have to know where you want to go. Reisman’s Recommendations: Goals for this consultant:
Reisman's Roadmap: Determine which goals you want to pursue based on your priorities and your interests. Step 4. For each goal, plan a strategy and take action: Reisman’s Analysis Do a "gap analysis" of the consultant's resume. In other words, which skills are required for each target position, which skills does she already have, and which additional skills must she gain? Reisman’s Recommendations: Leverage past work to gain ground in the field of Knowledge Management. With more and more companies trying to capture their organizational intelligence, this consultant can use her experience as a technical writer to assist clients in this process. Example: One of her projects is working as a project manager for a national mortgage lending organization on a project to collect, organize, and standardize their policies and procedures. This project dovetails nicely with the broader field of knowledge management and could be readily recast into the "language" of Knowledge Management.
Example: Here are some "buzz" words from one of our Knowledge Management contract jobs: Title: Knowledge Management Project Manager -- Content standards & Quality Assurance Company: High tech direct B-B sales organization Responsibilities:
(examples: product descriptions, proposals, presentations)
Skills and experience required: Excellent writing skills, project management, and facilitation skills; detail oriented; Conceptual thinker, information architect--able to understand the big picture of information management; Strong sense of web design and information delivery via the web; Experience with the sales culture (understanding how sales people think and what they need to be successful); Understanding of XML, information architecture, content management. Training development and online documentation experience a plus. Tools: HTML, MS Word, PowerPoint
Reisman’s Roadmap: Review your resume frequently to highlight new skills and add "buzz" words for your field. Keep up to date with pay ranges for different types of projects in your field. Step 5. Research resources to learn or keep abreast of a new field Reisman's Analysis: This consultant is less technical in document publishing, Web development, and online training development. Reisman’s Recommendations: e-Learning is a HOT topic! If the consultant gains experience in this area, prospects for future projects in this genre increase. The consultant needs to:
Example: Our local TEMPO group, www.tempo-train.org presented 2 recent topics on e-Learning, "The Learning Organization: Has its time REALLY come?" presented by Element K; and "Effective Web-Based Distance Learning: Oxymoron or Reality", a case study presented by Insync Training. A NYC vendor company recently presented a free e-Learning introductory program as a marketing technique with topics on:
Some good resources are trade magazines, conferences, vendor websites, and financial industry analysts:
Reisman's Roadmap: Step 6. Learn new tools and techniques Reisman's Analysis: Multimedia development is a new technique this consultant could readily add to her skill set. She is well-versed in the instructional design process and wants to build a knowledge base and credibility in this area. Reisman's Recommendation: I recommend that she look at Allen Communication’s website. They have a demo for their product, Designer’s Edge, which is a tool for automating the multimedia development process. She should compare their multimedia development process with her instructional design process. This can be found at www.allencomm.com Reisman's Roadmap: Many vendors offer product demos or online tutorials. Get familiar with the latest tools to develop a working vocabulary. Professional organizations, such as ASTD www.astd.org and STC www.stc-va.org sponsor workshops on specific topics that could be of interest. Go investigate! If you don’t find what you want, organize it yourself - you may be able to get a discount for everyone. Step 7. Circulate and Network Reisman's Analysis: This consultant, like many, has been somewhat isolated in her position. Professional organizations offer many opportunities for learning new skills and staying up to date in the field. Reisman's Recommendation: To meet other trainers and technical writers this consultant should research and get involved in one or more professional organizations of her choice, such as:
Reisman's Roadmap: Maybe you have also felt somewhat isolated in your position as a consultant.
Summary Since each person begins with their own unique set of skills, experiences, interests, and goals, the roadmap that each person creates for themselves will also be unique. Good luck creating your roadmap to your destination! About the author Gloria Reisman is principal and marketing director of Reisman Consulting Group, Inc., a consulting services and placement company based in Philadelphia, PA. Reisman provides experts to Fortune 1000 companies in the areas of technical writing and documentation, online help, marketing communications, interface design, web usability, training development and instructional design. Reisman lectures and coaches independent consultants on marketing techniques to reach more clients, how to maximize their time, and ways to achieve their business goals. Copyright © 2000 Reisman Consulting Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reisman Consulting
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