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Jeffrey  writes:  
I had an interview on Jan. 9. Then, after the interview, I sent a thank-you letter on Jan. 10. The hiring manager gave me some reply as follows: "Thanks for coming and talking with us. I think the entire interviewing team was impressed with your enthusiasm and that quality will certainly play a factor in our decision… As I mentioned to you, we will likely be able to provide you more information about your status soon.”

That’s the bad news. The good news is that so far you have done everything perfectly in seeking this job. It sounds as though you interviewed well, you wrote an immediate thank-you letter, and you even have gotten some feedback about how you did.

What’s your next step? Call the hiring manager – starting today. Since you were given no definite timetable as to when the employer is going to fill the position, you should take the initiative and keep in contact. You will not sound desperate – you will sound interested – if you do it correctly. In your follow-up phone call, do not whine about how long its taking to fill the position or that it is inconvenient to you or that you really, really want the job. Instead, simply restate your interest in the position, talk about your fit with the position, and stress how you are ready to make an immediate contribution. If you have some news, such as completion of more training or career development, share that as well.

Job-seekers must follow-up all job leads. Be aggressive and assertive, but not rude, annoying, or sniveling.

Read more in my article published on Quintessential Careers, Following Up All Job Leads: Don’t Wait by the Phone.

The next step has to be for you to gather more information about the field, to build your network of contacts, assess your skills and accomplishments (to see how many will transfer from your current career to event-planning), consider additional training/career development, and gain experience.

There are numerous print and online resources to gather information about event-planning, but the best method (once you have a basic understanding of the field) is conducting informational interviews with people working in jobs you want to have. And not only will you learn vital inside information from these interviews, you will also be establishing a network in your new career field.

You’ll need to read about transferable skills – those skills that are universally used – to see what skills carry over from your current career. From your informational interviews, you may also discover you need additional training/professional development.

Finally, you’ll need to gain experience. I suggest – if you are currently employed – volunteering with a few caterers and event planners in your area. You’ll learn the ropes while gaining valuable experience and more network contacts. You could also spread the word to your personal network of friends and family that you are now an event planner and ready to tackle any job, regardless of how small.

I am required to turn in a resume for a school district with whom I am applying. I have been in the same type of position for 9 years, doing relatively the same type of work (counseling). Since each of the jobs I have held have virtually the same description, how do I address that under the work experience?

The key element of resumes you are missing is that a resume is not some statement of job duties or descriptions. A resume is about showing how you took a job and made it your own – and helped the employer in the process. A resume highlights your key accomplishments in every job. And even when you have held similar jobs over a long period, you should still have quantifiable accomplishments in every position.

So, you certainly could make a functional resume, where the job-seeker chooses about three broad functional skills areas, but what would you list under the functional categories? Not job duties. But I think a standard chronological resume would work fine for you as long as you take the time to sit back and examine your accomplishments in each job.

Here are some Quintessential Careers resume resources that you may find useful:

To get some help and guidance in identifying your accomplishments, check out this Job-Seeker Accomplishments Worksheet.

Evaluate your current resume with this Resume Critique Worksheet.

For some general tips on improving your resume, read this article: Ten Easy Ways to Improve Your Resume.

Be realistic. Unless your skills are in such high demand, don’t expect employers to jump at giving you a second chance. The good news for you is that your incarceration was for such a short time that your skills and experience are current. It’s much harder for job-seekers who served much longer jail terms to regain the edge in their former careers.

Have patience. It doesn’t help that today’s job market is still so bad, and that information technology job-seekers without a record are facing long job-searches. You may get lucky, but be prepared. And you might take a look at smaller companies, which are often more flexible than larger ones. But keep in mind that you may need to take a survival job, switch careers, or get additional training or certifications before you land another full-time professional job.

Practice your pitch. Remember that you never want to bring up your record, but you must be prepared to explain it when it does arise. Use mock interviews to practice explaining the facts behind your situation. Be honest – with yourself and the prospective employer – and be sure to focus on what you’ve learned and why it would never happen again .

I would also recommend reconnecting with your network of contacts, working with a career counselor (perhaps from your former college), and working or volunteering part-time to get new experience on your resume and dissolve that 6-month gap of prison time.

Dr. Randall S. Hansen is currently Webmaster of Quintessential Careers.

Dr. Hansen is an associate professor of marketing at the School of Business Administration, Stetson University. He has been a published career expert for the last 10 years and an employer and consultant with hiring/firing decisions for the past 15 years.

Through his experience as a professor of marketing, Dr. Hansen uses proven marketing techniques and applies them to job-hunting. He is currently working on such a book. Some of his work can be seen at his personal Web site.

He and Katharine Hansen co-wrote the very successful job-hunting book, Dynamic Cover Letters, published by Ten Speed Press. You can order copies from Barnes and Noble of this cover letter bible. He is also author of several career-related magazine and journal articles.

Finally, Dr. Hansen has been an employer and has firsthand experience in the hiring process. He also stays active in the field by reading magazine and journal articles and by talking with employers on a regular basis.