ClarkinHawaii

It's really a tough call. I would think the average shop owner who's struggling (aren't they all?) would read your resume and immediately conclude that you are out of his price range (overqualified). Also, I think this is the time of the year when they're making their plans for cutting back staff for the winter. Perhaps January or February would be a better time of the year for job-hunting in the retail bicycle field. Also I think someone with your extensive experience is going to have to aim for the very best shops where they MIGHT appreciate your abilities/experience and be able to afford you. Also you need to include dates for your various employments and activities. And finally, MOST IMPORTANT, you need to give a convincing explanation for why you have given up a high-paying (?) job field for one which is , well, not high-paying.

Just my 2 cents. Another thought-- you would probably do well to network nationwide (as you are doing by making your availability known on this thread) since you may need to relocate for what you want/deserve.

One more thought-- you can turn this experience of the past 6 weeks into a big + on your resume by showing it as a experimentation/reorientation period (since you've been out of the field for awhile). In other words, you wanted to be SURE that this was the right field for you to be in at this time, so you tried it out again on an experimental basis; and, even though that particular shop was not a good match with you, now you are REALLY SURE that it's what you want to do, and you're still very proficient.

ClarkinHawaii

Some more thoughts.

If you can bring yourself to do it, it would be very helpful for you to go back to the shop-owner you just quit and humbly seek feedback as to why you were not offered a position. To do well in life, we have to understand our weak points (we all have them) and work on them. Humble pie is good for the soul.

Also, you need to immediately find some other full-time work in the bike field, volunteering at a coop or whatever, so you don't have dead time on your resume.

Also, look on the positive side--although a resume is a PITA; once you have a good one written you will be able to reach out to the whole country without leaving Manhattan!

fietsbob

I-BOB Forum has this Guy, in ABQ NM, posting a lot , writes resumes as his Day Job, Resume Specialties

loimpact

Tom,

I must've missed this thread the first time around. Bummer about the first shop!!! It sounded like it was going to be really cool!!

Business owners are (more often than not, imho) a stranger breed than usual. The older I get, the more I wonder if that almost *has* to be the case. (though I wonder why not)

I admire your ability to do this. I'd be too chicken to drop my income so significantly but I don't know if that's wise or foolish. Depends on the POV, methinks. (If my daily mental health went from B- to A+ but income went from A- to C+, is there really a difference?)

Anyway, I hope you can make this work. I think you'd be able to offer a lot of value. Perhaps (just a thought) you could negotiate with the new owner on some type of commission/profit sharing scenario where your work would afford itself & take some worry off of said owner trying to figure out how to pay for you???

wrk101

Tom: I have found some businesses are small by choice, but many are small because they are poorly run. Finding a shop that is the former and not the latter is key.

I do know that most managers do not really want advice on how to improve their business. They may ask for it, but keep it short, really short (maybe one or two suggestions, and nothing that requires them to totally change strategy). Get to know them really well first.

Its unfortunate, but many people are stuck financially doing what pays well instead of what they enjoy. I called this period of my working career the "mercenary years".

On the resume, I would tone down anything that infers age. Instead of 29 years experience in a field, say greater than 10 years.

Also consider multiple resumes, tailored for the job you are seeking. Then adapt the goal/objective to match the job. Find out what they need, and tailor your discussion to how your skills would match those needs.

Any experience with some of the modern bike fit systems?

wheelreason

I don't know how it works while munching macadamians and enjoying a Kona blend, but when scarfing a bagel with a schmeer, and catching the A train, that's not good advise...

RolandArthur

Hi Tom,

Some ideas, not really answers:

As you are making a huge shift in career, write a letter to accompany your résumé. Remove ¨Objective¨ from the résumé and put it in that letter and really explain why you want to make this move.

I was taught a résumé should be chronological, listing work experience and educations. I can understand that this is somewhat difficult in this situation. It is necessary to prove the skills you list. If you have relevant diploma´s add them and refer to them in your résumé.

A two second search on the internet reveals your work-history which might scare some possible employers, you do seem somewhat over qualified. This makes it really important to justify the career switch.

Would it be an idea to write a business plan, go to a bank/crowd funding and start a business for yourself?

dscheidt

Chronological resumes make sense if you're looking for a job doing the same thing you've been doing (or essentially the same thing, like going from being a programmer to management or something), or you're a new college grade. They are entirely the wrong thing if you're looking to go from being a computer programmer to a bike mechanic, or any similar big unrelated thing.

Remember, the point of a resume isn't to get you a job. It's to get you an interview, which is what you get a job. You definitely want a cover letter that explains why you'd want to be a bike mechanic, instead of a bit mechanic, and how your experience and skills (meeting deadlines, project management, prioritizing tasks, ...) will help you in the shop.

shoota 

"curly brackets" are called braces.

noglider 

Wow, folks! I deeply appreciate your thoughtfulness. I can't respond fully now, and I will later.

I've been underqualified and overqualified for all the jobs I've applied for in the IT field in the last couple of years. Underqualified in te sense that my skills are not 100% up to date, overqualified in that my years of experience scare employers into thinking I must be expensive or greedy. I guess this is my welcome to my 50's.

I've learned that when I like what I'm doing, I do a mind-bogglingly amazing job of it. But when I don't like it, I do such a bad job that I look stupid or mentally ill. I need to be very careful about the jobs I apply for.

In the latter category, I don't count the last six weeks. I did an amazingly good job, and I had a grand time at it. The problem was that the owner want ready to make a decision, and I think that's more about him than about me.
@RolandArthur, that's food for so much thought! Thank you!

More later. I'm sitting in the mall, typing on my phone, waiting for my lovely wife and my beloved mother-in-law.

noglider 

One idea I plan to pursue is to visit bike shops and offer to automate their POS and inventory systems if they haven't done so yet.

reptilezs

if you are going for a mechanic position i would do a skills based resume. list what you can do. hydro brakes, wheel building, suspension, di2, campy eps. be brief about the computer work but offer it in the interview or later. lots of shops still use walking bird paper forms which is awful. we use litespeed cloud pos here. it is ok but the performance is lagging. slow response times often when it querys the cloud

wrk101

I like this idea a lot: Bicycle relevant skills and experience.

reptilezs

if you are good with diagnostic skills i would list that as well.you can cross reference it with your IT stuff. instead of an objective write a branding statement. you can include the IT bit in the branding statement. here is my branding statement when i considered a career change and moving to mechanical work not related to bikes. "A university graduate with 4 years of experience as a mechanic. Looking to apply my troubleshooting, diagnostic and customer service skills in a manufacturing or technician role". my resume is skills based then i have some work history thrown in