This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

Moving into Chief of Staff from Operations/Project & Prod Management - Reflecting without 'padding' on resume

Charlie138·Aug 31, 2021

TIA Elpha Community!

As the title may suggest, I'm looking to continue my career trajectory and moving into a Chief of Staff role from a few decades of Operations/Product & Project Management, and I'm not getting any bites.

The funny/ironic thing is that I've pretty much been a CoS in all my roles, working alongside founders/CPOs and CEOs of the startups and companies I've worked with, just never been given the title. I've actually taken over a COO role, only to have the C Suite team decide it doesn't need a title, ouch.

I don't have a traditional educational background, but I do have the experience. I currently adore my job but ultimately know that there is a ceiling for both salary and growth. I am not in a rush to move by any means and want to grow my own skills while keeping an eye out.

Level up? Any recommended courses? Revamp the resume? (it's currently actually geared towards CoS roles but without the titles). I've read all the posts on Elpha, thank you @jessiessummons @vanessahutchinson @sallymack @susana @Batul @ashleywilliams @brookeberns @kuan @MaddyNiebauer for your other replies in other threads! (and apologize for tag bombing you).

I feel like this is a somewhat vague ask, so if any q's ask away. I appreciate fearless feedback!

tanmayisai·Sep 01, 2021

My top advice here would be to network. Find CEO's hiring chief of staff, and try to talk to them or someone at the company. Try Linkedin/Twitter/warm intros. It may help you get further into the process than submitting a resume

SuzRush·Sep 01, 2021

Hey Charlie!Agree with Tanmayi - I think if you're not getting any bites on your resume, you should try to change up your sourcing method for roles. Reach out directly to CEOs that you want to work for, and be really candid with the fact that you have an atypical background on paper, but you're going to be good in the role for x y z reasons. I would honestly even reach out to CEOs who aren't explicitly hiring for that role - you never know who hasn't posted the JD yet :) And of course, talking to CoSs at other companies might help - they might be able to make additional intros for you.

Charlie138·Sep 01, 2021

Thank you both @SuzRush and @tanmayisai! I appreciate it and can use the outreach to hone up some soft skills in the meantime. I've never been a wizard at the 'sales' / 'cold outreach' and could do with some levelling up (even though I'm supporting Biz Dev right now too!) If anyone in the Elpha community has some good resources on how to effectively 'cut through the noise' on Linkedin and other platforms, I'm all for it! The Muse had a great article on crafting a great cover letter a few years back and I found that to be immensely helpful. (my version of 'leave advice, take advice!') 😊https://www.themuse.com/advice/sales-cover-letter-example-annie-breckling

jaschana·Sep 01, 2021

Hey Charlie,I'd be more than happy to talk you through some ideas about how you can cut through the noise and networking with people without feeling awkward / salesy. I have a few tested ways but might end up sitting here a long time writing it out haha! Feel free to message me directly if that's something you'd be interested in.

tanmayisai·Sep 02, 2021

Here's an old Elpha post that might be helpful! https://elpha.com/posts/q1e9vtpa/how-i-used-networking-to-transition-into-software-engineering

Charlie138·Sep 02, 2021

Awesome, thank you so much @tanmayisai!

annamiller·Sep 15, 2021

Hi Charlie, nice to meet you on here. Echoing the other replies, cold outreach to CEOs you might want to work with or to their Head of Talent can be a great way to go.Also, sounds like you are more than qualified and revising some wording on the resume can land you some interviews. You are free to use any titles you want, because at the end of the day, no one is checking and if you did the actual job, use the actual title. You can say PM/CoS, PM/Operations as the title, or CoS if that was the actual role, even if the company you worked for did not want to acknowledge it, that's not your fault. So add the title if that's what you did!Also, happy to share a resume format that can help you get more replies, if you'd like, as it includes a more personal approach which generally grabs people's attentions.DM me or happy to chat https://calendly.com/createnewpaths/intro