Selling Oneself to Different Audiences

I was looking over my resume (does anyone know how to code accent marks so that computers other than Macs can read them? I'm tired of feeling like I'm writing "ree-zoom" instead of "reh-zoo-may") this morning and thinking about what I've emphasized. I was trying to see it through the eyes of an employer, in other words.

What I saw was confusion, so I tried to figure out what exactly made it give that impression. I think it boils down to three things: first, parts of it look like an academic c.v. still, so that sends mixed messages. Second, it looks very high-powered for an entry-level position -- especially of the types I'll likely get as a temp. Third, there is virtually no formal employment experience to correlate with those skills. Over-qualified and under-experienced, apparently. Heh.

One message was that I was in possession of fairly specialized knowledge of research procedures, archive types, and source materials. Yet my listing of employment didn't seem to jibe with this -- it was a litany of reader/assistant/instructor/lecturer/professor. (Plus none of those lasted for more than 3 years.) So: first change: invent a job title to deal with the research end of things: how about "Freelance Historian -- Research and Analysis"?

Next was a variety of technical skills -- knowledge of computer programs from the old stand-bys MSWord and Excel to a handful of graphics and database programs (including web design) to more specialized ones like ArcView for GIS; hands-on technical skills related to photography, drawing and digital image manipulation; and this is all cross-platform -- I prefer Mac but I can make PCs dance if not dance and sing. Again, to an outsider, there is no clear connection between this and my employment record. How do I leap this gap? Do I write an explanatory paragraph or do I dream up another new job title? Would something like "Information Management Specialist -- Self-Employed" work?

A related section deals with my writing and analytical skills, notably the papers I have written and my book reviews. Shall I call myself something like "Independent Book Reviewer" or would this still work as part of one of the previous two?

(The dodgy thing about inventing these titles is, unfortunately, that although I did do these things as part of my professional life, no one has actually ever paid me for them. At least for the book reviews I can claim to have been working for a "client.")

Then there is a cluster of skills related to presenting information to an audience: experience with PowerPoint, SmartCart computer projection systems, slide projectors, boardwork, good speaking skills, several papers presented at conferences, not to mention all the time in the classroom. Here the link to my employment record is more easily seen; I can probably leave this alone.

Another clump centers around teaching and evaluative skills: curricular design; assessing student work; career counseling; designing exams, assignments and instructional materials; mentoring. Again, pretty straightforward, though I'd need to explain why a particular employer would find this useful.

A related grouping deals with what could be called management skills: overseeing student graders, directing class projects, mediating tensions within student project teams, managing workshops, overseeing student presentations and classroom dynamics, monitoring both large group discussions and multiple small group discussions. Again, the list of previous positions held should fit in.

What's rather weird about this list, I realize, is that it's only the last three clusters that are the ones I've been paid to do; the first ones are all things that I've pursued on my own out of interest or desire to make myself more marketable. Hmm...