Most people look forward to creating and even updating their resume like they look forward to having a colonoscopy. They are similar in the that they both need to be done and done with some regularity when you reach a certain age. What I hope I can offer you is some advice to make the whole process a bit easier. I think the biggest problem that haunts all of us is that we will end our efforts with little more than a blank page which only confirms our earlier thoughts that we are unqualified for any career know to man.
Let me put your fears to rest, we all have some skills and experiences that will help us land that big job or at least the job that will eventually get us to that big job. The first task is to put pen to paper and start listing what you’ve been doing for the last 10 to 20 years. For some of you that are later in your years, the idea of writing a list that long will make you scatter for all the paper you can muster. Then for those that have not been as experienced, you may become discouraged with the vast amount of white space that is staring at you after completing your list in less time then it takes to find a piece of paper.
The good news is that if you’ve been alive you’ve been doing something that has required skills. It’s a matter of looking at the not-so-obvious and finding the skills that transfer to the job you want. For example, moms who have been at home with the kids for several years may think they have nothing to offer. Yet, remember all those groups you’ve been forced to participate in because of your kids or the ones you joined to get some “mommy time?” Well they can easily show off your ability to multi-task, organize, market, and sell just about anything. Employers don’t care that you stayed-at-home with the kids if you can show them that your brain was engaged while doing it.
Writing your resume can be a tough task because it forces us to take a look at ourselves and see just how much we’ve been able to accomplish at any point in our life. I’ll take you further into the process in the coming weeks and before you know it you would even hire yourself!
Let me put your fears to rest, we all have some skills and experiences that will help us land that big job or at least the job that will eventually get us to that big job. The first task is to put pen to paper and start listing what you’ve been doing for the last 10 to 20 years. For some of you that are later in your years, the idea of writing a list that long will make you scatter for all the paper you can muster. Then for those that have not been as experienced, you may become discouraged with the vast amount of white space that is staring at you after completing your list in less time then it takes to find a piece of paper.
The good news is that if you’ve been alive you’ve been doing something that has required skills. It’s a matter of looking at the not-so-obvious and finding the skills that transfer to the job you want. For example, moms who have been at home with the kids for several years may think they have nothing to offer. Yet, remember all those groups you’ve been forced to participate in because of your kids or the ones you joined to get some “mommy time?” Well they can easily show off your ability to multi-task, organize, market, and sell just about anything. Employers don’t care that you stayed-at-home with the kids if you can show them that your brain was engaged while doing it.
Writing your resume can be a tough task because it forces us to take a look at ourselves and see just how much we’ve been able to accomplish at any point in our life. I’ll take you further into the process in the coming weeks and before you know it you would even hire yourself!