The Garden

Now that I’m thinking about what’s important and unique to showcase, and have some strategy – it’s now time to tackle presentation.  A.k.a…my resume.  Kathleen, Jim and Tara at Career Investments are not just resume writers – they have expertise in highlighting what’s important, and creating impact in every aspect of the job search.

There are a few important things Kathleen told me to know about resumes: (1) A resume is like a piece of art, so naturally everyone is going to have an opinion.  (2) It’s really easy to overload a resume.  People don’t just go to school for school anymore – you better be involved in activities too!  But, overload the resume and you’ll overload the people reading it.  (3) A resume should be treated like a garden.  As Jim once said in a presentation, you have to clean out the weeds and shrubs so that the prize roses can be seen.  Not to say that activities shouldn’t be put on a resume, but it’s how you design it.  You don’t want your weeds coming before the roses.

The first thing Kathleen had me do in this meeting, was write down three adjectives or phrases someone just looking at my resume would think.  Then she had me write down three adjectives or phrases I wanted people receiving it to think.  Then she wrote down three things she wanted to highlight.  Of the nine, she then had me pick three.  I chose high-potential, award-winning presenter at a national competition, and advertising agency plus corporate marketing experience.  They all happened to be hers.  Based on that, we rearranged my resume to feature the roses.  We didn’t get rid of anything, but we made sure the roses came before the trimmed shrubs.

Oh! I forgot to tell you guys the other day, but another thing Kathleen has me working on is un-packaging common words or phrases to really paint a picture for someone.  The first thing she had me un-package was the phrase Having it All Together.  What did that really mean to me?  That exercise worked because I’ve found myself saying that “I have the ability to express ideas and concerns”, rather than just saying “I’m a good communicator”.  That way, I give people an idea of what I’m really saying – and it sounds much more impressive.  Steps in the right direction!