When A Resume Brings You to New Worlds (Mindshift 5 of 5)

“When I first saw my new resume, I had to step out into the courtyard here & walk around – after years of being pigeon-holed, not having the tools to validate all I’d done, it showed me my heart and my values that have driven my work - so hugely healing, empowering, gratifying.”

Are you like this 20+ year professor? After investing $200+K in your education, is your career what you dreamed of - does your work reflect your heart?

Further, did you imagine a world of 545 applications, 8.344% response rate, 30 interviews a month to win a new job? (typical automated job search result from a competitor.)

Or did you dream you’d be 1 of the Top 10 chosen to interview out of 800 candidates, as a 20+ Sr. PM client last week. Or like another picked out of 600 for a CA county job. A newly relocated PM only had to apply to 12 jobs before she got an offer which she accepted. Another relocating to S.F. is in his 2nd job / 2nd new sector since arriving Xmas 2022...

What if your resume could introduce you to new worlds you may have already been inhabiting, but unconsciously?

Once when I ran a managerial recruitment campaign, we received 700+ applicants, many of them following the mass targeting game; we even received resumes from landscapers. My ED client asked me to ignore any application unless they showed they knew something about the firm.

So, those more specialized or senior, may not want to *tarnish their reps by playing a commodity / numbers game – they’d rather appear as the premium brand they've invested so much time (1/3 of our lives) and money?to become. Perhaps there's even a specific place you'd like to apply your skills.

You possibly already know that a resume (or interview answer) is an projection / picture of a view you have in your mind about what you have done. & typically it may be missing key information & sending signals you may not clearly see. To help clear your view, let’s review the top 5 career mastery mind-shifts.

First, mind-shift 1, the job as employment contract, the job description as a request for a proposal. So, at the very least your resume is a brochure or proposal. And as we rise, it should include a credible bit of your special sauce – how you approach things differently. More than *just a responsibility list, what customers / domains do you best serve? What use cases? What big wins?

Often clients actually knit a patchwork series of jobs into a unique & progressive career. And see their authentic brand once they up-level their resume to the business cases.

Next, mind-shift 2, because of the 180 cognitive biases we are all under, your resume must be a credible cognitive argument of how you see more clearly than the rest and get better results. Since 1 of the main cognitive biases is to dismiss anything that does not line up with your own vision of the world, your resume must be hyper-engaging in new worlds in less than 6 seconds.

Perhaps you, like my clients, have even had to answer Tell Me Why You for this job – in 140 characters.

Hyper-speed engagement for a potential multi-million dollar contract is complicated by the/a 3d mind-shift that we all think are great storytellers when rather we are fantastic story-consumers & self-expressers. As discussed in compelling stories, narrating a story usually requires a 4-year English degree or a 2-year MPA.?We haven’t had before a process that boils it down to 5 to 10 hours. Now we do and you can access my hyper-MBA process.

Fourth mind shift, Choosing quality (12 apps) v. quantity (545 apps) job search approach relates to your career level, your risk profile, your generation, your time and your budget – and your approach reflects in a larger way, how you value your career and talents.

Now for the 5th mind-shift. Not only is a resume a brochure, a proposal, a vision (or lack of) revealer, and show how you see or feel about your career. It can introduce you to new worlds, as for my client at the start - outside & within yourself.

Having spent 12+ years as a career ethnographer helping individuals reveal their Real career histories in resumes and interviews – am I surprised that a resume be related to your heart and self-respect – even to the meaning and unique purpose of your life? Well, no.

Let's face it, most of us talented as we are (& I was named Most Talented Girl at ECHS :), won’t make it into the annals of history – or even the annals of memoir. We’re lucky enough to be found in the avalanche of posts!

But your resume might be able to show you the potential you've already been living! As I tend to say to my clients, if they are still paying you, you are prob adding greater value than you realize.

For many of us our Real resume is our best chance to see the broadest impact of our lives - our public life, so to speak.

So yes, automate the search if you like, but maybe don’t short-change the *illustrating your own career history to help you build to the next step. Your career story is indeed unique and there is meaning in it you might be missing, that can help lift you to the top of your potential - and open new career worlds you never or no longer thought possible.

To close on International Women's Day, see how life changed for these global women!

“I’ve been always interested in the field of international development. Now I’m headed to Nepal to conduct fieldwork & international development with the Peace Corps. I am so grateful to start a new chapter, walk a path already prepared for me. It reminds me of when I was 22 and decided to come to U.S. except now, not only my friends, but also my son is so excited for me.”

“As ESL / bilingual speaker, when I first met you, I was so insecure about writing. I wouldn’t send out an email without someone else looking at it. But now I am able to write my own cover letters and send them out, and I feel confident. And I get responses! That’s a major victory for me though I still have a little bit more to grow.”

So, women & those who love them - hang in there reaching for your Potential! Reach out if / when you want or need methodical, fun & meaningful help.

Forward always...