You Introduce Yourself In Person And On Paper With Your Title - So You're Saying That's All You Do, Right?

When my son was growing up, I did not have a name. I was 'Jake's Mom.'

When I was in the financial industry, part of my role was compliance. A role that often gets the moniker of "sales police."?For some Investment Advisors, that is only how they saw me.

My point is people know you from one slice of your life that coexisted with one slice of their life.?

What do most people ask when they meet you? "What do you do?"?That is an entire hot mess that I will cover in another article.?

How do most people answer that question? With a title (more hot mess).

What we are doing (asking and answering) is setting ourselves up to be defined by a title.??

The meaning of that title is in the mind of the listener, or in the case of your resume, the reader. Their personal or professional experience with that title is how they will interpret what you do.?

Even if they had a bad experience with that title and you are a rock star at that title.?

All this is to say stop letting your title only define you on your resume.?And this is what I mean:

If you have your title, company name, and dates listed on one line with bullet points starting on the next - like this -

Title, Company, Date - Date

• boring bullet point that's probably a job description
• not the article to fix boring bullet points
• we'll have an article about not writing boring bullet points

You are missing something. The definition.

Between the title and bullets, give the reader a general overview of what it is that you do. Not what your job description says, what you actually do.?

If I had the title of Parent on my resume, my parenting experience may be completely different than your parenting experience.?You would most likely default to what you know.

Trust me, they aren't the same. And now when I hear my son talk about how he is going to parent his new baby boy, I just laugh and laugh......??

By the way, I would not put "parent" on a resume, just in case you got caught on that.

Reframe the conversation by giving an overview of what you do. Not only will it give the reader more context, but it will also allow your bullet points to have more meaning.?

?? ?Some companies make up the most ridiculous job titles - what's the worst job title you've ever held? Share in the comments below please!

?? ?Comment below??? ?on a question you have that I can answer (or find the answer) for you.

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About me: I help amazing people get what they want from their career and life faster, easier & with more fun. For career focus, go to?CareerPolish.com ; for life balance, reach out to me at LisaKMcDonald.com

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