For many of us, writing a resume is as grueling an experience as going to the dentist. I personally think writing a CV (curriculum vitae) can be more painful for most.
You present your work/mouth for inspection. This thing that someone else is looking over is very personal to you. It is part of your appearance to the world, your identity. Your CV is your face when applying to a company. When someone starts telling you areas where they think you can improve, it is going to sting a little bit. Heck, it might make you downright defensive.
What do you mean my gums could be healthier? I use mouth wash that stings and I floss every night!
What do you mean my 75 word bullet is not very impressive? That was six months of my life, and of course it’s going to take more than one line of script to accurately depict this major accomplishment.
Your mouth is what you use communicate with those around you in your personal space or on the phone (unless you are texting, and in that case it’s your thumbs, but for the sake of my analogy, please just stay with me). Your mouth is always a focal point when having a conversation, that’s why we are all so paranoid that we might have something in our teeth after lunch and before a big meeting, or better yet, having the necessity to brush our teeth right when we wake up so our kids don’t say, “daddy, your breath stinks!”
Let me ask you this though, is it better to go to the dentist to get your mouth examined and fixed if need be, or is it better to just keep on doing your normal routine? Heck you’re 40 years old and all your teeth are still there. Sure they are a little sensitive when you drink… or eat… or well when you take a breath through your mouth on a cold day, but that’s normal right? To answer this question, in the event any of you are nodding your heads in agreement to this being normal, the answer is no. GO TO A DENTIST!!!
Like your mouth, your resume is something very close to you. In many ways you feel that your resume is you, it defines you. Your CV is a summary of all the highlights over your professional and academic career. If your resume, or better yet what’s in your resume, does not impress the people who are reading it, what does that say about your “life’s work”? When people reject your resume, it can feel like they are rejecting you. Now, you might not think of a resume this way, but I can assure you, after working with people for many years, this is how most people view their resume on a subconscious level. They may not realize why they are so adversarial towards recommendations, but when someone looks it over… then combs through it to “help”, it is only natural to take every piece of advice as harsh, maybe even uncouth, criticism of their life.
For a lot of you, this is what having your resume reviewed is like. Whether you are told, “your mouth needs some work,” or “your resume doesn’t match the role you’re applying for, and based on what I’m seeing, I just don’t think you’re the right fit for this position,” you get a sinking feeling in your stomach that you could have done better.
Tip 1: Don’t write the resume for the job you have, write it for the job you want.
The outcome of an average or poorly written resume can really be one of two things. First during an interview, you get asked a question about your resume that you were not prepared to answer and end up stumbling through a poorly crafted thought, because it was all based on a poorly constructed element of your resume. That’s on a good day.
On a normal day however, you don’t get a call from a future employer, because your resume is not impressing them. You think to yourself, “How is this possible? Heck this CV is good enough, it got me the job I have today.” Yes, it was good enough to get you the job that you have. The job, for one reason or another, you are willing or ready to walk away from. It may not be good enough to get the next job. If the job you want is one rung up on the professional ladder, you probably need to have a better looking product.
People like me are looking for a certain quality of product in the resumes we read. The higher up the professional mountain you are climbing, the more your resume needs to show you belong, and the harder it is for your resume to stand out.
What do you do when you find out your resume is not up to snuff?
Most people usually have a friend take a look at their “professional face” a.k.a. their resume. I personally don’t suggest this. Unless your friend has a strong background with resumes, this probably won’t help you too much. That would be like me looking at your teeth because of a toothache. I personally don’t know what I am looking for, and will not be able to help you.
Likewise, most people don’t have a good background in resumes, so asking them for help might just frustrate you and them. For example, they might make a suggestion you don’t take, and then become aggravated with you for asking for help to only reject the help once it’s offered. Perhaps, you do take one of their suggestions, but in my experience, the suggestion rarely adds value, as most people aren’t trained in this skillset.
Maybe you engage a professional to help you with your resume. You fill out a questionnaire, answer some questions and get ready to hand off the burden of writing to someone else. Then the pain gets a little more intense. At least when no one was calling, you were able to ignore the poorly constructed thoughts and repeating bullets that you used throughout the resume, because though it is true you have done some of the same things in every job you have had to this point, you don’t need to waste space hitting “Ctrl+C” then “Ctrl+V” to make your resume longer, while at the same time adding no additional value. (Don’t miss that embedded tip, which was just mentioned!) Once someone calls you on this, then it becomes tough to hear… tough to take. Perhaps it’s better to just do nothing. It’s certainly easier than digging in and really taking charge of your own resume with some help from others who are not so emotionally invested in your professional biography.
Tip 3: Don’t take advice personal. The most important thing you have to do is not turn away GOOD suggestions because of your pride or defensiveness. You need to learn to separate your resume from you. It is not you. It is a byproduct of your hard work, but it does not define your value. So when you are able to take a deep breath and realize that someone, who wants to work with you, to make your resume stronger, is a good thing. You will have to determine if you are receiving good advice or just advice.
Tip 4: Only take and use GOOD advice. To determine what type of advice you’re receiving, ask yourself the following question. What value does this advice bring to my resume? If you can’t find the value, then it’s just advice, not good advice. If you are getting good advice, then get to work. It does not mean you need to do everything they say, but listen to the suggestions and see if what you’re being told makes sense.
Remember the resume gets you the interview. Once you can get into a room with the hiring manager, that’s where you get the job. If you struggle to take feedback on your resume, how are you going to take feedback on the interview? Also, how you handle the feedback on an interview, is a great sign to your future boss on how you will take feedback in the job. You never want to come across as rigid and defensive, so don’t start the habit right out the gate. It’s never too late to develop good habits in both your professional and personal life.
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Thanks for the tips!
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