The Recipe of Success |
I love to cook. I find cooking to be a creative outlet that allows me to prepare food for the enjoyment of my dinner guests. What I am always aiming to do is please my guests and whip up a dish that they enjoy. Some people like things spicy hot, some like things more sweet. Knowing my guests’ preferences helps me to tweak the ingredients to ensure a happy (and well fed) group. When I am hosting a dinner party or an event, or just making a simple dinner for friends or family, I want to ensure that I am making things that they want to eat, not just want I like to eat. Please the Reader for More Interviews The same can be true when writing a resume. What we find too many times with self-written resumes, is that job seekers will jot down their education, experience and highlights, review it, perhaps tweak some of the words, read it top to bottom, smile, and then sit back and say, “Yes, that’s me on paper, that’s all very factual.” Then it is sent out to positions for which the person is well qualified, only to hear the deafening silence that comes when no one contacts you about a job. It is the same with our job seeker. He/she created a resume which pleases him/her, and contains the information and data that the job seeker likes most. FIVE bullets about a project that took 8 months to complete and required lots of blood, sweat and tears to get completed. This was the job seeker’s ‘baby’ and just like a proud parent, the job seeker wants to tell everyone about the little darling who says and does the cutest things. But for most people, hearing every detail about that child’s development is a bit tedious. Sure, some points are cute and peak our interest, but not everything. That’s why those FIVE bullet points about the project should be cut down to just one or two. Remember: write for the READER, not for yourself. |