The Key to Creating a Great Résumé
“Therefore, as it is written:
“Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
I Cor. 1:31
You’ve heard it all your life, your parents would tell you it’s not a good idea to brag or boast about things you’ve done. Others don’t like to hear it, because it sounds too much like pride. That was good advice when you were a kid.
Now, here you are as an adult, and your résumé is a chance for you to brag and boast a little about things you’ve done. Yet, even when you view your résumé as God’s story being told through your vocational history, it still feels like boasting. How can you deal with that?
What’s in Your Résumé ?
The best way to approach this challenge is to take a step back, view your résumé as a reporter might, and let the facts speak for themselves.
Summary: Your summary statement is a concise description of the totality of how God has gifted you vocationally.- Core competencies: This list of 6-12 bulleted items shows how God has developed your skills in your field of expertise. This is a summary list of what you have to offer.
- Accomplishments: These brief stories provide examples of where God has used you to bring about some kind of change and results in the organizations where you have worked.
- Work history: A reverse-chronological list that shows where God has used you over the years.
- Honors/Awards: Recognition from your peers or the organization shows how others have seen God’s work through you.
Each of these can be documented factually, historically without any superlatives. Reporters capture the essence of a story in a 30-second news bite. You do the same when you compose the various sections of your résumé.
Your Résumé Should Contain the Facts…
Think about the writings you find in the Bible. It describes scenes of battle (David and Goliath), miraculous healings (Jesus healing the leper), presentations Jesus made to large audiences (the Beatitudes), as well as documentaries of travels (Jonah fleeing from Nineveh). Those are all written as from a reporter’s vantage point, the facts of the story. Much of the Bible is composed in this fashion.
God recorded all of these just as He wanted by guiding the hands of faithful scribes, and He will guide you as you capture the facts of your life.
Yes, they are just facts. But as God uses the words of Scripture to open the eyes of those spiritually blind, so He can open the eyes of those reading your résumé to the potential you have and the gifts you bring.
See the light.
Get the facts.
Let God do His work.
Divine Author, help me see that you can guide my hand much as you did the biblical authors, and in so doing, breathe life into my vocation again.
If you would like to explore working with a Christian centered Career Coach, contact us for a no-obligation consultation and we can discuss your situation, what you would like to achieve, and structure your job search to fit your uniqueness.
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