Introducing You In Your Résumé

Your résumé  tells a story. What kind of story does yours tell?

We learned in a previous blog post, Technical Aspects Of Your Job Search,  that a job search is like a three-legged stool. Your résumé  is one of the three legs, and it needs to be strong to do its part in developing an effective search strategy. Just like a three-legged stool, if your résumé is not as strong as the other two legs, your job search effectiveness will break down and ultimately collapse.

Writing your résumé is like putting together a travelogue of your journey; you don’t want to give away the entire story, but you want to tell enough to intrigue the reader into reading the rest. Your travelogue is your diary of your vocational travels.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be discussing the different aspects of writing your résumé, beginning with the…

Introduction to building your Résumé…

A résumé is a significant part of any job search. Along with your cover letter, it’s usually the first contact you have with potential employers. That’s why your résumé needs to be well thought out, so it tells your story effectively.

It’s important that your résumé reveals what makes you special. Henry David Thoreau, American author, poet, and
philosopher, put it well when he said,

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it’s because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

You’re telling your story, the story of how God put you together and what He’s done in your vocational life, so listen to that drummer.

Résumés Reflect Uniqueness

You are a unique individual, with a unique work history, skills, and abilities to offer employers. As Viktor Frankl, the well-known Viennese psychiatrist, put it,

Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone’s task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.

Just like Joseph and the apostle Paul, you have a unique story to tell. Identify the most compelling aspects of your story, and then compose them in a form that invites reading.

God has made you both complex and unique, and you need to be able to capitalize on that in your résumé.

While telling your unique story, NEVER LIE! I can’t emphasize that enough.

There are countless examples in the news of coaches, leaders, and others who lost their jobs because they lied on their résumés.

Some years ago, there was a man high up in the city government of Los Angeles. He reported directly to the mayor. The city Human Resources department conducted a routine audit, and randomly selected résumés from their files to review.

His résumé was selected, and the content checked. When they called the college he said he’d graduated from, they found that he’d attended but never graduated. He was fired on the spot for obtaining his job under false pretenses.

In my next article I’ll talk about the purpose of a résumé.

This is an excerpt from my book “The Christian Job Search Manual,” click on this link to purchase the book.

If you would like to explore working with a Christian centered Career Coach, Contact me for a no-obligation 60-90 minute job search consultation with America’s Job Searching Coach, or text me at 425-220-0707  and we can discuss your situation, your résumé, what you would like to achieve, and structure your job search to fit your uniqueness.

I am also available to speak to groups.