Posted under Resumes on February 6th, 2008
Are you onto this craze about “The Secret,” which says if you visualize, prepare and communicate, then what your heart truly wants will come to you? I think it would be beneficial to apply these concepts to resumes, the job search and interviewing.
I had a client recently who had a long, solid, high-level history in technology. He started his own consulting firm a few years ago, and was looking to re-enter corporate America. My recommendation was that while his history contained broad expertise and the foundation for excellent accomplishments, the existing resume failed to carry the impact required.
The response was a barrage of negativity, at himself, but voiced to me. “I’m too old; they’re going to see that.” “I’ve been out the job market for too long.” “What if they think I want to come in and take over?” “They’re going to assume the salary I want is too much.” And the client went on with more.
Whoa! Listen, half this battle is you have to have a solid work history. The other half is you need to present that in a stand-out resume. And the other, extra half is attitude, attitude, attitude.
The fact is, the client’s age issue can be easily handled in a resume so he’s positioned as experienced, not old. The right tone in a resume can readily communicate the candidate does not need to be the “top dog,” with the high salary associated with that. And as far as being out of the job market, the candidate could present several successful, strategic engagements from his most recent consulting experience.
So what to do about this attitude? That’s the secret. There’s no room for negativity in the secret. Visualize the position you want to be in; that doesn’t mean just saying to yourself, “I want X.” It means internalizing your goal in your core. Prepare: a good resume, and strong interviewing skills. Communicate: put the resume out there, network, renew relationships, leverage existing relationships. Exude that positive energy, and there’s a much better chance that good things will happen.
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John Curtis on 06 Feb 2008 at 8:30 pm #
The Secret is the latest and by far the worst example of a HIGHLY profitable trend where self-help gurus with fabricated new age titles and little relevant education, credentials or legitimate expertise brainwash us into believing that they know what is best for us, our marriages and our families.
Often their only contribution to society is introducing some exotic sounding, new age philosophy. However, they often cleverly form an incestuous group of like-minded “experts” who cross-promote each other by swearing their success is due to following the beliefs of another member of their “cult!” All the while, they ply the airwaves jockeying for an ever-larger audience by appearing in the national media to garner third-party endorsements.
The Self-Help Movement has become the Self-Destruct Movement by diminishing or destroying our critical thinking skills to choose and evolve on our own. We have given up the freedom to build healthy lives, marriages and families based on our unique history and life experience. Instead many victims, blinded to the value of their own life experiences, are attracted to the latest secret in self-help, in an attempt to find out what they should think, feel and how they should act… this is the definition of a cult.
The solution is a return to our (common) senses! The best way out of this learned “self-helplessness” is to go cold turkey. Stop following ALL self-help gurus now. Begin, instead, to reclaim your natural, God-given ability to think for yourself. The common sense that was once readily available to all of us is still there free of charge and waiting to be applied to just about any challenge we might face in life… all you have to do is use it.
Please, let’s all work together to stop the flock of “sheepeople” who blindly move from one UNPROVEN concept to the next, looking for the answers to life’s challenges that you already possess and that is the OBVIOUS!
Kevin on 12 Feb 2008 at 5:58 pm #
Well said John. Good job in cutting through the BS that is becoming more and more prevalent in this age of cheap and plentiful misinformation.