Boston Career Counselor Blog

Whether you wish to improve your current resume or you’re starting from scratch, try this 10 minute exercise to get those creative resume juices flowing and your mind on the right track.

10 Minute Resume Exercise

Sit down in a comfortable place with a notebook and pen (or laptop). Your goal is to brainstorm answers to the following questions. Don’t worry about having complete answers; just jot down whatever springs to mind. If you get stuck on something, move on. This is meant to be a starting point, not a comprehensive account!

1. Jot down instances at work where you’ve really felt proud and excited. These could be particular tasks done well, compliments for things you do habitually or specific accomplishments you’ve achieved.
2. Write down any awards or formal recognition you’ve received in your industry and/or at your workplace.
3. Think about numbers. What kind of figures can you think of that relate to your past work experience? Think of clients gained or kept, money earned or saved, employees managed or hired, new initiatives accomplished, percent efficiency or employee morale gained or improved. Make up numbers for the time being if you don’t know them off the top of your head.
4. Now, imagine you were your boss. What does (or should!) your boss value most about you?
5. What things do you do, or have you done, that show how you live up to #4?

Now step back and think about how you can incorporate this information into your resume. Remember, a resume is about showing what kind of value you can bring to a prospective employer. It is not a place to write comprehensive job descriptions. That’s for human resources! So use the information you gained in this exercise to demonstrate your true value on the resume. And if you feel like you don’t have enough to write a great one yet, keep these questions in the back of your mind and repeat this exercise in a few days.

My favorite resume critiquing exercise is to ask a client to read his/her own resume and see what they think.  If, for example, the resume sounds boring and uninspiring to YOU, how could it possibly sound better to a potential employer?

Now I know that resumes are never really going to be anyone’s idea of pleasure reading, but they can be attention-getting and they can inspire an employer to hire you!

So how exactly do you write a resume that won’t bore employers to tears?  No, I wouldn’t suggest wacky fonts, colors or resume cartoons.  Instead, writing an engaging resume is about proving to the employer, through past results, just how valuable you would be to them.

As you write your resume, don’t try to comprehensively list your job responsibilities as one might do in a job description.  Rather, ask yourself:

1. What measurable results have I achieved in past jobs?  How much  money saved, efficiency gained?  How many clients attracted, employees trained, customers returned?

2. What unique things did I do that make me a superstar?  Did I catch an error which saved the company money?  Did I land that company-changing client?  Did I improve the process by which things are done?

3. What are my greatest strengths?  What concrete accomplishments can I point out that “prove” just how great I am at these things?

4. What skills, strengths, abilities would make me invaluable to an employer?  How can I demonstrate, through my actions, that I have done and can do these things?

Instead of trying to give a complete picture of your every job responsibility, focus on the things which can prove just how valuable you are.

One of the participants took this picture. I'm the one in green!

The weather was mild, it didn’t rain and there were munchkins involved.  Who could ask for anymore more in a free outdoor cover letter workshop?  It was informal but informative, relaxed but productive.  I had a blast!

Stay tuned for a free outdoor resume workshop on AUGUST 26 at 7:00 pm on Boston Common.  Please contact me if you want more information or to RSVP!  bostoncareercounselor@gmail.com

And here’s what a couple of the participants had to say:

Debbie B. said: “I liked your concrete examples and answers so that we left with a sense of “we can do this.” I also like that there was no ambiguity. Sometimes people can leave a seminar or workshop and feel as if they are just as confused or more than before, and your workshop was very clear and helpful in those terms.”

And someone else said: “Thank you so much for today’s workshop al fresco. You hit just the right tone for the setting: professional and directed yet laid back and fun. You were very motivating…the workshop definitely gave me food for thought (and I’m not talking about the Munchkins) for once and future cover letters and resumes. The small-group setting–esp. hearing others’ questions and your answers–were very helpful and much more engaging than reading a guide or going to a conference.”

Thanks guys- I had fun too!

Okay, I know what you may be saying.  I’m a career counselor.  I’m supposed to recommend networking to help people find a job.  So enough already!

But here’s the great thing that many people may not realize about networking: Not only do you get better at it the more you do (many people will tell you this), but even better is that the more networking you do, the more FUN it gets!

I mean, think about it.  People pay lots of money, buy lots of drinks, stress themselves out to plan events and parties.   And why do they do it?  Because it’s fun to interact with friends AND potential friends.  Most parties are made up of people who know each other and some who don’t, but it’s enjoyable talking to old and new friends.

That’s the thing about networking, even networking as part of your job search.  It doesn’t end when you leave the official “Career Networking Group.”  The best networking is a mindset.  It’s an attitude toward all the interesting, potentially fascinating (and yes, potentially helpful on the career front) people around you all the time!

Go forth.  Talk to people.  Make new friends.  Have interesting conversations.  And, when the time is right, you should probably mention that you’re looking for a job, but that must be secondary for the most successful informal networking.  Connect with the person, and then of course feel free to confidently answer the question, “So what you do?” and see where it leads.  And even if you don’t get a job, you just met a pretty cool person.  Isn’t that great?!?

And that’s why I love networking!

What kind of  job are you looking for?

Anything!

“Anything” is about as engaging, passionate and interest-catching as a plate of plain, butterless toast.  It’s dry, flavorless and leaves the listener looking for alternative options.  Even if you ARE looking for just about “anything” available in the job market, it is never a good answer to this question!  And equally bad is answering “nothing” when an interviewer or prospective job contact asks what kinds of things you’re passionate about.  I mean, think about it.  Would YOU want to work with someone who isn’t passionate about or interested in anything?  And furthermore, I very much doubt that you’re as dry as plain toast.  You are most certainly a fascinating person with lots of value to add to any employer.  So make sure you let them know that!

But if you really are looking for just about anything in the job market (either because you need a job ASAP to pay the bills or don’t know what you want to do and have to start somewhere), what can you say without being dishonest?  (Lying to an interviewer is a BAD idea!)

I’d recommend something like this: “I’m looking for a job in business.  I have a wide variety of interests and am happy to consider a range of different areas including marketing and human resources.  I’m specifically interested in THIS job because…”

Obviously you would need to change the italicized words.  And yes, this means you have to have a small idea of what kind of job you’d like to do, but surely you’re not really interested in doing anything anything!

Another important thing is that if you’re talking to someone about a specific job (say in an interview), you must have a reason for wanting that job specifically.  “Just because you found the posting” is not an acceptable reason.  If you can’t think of any reason you’d want the job, the interviewer is not very likely to hire you.  And more importantly, you’re not likely to be happy in that job!

So avoid answering “anything” and focus on all the great fascinating things that make you you and you’ll be on your way to finding a good job!

I went out to buy lunch today and as I wished the cashier a wonderful day for at least the second time with an extreme cheerfulness, I wondered to myself what was going on.  I mean, I am certainly a very optimistic, outgoing, happy, friendly person, but it still seemed like my behavior might have been a little over the top.

Then I remembered that I had gone to a new coffee place which only had one size mocha latte (whereas I usually order a small or solo latte) and there had to be at least two, if not more, shots in it.  I was experiencing an overabundance of caffeination and sugar!

And then I thought to myself, since I’m a career counselor after all, if I were going on a job interview would it be wise for me to have an unusually high dose of coffee?  I did rationally come to the conclusion that no, that would not be spectacular advice.  While I was extremely friendly, it might have been a bit much.  I think it’d be better to stick to my very own non-caffeine induced friendly personality (not to mention the other unfortunate side effect that too much coffee just before a job interview could have…).  So here’s today’s job interviewing tip: Go easy on the coffee the day of the interview!  And that’s my professional opinion!

This may sound like a strange question, but it’s one that friends of mine, as well as I myself, have had to answer.  When you’re just out of college or recently laid off from a job you never really liked anyway, for instance, and the great light of career path inspiration has not yet hit you but you still need *A* job, what should you do?

Well, first of all, the ideal answer (from the perspective of a career counselor, mind you!) is that you should take the time to do some introspection.  What do you enjoy?  What interests you?  In what environment do you like to spend your days?  I would even suggest enlisting the aid of a fabulously talented career counselor (shameless self-promotion?).

But if you really need to start looking for a job TODAY, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. To give yourself a better shot at success in a potential job, at least look for jobs with at least one thing that intrigues you.  Perhaps you’ve heard the company has a very casual, fun environment.  Perhaps, like me, you start out with a job mainly because it will let you use your French language skills.  Or perhaps the job is located next to your favorite lunch spot.  Find one thing you are actually excited about and you’re likely to be happier while you take the time to figure out what you really want to do (and who knows? maybe this will be it!).

2. Never let on to employers, whether through sending a very generic resume or cover letter, or by your blase answers in an interview, that you’re just looking for any job to tide you over for the moment.  Employers dislike this for three main reasons.  One, they don’t want to hire someone, spend time and money training them, only to have them leave shortly thereafter.  Two, someone lacking in focus and energy is unlikely to make a good employee.  And three, employers are people too.  They want to believe that you’re interested in their industry just as they are!  So make sure, without lying, that you can at least gather up some interest and enthusiasm for any job you apply to.

3. This may sound obvious, but don’t apply for any job that sounds completely awful just based on the job description.  Even if you’re looking for “any” job, it’s unlikely you’ll stay any length of time in a job if you had negative interest in it in the first place!  And then you would quickly find yourself back at square one!

4. Finally, once you succeed and get that interim job, don’t forget two very important things.  First, don’t write off the job as temporary or “just an income source.”  Put in your best effort.  You may even come to like the job or industry where you end up, or at the very least you’ll have an excellent reference for your next place of employment.  And second, just because you’re now financially secure and gainfully employed, don’t give up on figuring out “what you want to do for a career,” now that the issue is no longer so pressing.  Now is exactly the time you should be thinking about it, while you don’t have financial woes.

In any case, good luck with your search and be sure to keep  your energy and enthusiasm up!