Resume Art Smarts
by Janet Farley, Ed.M.

To some of us, crafting or revising a resume is akin to creating a fine work of art.  

We see before us on a virtual canvas a minimalistic linguistic opportunity to paint a focused picture of one's marketable skills, fascinating abilities and impressive accomplishments using industry appropriate words.

We see the end product, not as a necessary document but rather as a masterpiece of our own professional self, targeted to a unique prospect and gifted to a potential employer in the hope they will be inspired enough to interview and potentially hire us.

Strangely enough, not everyone feels the same way.

To some of us, crafting or revising a resume is a nothing more than a painful chore that reminds us more of trip to the dentist for a root canal sans anesthesia than it does any kind of artistic expression.

When we feel that way, the end result often reflects it, too. Our resumes don't accurately show what we've done or emphasize our abilities and often end up in the "thanks but no thanks" stack rather than in the "call for an interview" pile.

We want your resume to always end up in the "call for an interview" pile. To make that happen though, you might have to adjust your thinking about the process itself.

While you don't have think of yourself as Picasso, it may help to develop a slightly discerning eye for what you see before you.

The following tips may help you.

Think outside of the usual box.

Too often we think of creating or revising our resume as a painful chore that has to be done at some point along the way.  Instead of thinking that way, think of the process as an intimate opportunity to objectively analyze whether you are and/or where you want to be professionally.  

Hint: If you aren't experiencing any type of satisfaction writing about your career for potential employers, maybe you should consider whether you are truly getting any satisfaction out of living it.

Don't just settle for the first draft.

You might be under a time crunch to produce a usable resume for a particular job opportunity but don't settle for just getting words down on paper.  

Instead, take a small sanity break and then go back to your resume once again.  

Take a few quality minutes to read and analyze the changes you've incorporated carefully. Pay attention to the finer details just as you would study a work of art.

Note the particulars. For example, from which direction is the light shining on your work of art? Is it shining where it should be for its intended purpose? What is your resume really saying to its reader?

In other words, are you effectively targeting it to the opportunity you seek?

Did you create a cohesive and targeted document or are you all over the place?

Did you add in enough colorful layers or did you just superficially rush through the process with too broad of brushstrokes?

Did you genuinely showcase relevant skills or do you appear stuck in the past touting skills that no longer carry weight?

Would you hire you?

Get over the obstacle that is yourself.

If you, like many people, have difficulty writing about your skills, abilities and experiences then try mentally separating yourself from them.

Pretend that you are writing or revising a resume for your best friend instead.  You would only want the best for her, right? You wouldn't dream of short-changing her skills on paper or minimizing her accomplishments, would you? Give yourself the same professional consideration.

Your resume may never hang framed in the Louvre Museum along with other great works of art but then it doesn't have to, does it?

It just has to convince a potential employer to want to interview you. 

 

Janet Farley is a job search and workplace issues expert and the author of "The Military Spouse's Guide to Employment: Smart Job Choices for Mobile Lifestyles," (Impact Publications, 2013) and Quick Military Transition Guide: Seven Steps to Landing a Civilian Job (Jist Inc., 2013). She is a co-author of Stories Around the Table: Laughter, Wisdom and Strength in Military Life (Elva Resa Publishing, 2014). Follow her @smartjobchoices on Twitter. 

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