I have written at least a post a week, over a thousand on this blog, for more than 18 years without saying much about resumes. Strange, considering I have consulted well over a thousand jobseekers during the past 27 years of my writing consulting practice. They were accountants, administrators, architects, artists, auditors, business analysts, clerics, designers, doctors, educators, electricians, engineers, executives, financial planners, information technology specialists, lawyers, mechanics, nurses, restaurant workers, salespeople, scientists, students, supervisors, technicians, and uniformed personnel (corrections, firefighting, military, parks, police, sanitation). I suppose it's time to correct this omission from WORDS ON THE LINE with a 21-part series on the resume and its related messages.
Note: If you just want a job, read somewhere else. This series is not for those who say, "When I go home after a workday, I completely forget my job." I have always felt that such a statement comes from people who aren't honest even with themselves. But if you want to cultivate a rewarding career, read this series.
Let's start by planning a resume. Take an inventory of yourself at this point in your career. Your ability to answer these self-assessment questions with a yes along with an honest, direct, and, ultimately, extemporaneous reason for your answer will go a long way in shaping your resume.
1. Do I have a career goal? If you do not, stop reading here and get one. If you do, write it down and explain how it ties into the rest of your life.
2. Do I know the industry and organizations that can help me achieve my career goal? It's possible you have a terrific answer to question 1 but lack career experience to answer this question to your own satisfaction—and I assume you have high standards in these matters. If you answer no, do some research. If you answer yes know which organizations you want to apply to, look for appropriate job openings, and move on to question 3.
3. What are my interpersonal strengths? Notice that this question comes before the one about technical strengths. Your ability to communicate respectfully, honestly, coherently, and helpfully to peers, managers, subordinates, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders easily trumps your technical knowledge and skills. I won't argue this point if you disagree. I have seen professional rewards granted to the excellent communicators over the technicians too many times to be convinced I am wrong.
4. What are my technical strengths? I do not mean to minimize the importance of answering this vital question. Your job calls for certain skills, whether they are clinical, computational, linguistic, mechanical, technological, or a whole host of other abilities. Do not discount them. Even though interpersonal skills come first, the employer will ask first about the technical skills.
5. What interpersonal skills do I most want to develop? This question is helpful not because you want to brag about your weaknesses during a job interview. Answering it after answering question 3 helps you see how you can best develop that skill. Say you answered to question 3, "I make people around me feel comfortable," and you answer to question 5, "I am terrified of public speaking and I know the job I want requires it." With your ability to make people around you comfortable, you might (most likely will) gravitate toward those who are the best at public speaking and learn from them. They will be honored that such a cool person like you wants their help, and they will gladly give it.
6. What technical skills do I most want to develop? Sometimes I get a brilliant answer to this question (no kidding): "I want to develop the very skills that are my strength." I love that answer because the person is telling me that even experts must sharpen their skills. This is why master musician rehearse every day and physicians take periodic licensing examinations. On the other hand, the more common answer to this question, understandably so, is something like the example in question 5. You might say, "I have outstanding skills with my hands (practical) but I'm not so hot at talking the talk (theoretical)." This was the very statement I made before deciding to go for a doctorate. I knew I was right about a lot of issues related to my field, but I couldn't explain the precedents that supported my positions. In the same way, a plumber may say he has excellent dexterity, instillation techniques, and knowledge of hydronics but lacks that same level of competency in reading blueprints, which is costing him to lose independent commercial jobs. Chances are he'll use his approach that helped him master hydronics to learning blueprints.
7. What professional accomplishment has given me the greatest satisfaction? Answering this question is so important in putting you in the right mindset to tackle the job application process. Your answer might be, "I held a fulltime job as a server in a fast-paced restaurant at night while attaining a real estate agent license within six months during the day." You should be impressed. Remember that achievement as you confront all the other mountains ahead that you will need to scale.
8. When have I shown a great sense of responsibility on the job? Even if your answer to this question helps you complete only 10 percent of your resume, it will help you manage 90 percent of the interview questions with confidence, candor, and class.
9. When have I effectively collaborated to achieve an excellent common result? It is true that some jobs may seem like solo ones. But how, for instance, can a doctor cure a patient's high cholesterol levels without the patient's agreeing to follow through on her prescriptions? How can an IT help desk maven aid users without educating them to deal with some of their technical incompetencies so that they do not call her for every little issue?
10. What do my answers to questions 1 through 9 say about me as a professional? Answering this question wins you the prize. Responding well to this question will get you started on crafting a great resume and application message.
