resume

Portfolios

Our work is a series of projects. Some examples...

  • projects within one company

  • work done for a variety of companies

  • work done for individuals

  • a business we started

  • a group we led

  • a presentation we made

  • a workshop or training program we led

Now, if we were going to tell people about our projects, describe them in such a way they might become interested in having us do similar work for them, how would we go about it? Would we merely write some copy, black letters on a page? How could we show our work, talk about it, create some theatre which was more compelling, more interesting and more revealing about how and why we do our work, not just that we did it? What tools are available today which tells a better story than a resume or cover letter?

We need to think of our work like artists do. We need to show our best work (and maybe some failures) in the best light, like a portfolio or in a gallery. In the end, we're all artists if our work is unique to us, which is a story worth telling. And, how we tell it becomes part of the story. Choose wisely.

Who Will We Become?

Goal achievement for the most part is the result of work. And, our work is what defines us. It's how we're seen by the world. A title doesn't describe who we are, it's a symbol of what we've achieved and where someone might find us doing our work. It's the work, the regimen, the habit of showing up with a certain posture, attitude and skill, the digging in and enduring the slog which is who we have become. Our approach to, prejudice for and persistence to make our work better is evidenced in the habits we've developed. Some of this is wrapped up in the positions and results we've achieved. But mostly, it's underneath, in the weeds, where no one is looking.

If we want to achieve more and better results, we should start with deciding who we need to become to give us the best chance to achieve them. And then, develop the work habits to become this person.

  • A writer who doesn't write on schedule, with intent, even when she doesn't feel like it...isn't a writer.

  • A teacher who doesn't seek to better understand students...isn't teaching.

  • A speaker who doesn't doesn't practice and perfect presenting...isn't a speaker.

  • A researcher who isn't obsessed with finding new ways of turning data into information...isn't a researcher.

What habits do we need to develop to do better work? Who do we need to become to make the difference we seek to make?

Don't show us the resume. Show us the approach to the work instead.

Hiding

The modern resume isn’t very modern. It looks much like the ones first used in the late 1400’s. Back then it was quite useful as a medium to share your achievements, education and experience for the purposes of being hired or gaining support. Apart from personal contact, it was virtually the only way to make your point. Of course then much more than now a person’s vocational skills were the focus. We need you to write, so list your education and your writings. We need you for carpentry, so list the places where you’ve done this sort of work and for how long. Fast forward to the present and regretfully the similarly styled resume proudly lives on. 

The standard resume should be abandoned…because now culture trumps hard skills. And it’s nearly impossible to illustrate these essential skills in a one or two page written document. The resume as we have come to know it isn’t very effective at all in illustrating someone’s uniqueness, their story and how they lead and solve problems. Even the resumes themselves all look the same. Fortunately, technology has solved this problem for us. Now through the internet, and some inexpensive media creation everyone can share…

  • what they stand for
  • what they’ve made
  • what problems they have solved
  • how they write, sound and look

And…

  • what they want to learn
  • the culture they seek
  • their dream

Technology gives us a chance to unhide…resumes keep the real us hidden.