I have to write a resume.
I love to write, and am told I do it well. I can sit down and spew out reasonably coherent things pretty quickly. And I have an extensive vocabulary full of otherwise useless words, like "spearhead" and "validate" which are ideal for résumés.
Maybe I should rephrase. I can write for a variety of purposes: informing, persuading, describing. I dabble in fiction and like to write poetry, but am usually not brave enough to show it to anyone but my dog. And I know oodles of dynamic words conducive to résumé writing.
Thus, I should find the task of writing a résumé minimally stressful and not very challenging.
But the opposite is true. I haven’t written a real résumé since the Clinton administration. Since 1996 I have had only one employer and never tried to leave. There have been a couple occasions where I’ve put quick résumés together as a formality. The idea of adding a fictional stint in the adult-movie industry often tempted me, because I knew no one at my job was actually going to read it.
And now, I will need an excellent one, but I’m freezing up. A lot.
I have never sent a résumé electronically. Back when I was seriously seeking employment, people were using snail mail exclusively. I’m not even sure if formats have evolved. Back when I needed my very first résumé, a graduate school classmate recommended a professional who’d done hers. This classmate seemed to be landing interviews, so I forked over a whole night’s worth of waitressing tips, about $100, and got a professional résumé. I got a couple interviews, but as I continued to look at books of samples, I began to think my professionally-done résumé was not delivering the results I wanted. A friend and fellow job-seeker let me have a copy of hers, and it was way better than my professionally-prepared one. But I learned a couple of things. First, a résumé done by a professional may not always be better than one you do yourself, if you do the legwork. And second, it’s always good to review and reassess your résumé as you go through the job-hunting process, whether you’re a career changer or a new graduate.
But the biggest lesson of all? Don’t let two Presidents come and go from the White House without updating your résumé at least a couple of times.
