In some of my workshops I ask participants, “What are the attributes of a peak performer?” And the list I get to write up on the white-board is pretty much the same every time – passionate, creative, brave, self-confident, fearless, visionary, empathetic, determined, tenacious, original, and so on.
I then remind participants of the one time they create the own “personal brand advertisement”, their resume. And I ask them, “Do you use language like this in your resume?” Because if these are the attributes of a peak performer, your resume should shout out “Brave, passionate, and tenacious man (or woman)”, if those are indeed your peak performance attributes.
The resume game
Sadly most people rarely use language like this in their resume. Instead they prefer dates, years, places of study and work, skills, job description details, and so on. Given the new reality of how resumes are processed today – they’re not read by a person, they’re read by a computer – I guess this is what you’d call “playing the game”. The computer is looking for signals of conformity. Did you go to a well-known school, have you ever worked for a blue-chip company, and did you have a title that matches what the company thinks it’s looking for?
Many resumes do have a “Hobbies & Interests” section, as a sort of token “this is the real me”. Yep, I love watching rugby and I go to the ballet, in case I’m being interviewed by a girl or a guy, I’m covered either way.
And then before we send out our resume we pass it on to a wise-old-uncle who know about these sort of things, for a final check, and he says, “What, you had a two year gap year?! That’s not good. Two years of doing nothing is not good.” And then you remember that you worked in that pub in Wales, and you helped the owner design a flyer for a Mother’s Day promotion. Aha! Marketing Assistant for six months in Pub In Wales – plugged the gap very nicely.
What did you do in that second gap year?
When in fact what you did in your second year was travel Turkey with nomads smoking hashish. And so if you’re looking to hire someone who is passionate, creative, brave, self-confident, fearless, visionary, empathetic, determined, tenacious, and original, I’m your woman (or man). I learnt that shit traveling with nomads in Turkey and smoking hashish. Not at UNSW, or the University of Sydney, or TAFE. Because, you see, they don’t teach passion, creativity, bravery, self-confidence, fearlessness, vision, empathy, determination, tenacity, or originality at university, or at TAFE, or at school. There is no formal certified and accredited degree or diploma in passion, bravery, or self-confidence. You get to learn that shit in the School Of Life, the most valuable school there is.
And that is the horrible truth about resumes. They are not a true reflection of who you are, what you have learnt, what you have done, and what you can do. And the companies who are looking to hire true peak performers may just need to look outside the normal zone of resume-ness.
The post THE HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT RESUMES appeared first on The Brand Guy.
