Last week, we talked about the frustration of finding jobs to apply for, given financial considerations and employer expectations. Regardless of what you are looking for, however- with the possible exception of an "I'm a millionaire and just need something to pass the time" situation- I think that having to look for a job at all is a rather depressing situation. Because let's face it, what you're trying to do is sell yourself and your past to someone who has a whole slew of people clamoring to do the same. And while you know that you're awesome, intelligent, and a much better choice for that position (you hope) than anyone else, they don't. For those of us who aren't natural-born salesmen, that's a problem.
Despite my ability to describe other things fairly well (and the fact that I write a blog about myself on a regular basis...), I abhor the whole "talk yourself up" thing. Part of this is that I hold myself to some pretty high standards, but since I've done it for so long, what is "normal" to me (and therefor not worth mention) is worth mentioning to others. I've gotten compliments at various workplaces before about "Wow, you got that done well before it was expected!" or "Why did you admit to making a mistake? No one wanted to deal with the cleanup there?" and stuff like that. The thing is, those are just standard for me: doing things ahead of schedule- or on time at the latest- and owning up to your mistakes (so you can learn from them and help the people who were affected by them) are standards, baselines, ordinary things that are done everyday just because they're the right thing to do. But how do you get that across?
You hear of all kinds of ways to get your resume to stand out from everyone else's- use nifty fonts, write a brilliant work objective or cover letter, lie about achievements that no one will ever check up on, etc etc. But for someone who is unwilling to do that sort of thing to sell a second-hand vehicle on craigslist, why would that be acceptable to do when selling yourself? If you become a cheap car salesman and doctor up your resume, aren't you basically cheapening yourself?
It's not like it won't go unnoticed, as many, many people in high-ranking positions have found out. A CEO of Yahoo, a celebrity chef in Britain, a football coach with Notre Dame: all of these people thought they could get away with little not-so-white lies to make their resumes stand out, and up their chances of getting a job, but they all got caught, exposed, and fired. Considering that, in today's economy, recruiters probably get 50-100 applications per job (or better), what's an honest person to do?
Well, I don't really have an answer for that. Keep being honest, I suppose; that's what I intend to do. While it won't get you the fast track on every job you apply to, eventually it will catch the eye of someone who's willing to see beyond the flash and gaud of people looking to pad their way in, and those moral and ethical standards will show through at an interview. Even better, what I've found in the past is that those companies that would hire a flashy fast-talker probably aren't somewhere an honest, reliable person would be happy. The places that take the time to look for integrity value it, and you'll be around people who appreciate your work ethics.
Just be yourself. It won't land you a job overnight, but it'll probably get you interviews with places you'd be happy to work for. Now there's just the interviews to get through...
Despite my ability to describe other things fairly well (and the fact that I write a blog about myself on a regular basis...), I abhor the whole "talk yourself up" thing. Part of this is that I hold myself to some pretty high standards, but since I've done it for so long, what is "normal" to me (and therefor not worth mention) is worth mentioning to others. I've gotten compliments at various workplaces before about "Wow, you got that done well before it was expected!" or "Why did you admit to making a mistake? No one wanted to deal with the cleanup there?" and stuff like that. The thing is, those are just standard for me: doing things ahead of schedule- or on time at the latest- and owning up to your mistakes (so you can learn from them and help the people who were affected by them) are standards, baselines, ordinary things that are done everyday just because they're the right thing to do. But how do you get that across?
You hear of all kinds of ways to get your resume to stand out from everyone else's- use nifty fonts, write a brilliant work objective or cover letter, lie about achievements that no one will ever check up on, etc etc. But for someone who is unwilling to do that sort of thing to sell a second-hand vehicle on craigslist, why would that be acceptable to do when selling yourself? If you become a cheap car salesman and doctor up your resume, aren't you basically cheapening yourself?
It's not like it won't go unnoticed, as many, many people in high-ranking positions have found out. A CEO of Yahoo, a celebrity chef in Britain, a football coach with Notre Dame: all of these people thought they could get away with little not-so-white lies to make their resumes stand out, and up their chances of getting a job, but they all got caught, exposed, and fired. Considering that, in today's economy, recruiters probably get 50-100 applications per job (or better), what's an honest person to do?
Well, I don't really have an answer for that. Keep being honest, I suppose; that's what I intend to do. While it won't get you the fast track on every job you apply to, eventually it will catch the eye of someone who's willing to see beyond the flash and gaud of people looking to pad their way in, and those moral and ethical standards will show through at an interview. Even better, what I've found in the past is that those companies that would hire a flashy fast-talker probably aren't somewhere an honest, reliable person would be happy. The places that take the time to look for integrity value it, and you'll be around people who appreciate your work ethics.
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| Ew, no thanks. |
Just be yourself. It won't land you a job overnight, but it'll probably get you interviews with places you'd be happy to work for. Now there's just the interviews to get through...
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