Randy’s Rockin’ New Resume

What’s going on in the inside shows on the outside.  ~Earl Nightingale

     “I just don’t understand it”, Randy exclaimed.  “I’ve sent out dozens resumes over six months and not one bite!”  Randy was in sales and wanted to end his hectic road warrior travel schedule.  He had three young kids with a fourth on the way. He needed to be at home more.  He also wanted to put a health and safety degree to use again.  He was an engaging, good-hearted guy with what I call “sparkle;” bright light in his eyes. Even with his great sales track record, he couldn’t seem to sell the one thing he wanted to sell most – himself. 

     Transitioning back into a facility health & safety role seemed the perfect solution. Or so he thought. Not only was the job change process taking longer than planned, he was feeling discouraged and losing confidence in himself. This day, sparkle was replaced with pain and strain; the lights in his eyes were dimmed with doubt.

     Randy lost his 7-year health and safety job five years earlier because his workplace closed.  “Do you think my health and safety experience is too outdated? Is that why I’m not getting any interviews? “he asked me. I could tell he was stressed and bewildered and I worried her would run out of hope. I offered what I could; I wanted to see him thrive. I said I would help him network and I would pass along some leads.  I also asked for a copy of his resume.

     Randy certainly had an impressive background!  Yet I could see that the resume did not highlight his accomplishments.  Randy had put together a chronologic resume; one that lists experience in the time order of jobs worked, with the most recent job listed first.  Randy had a great summary of his years in environmental sales, yet his former health and safety role, the one he wanted to stress now, got lost in the list. No wonder he wasn’t making the short list for interviews!  While the chronologic style served him well in earlier job search, this time it was closing doors. What Randy needed was to rework, redesign, reword and redefine his resume.

Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.  ~Michelangelo

     I talked with Randy about a resume in a functional format; one that highlights accomplishments and emphasizes certain aspects of experience. It doesn’t list what you did, where and when; but what you achieved and where you excel. Sure enough, Randy had never tried this style of resume.  With no time to spare, Randy and I revamped his resume right then and there. Our goal was to shine a light on his success in health and safety, and minimize a focus on sales.

     Randy stood next to me peering over my shoulder as I banged away on the keyboard. He answered my rapid- fire questions about his background, and then I hit print. Randy had a rockin’ new resume! 

     There he stood holding the resume in his hands, smiling and shaking his head. Randy then looked at me, beaming. “This is me! This resume rocks! Wow – I look GREAT on paper!”

     I took a lot of pleasure in watching Randy’s strain melt away. His confidence was renewed and I could see the hope was back – shining though his eyes! All we did was use a new tool to show off Randy’s skills in a new way. We changed how others would see him based on his resume; and how felt about himself. Sometimes, that’s all it takes.  

Cheers to your success,