“It feels like I’m bragging”
“I know we’re supposed to put accomplishments on our resume, but it feels like I’m bragging. How can I write my resume and still be humble?”
When writing your accomplishments, think about them through the lens of trust-building.
You want to give your hiring manager a reason to call you for an interview. The trouble is, you have an important obstacle to overcome: trust.
Your hiring manager likely doesn’t know who you are. They don’t know all the ways that you’ve brought value to your organizations. They’re trying to gauge if it’s worthwhile to give you a call based on what they’re reading off of a piece of paper.
Accomplishments can play a few roles on a resume. They can be a demonstration of your character. (Did the company trust you to manage some of their bigger accounts?) They can also show off your work ethic and attention to detail. (Maybe you consistently bring in a >95% OTD metric each month.)
Your resume is meant to help the hiring manager feel like they’re in safe hands. They can feel good about giving you a call because you left each of your teams in better shape than when you first arrived.
You’re showing how you’ve served your organizations. And you’re giving the hiring manager a glimpse into how you could serve their organization in the future.
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The way we think about careers today is wrong
It’s wrong because it’s outdated. It’s based on an understanding of a working world that no longer exists in 2021.
The foundation, systems, and understood “rules” within those systems have been crumbling away across a century, if not for several centuries, depending on where we choose to place our starting point for what we call the modern career.
In its place, a new foundation with new systems and rules has been seeping into the cracks. Actually, as I type this, I wonder if it’s even more complex than this visual represents.
What if our understanding of careers was always destined to change? What if the “career” was always meant to undergo an evolution?
Rather than thinking about “old” versus “new,” modern careers were always meant to undergo a continuous, gradual development with no endpoint?
Why this matters
Look at the questions we ask ourselves:
Did I choose the right career? Did I make a mistake in pursuing this career path? Am I ruining my career?
We suffer tremendously when we ask these questions. And yet, the “career” we’re visualizing no longer exists. The form in our heads is what the previous generations experienced in the prime working years of their lives.
The main difference is the structure: a career is no longer a path with a destination in mind, where the person who works hard is rewarded for time, efficiency, and loyalty along an understood trajectory.
Today, a career has no destination. The person who is the most visible, brings the “right” expertise, and can answer the “What’s in it for me?” question asked by leadership is the one who is rewarded.
My invitation: Challenge me on this
I invite you to challenge me on anything that you’re reading here. Give me a reason to think that any part of this is wrong. What am I missing? What is fuzzy/gray?
I’m committed to understanding this topic as deeply and as thoroughly as possible.
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Doing things inefficiently
James Clear’s email this morning is on my mind. He wrote:
”More effort is wasted doing things that don’t matter than is wasted doing things inefficiently.
Elimination is the highest form of optimization.”
I’m working on a new email/article that I’m pretty excited about. The concept: if I were a brand new job seeker, and if I was interested in landing a specific position, what would I do? What steps would I take?
It’s going to be another ambitious piece of writing. But my “How to become a resume writer” email/article was also ambitious, and it’s received surprisingly high engagement for the subject. I’ve also gotten a number of kind responses to it.
Maybe I ought to start putting more effort into these bigger writing pieces. ;)
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How to get in front of recruiters
1.) Have what recruiters want, and then make it visible on LinkedIn. Remove any filters or restrictions to viewing your profile. Keep in mind that recruiters use search engines by funneling for both broad and specific keywords. (I.e. project manager, construction, commercial development, Baltimore, Washington D.C.)
2.) Make your recruiter look good for “discovering” you. Include relevant accomplishments on your profile that your recruiter can easily copy/paste into an email to their supervisor or hiring manager. Back up your accomplishments with numbers, dollars, percentages, and data.
3.) Focus on getting that first recruiter to view your profile. Get them to engage with you (sending you a message, following you, or sending a connection request). The LinkedIn algorithm will see that a recruiter is visiting your page and trying to get ahold of you. It will push other recruiters to view your page.
Quick Q&A:
Q.) Should I put my resume on my LinkedIn profile? A.) It doesn’t hurt. The recruiters I’ve spoken to are roughly split on the “resume on the profile” question. Some like easy access to it. Others are more interested in funneling you into their questionnaire, where you’ll be asked to submit your resume.
Q.) Do recruiters use bots to collect information on LinkedIn? A.) It’s against LinkedIn’s policies to do this. But yes, recruiters use third-party bots/automation software to collect information on potential hires. Interseller is one example, and it’s popular because it “acts” like a human that’s casually browsing LinkedIn.
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How to become a resume writer
This is going to be a pretty ambitious email.
1. Start by being observant of your workplace and industry. Ask, who are the employees that are most often rewarded? Who is getting the acknowledgments and promotions? What are they doing that’s different from the group?
2. Look at who is being hired and who isn’t. Ask your supervisor if you can sit in on some of the interviews taking place or shadow them when it’s time to hire someone new into your group. Do this even if you’ve never seen another person doing this, and don’t worry about embarrassing yourself just for asking.
3. Find a way to practice writing resumes. But don’t just practice for the sake of practicing - you need a feedback mechanism in place in order to get really good at what you do. I helped my colleagues with their resumes, cover letters, and interview game. I also had plenty of “practice” by my personal job-hopping, moving from company to company as I sought out a healthy place to work.
4. As you practice, allow yourself to get curious. Don’t be afraid to bug supervisors, project managers, senior leaders, or even your immediate colleagues if it feels right. Ask them about the hiring process. Ask them what they like to see in their job candidates. Then consider the possibility that what a person says they want from a job candidate isn’t what they actually end up looking for.
5. I was lucky in that I eventually was allowed to become part of the hiring team at one of the companies I worked for. I was also lucky that I worked within a revolving door of an industry. Exposure is so incredibly important if you want to become good at your craft. There are books upon books out there that talk about writing the perfect resume, but I’ve never read a single one.
6. Eventually, you’re going to get this itch that you want to trade your skills and abilities for some form of compensation. I would jokingly demand a steak dinner whenever I worked on a colleague’s resume. But eventually, I realized that it was time to try this on a different playing field. This (for me) was the first major stage where I contemplated quitting as a resume writer. The overwhelming thought I had was that I was getting into this too deep, and maybe it was time to put this thing to bed.
7. Make your first sale. It’s incredibly easier to type this than to actually make this happen. Because in order to make your first sale, you need to overcome obstacles in fear, ego, doubt, frustration, and pride. I made my first sale on Reddit for $150. My client was a legal clerk looking to join an immigration law firm.
8. Keep making sales. It’s so incredibly tempting to quit after you make your first sale and after you work with your first client. Everything you thought you knew about working with clients flies out the window. You realize that every assumption you have about entrepreneurship is wrong. But regardless, keep making sales. Push through incredible discomfort and imposter syndrome. Cry it out if you’re having a particularly tough day. But if you want to be a resume writer, this is a stage that you just have to get through. You’re stretching and growing into a new version of yourself.
9. At some point, you’re going to experiment with pricing, experiment with building websites, resent the work, and resent your clients. And then, when you least expect it, you’re going to realize that you’re a resume writer. Someone is going to refer to you as a resume writer. Or maybe you’re doing the dishes, and as you put away one of your plates, you realize, wow, I’m a resume writer. This is one of my identities now.
10. At this stage, you get another chance to quit. If you’re anything like me or anything like the billions of people on this planet, you’re going to be afraid of your new identity, and it’s going to make you want to quit. I personally went through a phase where my deep pride for the work and for my clients’ successes gave way to a deep shame. My thoughts were something like: “Wow, I worked so hard to get here, and I put in all this time and energy into this. But what was it all for? And why did I pick resume writing? I could’ve spent all this time doing something cool, or popular, or socially acceptable, or whatever. But I picked resume writing?”
And the final stage - the eleventh stage, if you will - as you experience your inner turmoil and guilt and grief, you’re going to get an email. It’s going to read, “Hey there, you helped my friend land a job with this incredible company. Could you help me out, too?” And without thinking too much about it, because you’ve built this muscle memory for it, (or so you’ll tell yourself), you’ll reply back and say, “Absolutely. Tell me about your job search.”
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P.S. The website is finally up, along with the new LinkedIn page edits. Go check it out, let me know what you think.
Ridding myself of the die-hard-perfectionist
There are people who follow me on LinkedIn that remember me from my Reddit days when I was the “Reddit Career Coach.” Eventually, I did find the courage to use my real name online. Thinking about it still makes me smile, how worried I was about the reactions of my colleagues and loved ones if they ever found out that I was a career coach.
It’s May 1st, and I’m sitting at my desk, figuring out how I want to write out my LinkedIn page and new web pages. I’m trying to step away from full-time resume writing and step into full-time career coaching.
When I write about others - my job seekers, industry professionals, new graduates - I have zero issues stepping into their shoes and writing these beautiful and impactful pages. But when I need to write about myself, wow. The inner artist fades away and the die-hard-perfectionist comes out in full force.
How I like to map out my LinkedIn pages:
- Outcomes first - what outcomes/results are you going to get from working with me/hiring me/promoting me?
- The “What” - what do I bring to the table, what are my value-adding skills, what are my services?
- The Proof - Testimonials, relevant accomplishments, any evidence that backs up your “what”
- The Call-to-Action - what do you want the reader to do next? (Send you a message, sign up for services, give you a call)
Is my way of writing LinkedIn pages the only way? Of course not. But does my way get some pretty fantastic results? Absolutely.
Today’s email is my attempt to rid myself of the die-hard-perfectionist.
While the tiny details of what I write are important, it’s the overarching narrative and the internal response from the reader that ultimately matters in the end. (This goes for resumes as well!)
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Announcement Coming Soon: Private Career Coaching Sessions are here! Sign up and plug into an hour and a half of exploration into your career goals, job search, promotion plans - or anything that’s weighing on your mind.
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“Yes, this is a problem”
I don’t know how to convey what accepting a lower salary does to your spirit. I want to show you the trickle-down effect that begins with you not being paid according to your value - and ends with you forgetting what it’s like to have respect for yourself.
I hope you will never accept less than what you’re worth. I hope you won’t ever allow a hiring manager to talk you down from the salary you know you deserve.
If you choose to draw a line in the sand, I hope you’ll never let someone’s nickel-and-diming guilt you or shame you into moving that line.
It might be that you’re being asked to lower your salary by a thousand dollars. They might ask you, “Is this going to be a problem?”
My wish for you is that you’ll say, “Yes, this is a problem.”
Without justifying it or providing any reasons to back up your number, you’ll repeat the salary that you want.
I can’t promise you that the hiring manager won’t give the job to someone who would do the work for cheaper. But in all the time I’ve been a resume writer, I’ve never had a single client lose out from refusing to budge.
And their refusal to budge helped create the foundation for a powerful, impactful, and resilient experience with their new company.
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My spine straightens
In my apartment, I created this perfect little workstation in the corner of my living room. My desk is an art table that I’ve had for almost 15 years. I’ve replaced the stool with my ancient purple La-Z-Boy recliner. And part of me wonders if I’ve made a mistake in creating this space because I’ve all but abandoned my living room and dining room. When I wake up in the morning, all I want to do is go straight to my workstation and start writing.
Lately, I’ve been digging into homiletics and practicing speaking out my inner thoughts. I’m making myself complete those thoughts rather than stopping halfway if I don’t think that I’m getting it right.
I learned something about myself in doing this. When I’m speaking to an empty room, I’m awkward and jumbled and mixed up in my speech. But when I’m in front of at least one person, my spine straightens, and I’m able to speak with conviction. I know who I am, and I know exactly what I want to say.
I didn’t realize this until I sat down to type this email. I think that I’ve found peace in my heart. I always knew that I would get to this stage to feel ready to do something like this. Now that I’m finally here, the expansiveness of it all is humbling and moving.
It feels as if I’ve walked up to a door and opened it, expecting to walk into another room. But instead, I realize that I’ve just opened a door into the hall of a cathedral.
I’m excited to share this journey with you.
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Don’t let a trending article stop you
A trending article on LinkedIn talked about how millennials (yeek, I don’t like that word) are making sudden career choices during the pandemic and, subsequently, ruining their careers.
Among the list of sudden career choices: quitting to start a business, quitting to freelance part-time, and quitting to take a break.
I’ve worked on hundreds upon hundreds of resumes. I’ve explored the winding career paths of professionals from all walks of life. I have yet to encounter a single person who “ruined” their careers from making any of the above choices.
If anything, choices like these allowed for some fascinating career narratives to take shape. Even when the person didn’t have a perfect plan or goal fully envisioned before taking the step, they ultimately found their footing in creative (and even lucrative) ways.
1. Career paths are as unique as the person walking them.
2. You have no way of knowing how your decision today will affect your tomorrow.
3. Whoever wrote this article likely has a chip on their shoulder for millennials. ;)
If you want to take a break, or try part-time work, or start a business, don’t let a trending article stop you.
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Hiring managers want
If you want to stand out as a job seeker and be chosen above all the other candidates for a position, start by thinking about the hiring manager's needs and perspective.
Hiring managers want:
Someone who can follow directions.
Someone reliable.
Someone they can trust to do what they say they’re going to do.
Someone competent.
Someone who isn’t going to create problems for them down the road.
On LinkedIn and other public forums, hiring managers will happily talk about the first four items in this list. But it’s the last item, “someone who isn’t going to create problems for me,” that tends to be the quieter, almost whispered ask.
Is this person going to be combative? Will they embarrass me in front of my boss or our clients? Are they going to be gone in six months?
Thinking about this through the lens of opportunity, I want you to ask yourself the following:
What can you include on your resume, and what can you talk about in the interview, that will show the hiring manager that you’re there to fully support them, the team, and the organization?
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How can I be better?
I watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi. After almost ten years since the last time I watched this movie, I still found it to be a deeply moving piece.
Jiro, now the 95-year-old owner and sushi chef of one of the finest sushi restaurants in the world, is endlessly devoted to his craft. The fish his restaurant uses, the rice they prepare, the vendors he selects, the tools and techniques he utilizes - these are always on his mind. It’s also what he attributes as the secret of success in his life - mastery of his chosen occupation.
I grinned a few times while watching this. I don’t have the number of years that Jiro has toward mastery of my own skill, but I recognize some of his habits and traits in me.
I think about my work all the time. I think about my clients, their goals, and the companies and industries they strive to be a part of. I constantly journal thoughts, ideas, and new job search methods worth exploring. I ask myself, how can I be better? How can I tip the scales in my clients’ favor? Where else could I be digging for answers?
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I have a feeling that one of the punchlines to Origins of the Modern Career is that careers both emerge and evolve alongside social and cultural change.
Increased education/specialization of the laborer, combined with the formal establishment of key professions in the 19th century (nursing, engineering, pharmacy, social work, etc.), allowed some of the first formal career structures to exist.
It created protection for the worker, protection for the actual profession, and, ultimately, protection for society.
In addition, being in a profession and following a career path gave the worker his own status, power, and prestige. The increased access to education and technology created a positive feedback loop - the easier it became to join a profession, the more that people wanted to be part of professions. Over time, certain patterns and expected experiences within the profession became “known” career structures.
What’s fun is that our understanding of careers during the 1800s and our understanding of careers today can either be wildly different or exactly the same depending on whom you’re talking to. But I’ll save this topic for another email. ;)
My notes on Origins are public, updated in real-time, and they can be found here. Check the left-hand bar for the book title.
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Working in public
I consider this Day #1 in what promises to be an enjoyable and fruitful use of my time. Origins of the Modern Career finally arrived in the mail! ;)
Origins is an introduction to the study of careers and their history. It’s broken into three parts: constructing the modern career, the influence of gender, and the influence of industrialization.
I’m going to share what I learn as I go.
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I think I’m finally ready to put up the new web pages. Right now, you’re only able to see these posts/emails if you visit my website. But soon, I’ll have new offerings listed out. Wherever you’re at in your career journey, you’ll be welcome to plug into the service that feels right for you energetically.
I believe that everybody should be able to have full ownership and control of the direction their career is heading. Everybody should be able to have control over their own destiny.
It’s from this lens that I’ve been writing, building, and creating, getting everything ready you guys. And I’m so excited to share all of it with you.
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I’m laughing
I wasn’t ready to put aside the question, “Do you believe that career change is hard?” So, I put out a poll on LinkedIn and asked you guys for your thoughts and insights.
I’m laughing because, in just two days, almost 4,000 people have stared at the post long enough for LinkedIn to register it as a view. I also have over 50 votes with a handful of comments captured below the poll.
By now, I’m sure that you guys know how much I enjoy the deeper, complex questions of life. I love to chew on them, journal on them, and think about why everything comes together the way that it does.
Yet, somehow, “career change is hard” is the topic that’s getting the engagement at this time. ;)
One reason why I’m fascinated by this is my personal belief that the word “hard” exists like a curse. We hear the word hard, and it’s like a barrier is immediately erected, preventing us from going anywhere near the topic it’s describing.
I like describing things like career change as challenging, difficult, intriguing, fascinating, and worth pursuing if we’re called to make it happen. It also helps me form better thoughts around the topic since I’m instructing my brain to start thinking about solutions.
I wonder, who are the people who think that career change is hard? What is their story, history, background, and belief system? Have they ever thought about making a career change, or possibly attempted a career change in the past? Did they form this belief through their upbringing, maybe hearing from their parents or caregivers that they should stay in their lane, pick something and stick with it, the grass is always greener?
There’s also a part of me that has zero interest in even touching this topic beyond asking this question. ;) That’s because I’m personally not in the business of convincing people that they need to change the way they think, especially if they aren’t internally motivated to take that step.
Maybe this was just a fun question or a fun moment in time that I got to explore. :) But maybe I’ll come back to this topic someday, we’ll see.
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When a career change isn’t the answer
I was working with a client who was interested in a career change. She was the wife of a former classmate of mine, and through his very kind introduction, we got together on a Zoom call.
She didn’t have a strong idea of the specifics behind what she wanted to do next in her career. But the idea of leaving her current job had persisted for so long that she felt she could no longer ignore it.
Initially, we talked about the changes taking place in the travel industry, particularly during COVID-19. She enjoyed her work and the impact that she was making, but two issues kept coming up. She didn’t know how long her job was going to be there. She also wasn’t making the paycheck that she was hoping to make.
We talked for a long time. I try to keep my calls under an hour, but there was something about our conversation that made me hesitate to end it. Everything she was telling me sounded perfectly logical. But I felt there was another aspect to her situation that we weren’t covering.
Finally, I started to see where the real problem might be. I said, “This next question might come across as a bit left-field. But do you feel like you’re making the same financial contribution as your husband? Do you feel like an equal contributor to your partner in your household’s finances?”
She shook her head, “No, I don’t.”
”Is it important for you to feel like you’re pulling your weight financially in the relationship?”
”Yes. I think about it all the time. My husband works so hard for us. I feel like I’m not doing enough.”
Our conversation traveled down a different path from this point. We briefly touched on credit card debt. We talked about what it might look like if she stayed in her profession and who she could go to for mentorship within the travel industry.
For this person, a career change might still be something she’ll want to pursue. She could start the process years from now. She could start as soon as today.
But when she does decide to take that step, she’ll now have a greater insight into where she is and who she ultimately wants to be.
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Announcement: Office Hours
For the month of April, I will be holding office hours from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm EDT on the following dates:
07-April
14-April
21-April
28-April
The rules are easy: send me your questions ahead of time using LinkedIn Messaging. Then join me in Google Meet (meet.google.com/apd-vssr-jsk) where we’ll cover as many questions as we can.
You can ask me anything within reason, but this would be a great opportunity to discuss your: resume, cover letter, LinkedIn page, job search plans, promotion opportunity, salary negotiation, getting in front of recruiters, etc.
If there are questions we can’t get to, I’ll cover them in an email to my list.
Two quick things to consider before joining me for office hours:
1. I can’t ensure anonymity during office hours.
2. If discretion is important to you, it may be better to schedule a private career coaching session with me. (More details on these sessions coming soon.)
Let me know if you have any questions.
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At the core of it all
I’ve been reflecting on some of the reasons why I’m doing the work that I’m doing. At the core of it all, I want every working professional to know, in their heart, that if they ever want to make a change in their career, they can do it. And not only can they do it, but that if they choose to make the leap, they’re going to be just fine.
Career changes can feel risky, and they can feel scary, and it can often feel like we’re our only advocate as we search for jobs and build our networks and fill out application after application.
But we can do it. It’s difficult to do, and it will take time to see the results we want, but we can make it happen.
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Boundaries
You’ve seen me write about various topics worth reflecting on before beginning a job search:
- Risk (what I also like to affectionately refer to as Recklessness)
- Service
- Sacrifice
- Dignity
- and the latest, Boundaries
It’s amazing what moving to a new place can do for the mind. I sat down to dig into some of my notes from past client work. I’ve looked through these hundreds of times, but one theme leaped off the pages in a way that I’d never noticed before.
Boundaries being violated. Boundaries being nonexistent. With some clients, there were personal boundaries that had been in place before joining a new company or taking on a new assignment or promotion. But a new supervisor, or a new team, or a new set of circumstances tested those boundaries in such a way that they ultimately fell apart.
What are your boundaries? Are your boundaries respected by your supervisor, colleagues, and clients? Do you respect your own boundaries?
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Heading down to Florida
Tomorrow morning, I’m leaving North Carolina and heading down to Florida. I don’t know if I’m excited about this move, or if I’m just excited about taking the Halstead exit and ordering a caramel frappuccino for breakfast. ;-D
I’m taking this trip slow - staying for a bit in Savannah - and then moving into the new place. Once I get there, I have so many things in the works - career coaching sessions, office hours, LinkedIn Lives. I’m even working on a new workshop for job seekers. It’s turning into something truly special, and I can’t wait to launch it into the world.
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Our worthy cause
Service and sacrifice. These are two other big words we can think about when considering a job search.
I was asked by a person who I deeply admire what the final straw was for me leaving the pharmaceutical industry. My answer? I didn’t want to solve the problems that I was being hired to solve anymore.
With me, I no longer wanted to be in service to the organization. I no longer wanted to sacrifice in order to achieve my company’s overarching “mission statement.”
I find that many job seekers and career changers that I speak to share those same feelings.
And here’s the frustrating thing: it isn’t that we don’t believe in service or sacrifice. It’s the opposite: we believe in service and sacrifice so much that we can’t ignore it when we know that we aren’t experiencing it.
Being in service to something bigger than ourselves and sacrificing for our worthy cause is integral to finding fulfillment in our careers. It isn’t enough to just “be in service,” and it isn’t enough to sacrifice for just any cause, no matter how worthy it might seem to others.
Today, I’d happily talk to you about my resume writing and career coaching work. I’d also bring up every difficulty, every frustration, and every moment that makes me want to pull out all my hair.
But each morning, I wake up with tremendous gratitude. I start on my to-do list, chat with clients, plan out resumes, and tackle all of it in the fullness of spirit.
I believe with every fiber of my being that I am living a life of service, and I am glad (glad!) to sacrifice for the work I’m doing. You couldn’t take me away from my desk or my laptop for all the money in the world.
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