Persistence is Key

I spent Friday doing something I’ve absolutely dreaded in the past — updating my resume. I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets in their head when it comes time to articulating, boasting, and quantifying their career on a single page.

Not to mention, the step after you finish toiling over your resume; submitting it to positions only to hear crickets chirping because there’s usually no reply. It’s a real confidence booster.

It was evident that I needed to do something different. Not only for the sake of getting some responses, but in the overall process and feeling good about my career and myself. So, I went back to the drawing board and did some research. 

I began a deep dive to understand the best ways to write a resume and subsequently, a cover letter. Now I know more than anything that the job market is a “it’s who you know” game, but that can still only take you so far. What I began to stumble upon made so much sense that I couldn’t believe I was still using such an outdated approach.

Targeted Resumes. 

It made absolute sense. Here I am, mentioning all kinds of projects, jobs, and contracts in my resume, which says a lot about me, but may have no relevancy to the job I’m applying for. In the same way that website content should be optimized for SEO (search engine optimization), so too should your resume for the exact position you’re applying for.

I experienced a moment of absolute clarity and motivation to revamp my approach and cater each resume and cover letter to the position of my choice. I have yet to test this out for myself, but I’m truly confident in this approach.

Whether or not this works is not what’s extremely important to me. Yes, that’s the whole reason I set out on this quest; however, I’ve gained something a lot more valuable. Keep learning until you’ve arrived.