It's Time To Throw Away Your Resume
We were raised by the belief that our resumes display our personal value. Well I am here to tell you that although this may be a helpful asset to get your foot in the door, it is not everything. Your connections are what can make or break you. We have all heard the saying: it's not what you know, it's who you -- and this could not be truer in today's times.
The job market today is more difficult to enter than ever before and resumes are not sufficient enough to secure you a position. Your personality and how you sell yourself are what will get you a job, not how many fake internships you held every summer during college.
“Who you know gets you an interview; what you know gets you a job.”
Learn how to frame yourself in a way that makes you a desirable candidate for whatever position you hope to achieve. The most common question in an interview is “tell me about yourself.” This is an amazing opportunity to take whatever you have experienced in life and relate it to the position you are applying for. People are much more impressed by the struggles and the obstacles you have overcome in your life that make you suitable for this position, rather than a position you held in a college club.
Your past life experiences are what shaped you into the person you are today. Sure being the president of your fraternity or sorority looks good on paper, but no one gives a sh*t about that in the real world. Anyone can join a club, but it takes perseverance to go through the obstacles that life throws at you.
“Always continue the climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, if you first get to know who you are and are willing to work with a power that is greater than yourself to do it.”
Relationships are everything in the world of business. It takes an immense amount of time and effort to make the right connections. Rejection is a fear many people cannot handle, but the people that can will rise to the top. You may face rejection after rejection until you find the right connection. The art of pursuing your dream is a tiring feat many cannot handle. There are tons of great actors, actresses and writers out in the world, but the ones that get recognized or published knew how to utilize their connections.
Social media sites are an amazing way to meet people. You may think Facebook is just a place for sharing photos and bitching about your life problems via status updates, but it is so much more than that. I know many people who have advertised their personal blogs on Facebook only to have them picked up by a company. The same goes for Twitter. Social Media platforms have opened up an entire world of connections that are literally at your fingertips.
“If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”
Forging the right relationships that lead to successful connections may be some of the most difficult, yet most rewarding work you can do. The more connections you make, the more doors will open for you.
Colleges are promoting the wrong type of resume writing. They teach you what large corporations want to see. Finance? They will show you how to tailor your resume to E&Y and Deloitte. Marketing/advertising? They will ship you off to New York Life magazine. Despite what these college counselors may think, Generation-Y does not want to live life in a cubicle. Maybe these ideas were what past generations dreamed of, but not ours. We need to stop listening to these old timers clinging to the ideas of years past. It is time for us to throw out our resumes.
Photo Credit: Tumblr
