The Conscious Choice Approach

Most of us depend upon our resume to generate interest by potential employers. However, most resumes regardless of format consist of standard descriptions of past employment, education, and job responsibilities. Even if your skills and education are superior to the competitions’ you may not successfully attract your “employer of choice”.

Using the Conscious Choice approach described below, you will increase your possibilities of attracting and obtaining the best employment opportunities for your qualifications and your desired employment experience.

Discovering Your Inner Strengths

1. Write a list of the most enjoyable jobs or projects you have ever experienced.

2. Identify those aspects that made the experience “enjoyable”.

• a. People – peers, leaders, etc.?
• b. Project or responsibility type?
• c. Flexibility or structure?
• d. Subject matter?
• e. Environment?
• f. Culture? (Values, Standards of Integrity, Ethics)
• g. Role?

3. Thinking about those experiences, write a list of the skills, knowledge, and processes you utilized to be successful in those roles.

• a. List any other authentic skills or traits you possess, and have successfully utilized to achieve projects or responsibilities.
• b. Identify the “talent benefits” you offer an organization as a result of these skills.

4. Imagine you are able to design the perfect job or perfect day at work.

• a. Write a story to describe exactly what you would be doing, where you
  would be doing it (indoors or outdoors, at home, in a corporation,
  etc.), and how a “day in the life” would look.
• b. Write the exact skills and knowledge you would leverage in the job of
  your dreams, making sure you include all aspects required, including
  those you may not have actual experience in doing, but have a passion
  to learn.
• c. Write a list of job titles you would expect to find, and believe describe
  the work.

5. Google search the titles you have created to locate any job descriptions, job
board postings, etc. where additional details and descriptions are offered.

6. List the attributes you find described.

7. Looking at the list you created in step 3 above, begin to translate your
current experiences into the terminology utilized by the employers’ job definitions.

• a. Caution: Translate authentic skills and experiences, not imagined ones.
• b. Pay attention to how a talent or skill may have been titled in the past, versus how it may be “translated” to the “current”
  Example:
  

8. List corporations or industries of interest and review their websites for topics describing the culture and nature of the opportunities, benefits, etc.

• a. Consult “100 Best Companies to Work For”

9. “Translate” your current resume to represent what you intend to attract, based on the positions which offer:

• a. job responsibilities that energize you most
• b. the new experiences you wish to gain
• c. the current skills you wish to expand
• d. the opportunity to work in a culture that matches aspects of your “perfect day at work”

10. Once you have “energized” and “redesigned” your resume, consider creating
several versions targeting different talent sets, or alternate industries.
a. Consider working with a career coach and recruitment professional
who has experience in the industry of your choice.

Courageous, conscious choices yield amazing results!