The MicroTrain Blog

When I was looking for a job recently, I knew that I needed to get my resume into tip-top shape. So I did everything you're supposed to do: I sent it to some friends, one of which was a professional copy-editor, to make sure I didn't say anything  (or spell anything) stupid. I sent it to a co-worker asking if they had thoughts on how I worded some sections. I sent it to my dad to look it. I took all their notes and digested them and polished my resume to a shine. I even spent a little money on a professional headhunter (I found one who was donating an hour of her time to an alumni auction, and I got it at a steal) who made some very excellent suggestions about the direction and tone of the piece.

When I thought it was as perfect as I thought it could be, I started in on the usual haunts like careerbuilder.com and monster.com. As someone looking to stay within the management world, I even spent a few bucks on an "elite" job board (it rhymes with TheMadders.com) who gave me a resume review that had some valid things to say, which I considered.

Then, I came across a site that said it would give me a free resume review if I signed up. I won't name the site, but the review they sent me sent chills down my spine. They made it sound like my resume was written by a 10-year-old who had never held a job. They found spelling mistakes and told me I didn't do anything to show the outcomes my work had on my employee's bottom line. 

I couldn't believe it. Could I have messed up so badly that I had to start from scratch?

Well, I couldn't find any spelling mistakes, and neither could a copy-editor. And there were plenty of places that I showed how my work positively affected the bottom line. 

Surprisingly, this company wanted me to feel bad about my resume. Why? So I would spend $250 to have them fix it. Yes, it was a scam. Had they even read my resume? I had a friend of mine submit her very different resume, and she got almost the same response. This place was looking to bilk me out of cash, which is bad enough, but targeting people who are potentially unemployed is doubly bad.

So keep this in mind. Know who you trust and who's just looking to make a fast buck off your desire to find a new job.

Surely you've all heard the definition of crazy, right? Doing the same thing over and over again and hoping to get a different result? Every time you put a raw egg in the microwave, it explodes,but you hope this time it won't? That's crazy!

I'd like to expand that definition a little farther. Crazy could be defined as doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different result or doing the same thing everyone else does and hoping to stand out. 

Have you read the rules on how to get a job that everyone else has? Have you read the same books on how to write your resume (including the same set of "action words" you're supposed to put in that resume)? Have you paid money for a cover letter writer (or software package) that writes the same cover letter as everyone else? Do you print your resume on resume paper like everyone else? Do you wear the same suite, tie and dress to the interview as everyone else? 

Then guess what: you will not stand out.

Standing out means taking a stand, owning something (like in your last job, how you took ownership of that sales channel or that manufacturing process or networking standard) and treating it like you would treat your own child. You know who does that? No many other people. 

Standing out means being yourself, in the way that being yourself helps sales or support or greases the wheels between departments, making sure that people didn't feel like a number, but like someone you cared about.

Standing out means taking whatever work you do and turning it into art, from the way to bundle network cables to the way to cold call a lead to the way you design your resume, because they all represent you as a person.

Stand out. Stop being crazy. Stop following the lemmings and hope that this leads you to a job. Be you. Find the artist in you and show the world how great you can be.

Start now.