Skip to main content

In 200 words or less...

"First impressions last a lifetime," it is said. When a potential employer reads your resume, what impression does your Summary section leave behind?*

* I'm assuming that you aren't seeking your first job, which would mean that your Summary section would instead be entitled Objective and would describe what you're looking for. Everyone else should omit the Objective section and instead summarize what they have accomplished professionally.

Here's my 30 minute resume makeover.
  1. In 30 seconds, choose as many one word nouns that describe yourself. Don't try to overthink this: the first words that pop into your head will be the ones that you feel most comfortable describing yourself as. (Example: strategist)

  2. In 1 minute, choose a single one word adjectives for each of the top 5 nouns. Do not use the same adjective twice. (Example: excellent strategist)

  3. In 5 minutes for each pair of words, write a single sentence that justifies the adjective-noun pair based on your work history. (Example: Excellent strategist. Defined, developed and implemented a 12-24 month strategic plan that resulted in a 12% OpEx savings for the entire IT division.)
Add a prefacing paragraph and you have an excellent starting point for your starting point. Just like bait on a fishing hook attracts the fish to investigate further, this starting point will literally pull the reader into the rest of your resume to discover what other treasures lie within.

Popular posts from this blog

So What is this IPaaS Stuff, Anyway?

 In my last post , I discussed how no-code/low-code platforms fulfill rapid development of business applications - addressing the needs of the Citizen Developer (a Gartner term  first used around 2009).  I also commented on how this specific objective limits their ability to provide true integration capabilities, which require the flexibility to adapt to the myriad variations of infrastructure.  This is a concern because companies often have acquired legacy systems via M&A activity while simultaneously investing in new technology solutions, resulting in a mishmash of systems with multiple ways of accessing them. In this post, I'd like to examine how the needs of the latter group are met by describing some key capabilities that are "must-haves" for any company looking to execute on a digital transformation strategy.  In order to do this, let's define who the target user base is for such a technology platform. Disclaimer:   I work for MuleSoft (a division...
Read more

Time to Level Up!

With the recent news out of Salesforce and Oracle, it’s easy to understand why folks affected by layoffs might feel discouraged. Not only are they leaving companies they may have called home for years, but they’re also facing the daunting prospect of job hunting while headlines scream about “AI taking over human jobs.” Not long ago, another company I follow - let’s call it Acme  - went through a similar round of layoffs. Two employees in particular (we’ll call them Jim and John) showed how mindset can make all the difference. Jim had been at Acme for over 20 years. He was reliable, steady, and well-liked, but not exactly the standout type. When he was laid off, he decided to take some time off before even thinking about his next move. After all, he had a severance package. Didn’t he deserve a break after two decades of hard work? John’s story was different. Though he hadn’t been at Acme as long, he’d built a strong reputation and had both technical and leadership skills. Instead of...
Read more

COSMIC Insights

Consider the following scenario:  you're a mid-level manager and find out that a layoff is coming.  You're about too lose one of your best direct reports, but you have no ability to influence the decision to lay them off. Oy! My head hurts! What do you do? Oftentimes, I find that people - when presented with situations where they feel compelled to act but have no ability to change the outcome - enter a state of mental lethargy.  They don't know exactly what it is they should do but, "gosh darnit!", something has  to be done.  When they realize how helpless they actually are, they start lamenting about the situation, how they are backed into a corner, etc. In a very real sense, they go through the five stages of grief . I'd like to offer the following alternative way of approaching these and other situations:  I call it the COSMIC method, not only because it sounds cool but also because I like science fiction (" Lisan al Gaib! "). COSMIC is an acronym...
Read more