Don’t let your resume fade away into the background

Some people are remembered because they are sharp, creative, and interesting. Many people are gray and easily forgotten

Call up our office after 6 pm EST. Usually no one is there. Listen to my voicemail message. (800) 239-7037. Bryan Dilts. I change the message fairly often.

You won’t be the first person to call just to hear it. Some of them are great. Some are merely okay. I, personally, think each is funny, motivational or thought provoking. Some other people think my messages are an abomination. Each message is the real me. 

My voicemail is unique. Each person who leaves a message remembers me.

No committee would ever let me have those messages. They would strangle the creativity. I actually had a manager tell me not to be happy when I answer the phone at an old job. That is the kind of thinking that turns you into a gray person that no one will remember.

Little children are great examples for their creativity, and their ability to stay upbeat and happy in many situations. Kids trip over or fall face first into the floor all the time and they get right back up and go back to being happy as ever. They’re wonderful examples of how everyone should act. Having that upbeat and unstoppable attitude is a great way to stand out, not some gloomy gray person that fades away. 

Unlike children where they can be all over the place, in your job search you need to strike a balance. You need to build confidence in the hiring managers. You also need to stand out. If you come up with a great idea, run it past some friends who can help you refine it. Then test it. The key is to refine and improve, not kill the idea. In the end, take responsibility and do something a little different. Your friends are not a committee with a life or death responsibility. They are helpers.

Figure out what will make your resume better and unique. Decide a few things you can answer to the standard questions that make you stand out in 10 seconds of an interview. Find the way to network that will set you apart and make you uniquely worthy of help. Always go for a little better.

Use help to do something better and more unique. Don’t let a committee kill your genius. Be sharp and creative, not just a gray person everyone immediately forgets.

Something to do today

So, what is unique about you? Is it your personality? Your brainpower? Your 10 kids? (I have that many.) Education? Sense of humor? Hard work? Soberness? Reliability?

Figure out a way to emphasize your strengths. Be different.

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