The art of the Résumé

 September 17, 2020 – The art of the Résumé

 

         Today a longtime friend called me to update his résumé, so nice to be needed in such a personal way.  It’s nice to know that he feels I have stellar qualifications to do so still. 

          I may be retired, but there is lots of life left in me.  It’s a nice reminder that I am a wisdom keeper and if I actually had to go out to work – I have skills, marketable skills.

          Every few years as he climbs the corporate ladder or is entertaining new possibilities, he calls and we revise his résumé to keep it current.

          I have known him since college and when he was graduating from Appalachian State University I suggested he add a real estate license to his credentials to increase his skills package.  He did and I think it opened more doors for him that he wouldn’t have had without it.

          He is a banking professional and that industry sets targets to hit.

          He thrives on the carrot dangling on a stick in front of him – he knows the harder he works, the more money is in his pocket.  And, many times in his career he has blown right past the target and moved up quickly. Yes, it is always exciting to hear about his achievements climbing the ladder of success.

          He is a perfect example of free market system and capitalism and how it works in this day and age.  And, he started when we didn’t have the internet, we barely had mobile phones.  He easily embraced all the new technology as it came along. 

          He is a perfect example of embracing “change” in order to grow.

          You want to eat, you work; you want a nice condominium or house, you work; you want a BMW or a Jaguar, you work hard. 

          You want to go up the ladder you think outside the box and increase your value to the market place.  That phrase “value-added” includes new skills mixed with quality community activity.

          It has been an honor for me these last few decades to watch him ascend to new heights in his career. We've had countless discussions about business and careers and thinking outside the box.

          Another friend of mine went to a career seminar once and shared something with me about careers. 

If you are not moving up the corporate ladder,

maybe you just need to move the ladder.

         My banking friend knew this instinctively somehow, whereas I had to be told.

          There in is the lesson – current resume in hand – you can move your ladder anytime.