RésuméRedux:UsingtheWritingProcessasaToolforCareerDiscovery

HUMANISTS@WORKGraduateCareerWorkshopUCHumanitiesNetwork,JapaneseAmericanNationalMuseum,LosAngeles,CAMay9,2016

UsingtheWritingProcessasaToolforCareerDiscovery

Insteadoflookingattherésuméasa“onceanddone”chore,lookatitasadynamic,continualgrowthexperience• Developingarésuméthatworksrequiresyoutotranslatewhoyouarewithwhere

youwanttogo• Theworkcanhelpyouexplorewhereyouwanttogo!Nowandyearsfromnow

“Thingsyoucando”(skills)willbewhatyouusetotranslateyourexperiencetoanewaudience• Whichleadtoasetofkeywords(“bucketed”) touseinyourrésuméandbeyond• Keywordsbecomeusableascluesinyoursearchforpotentialnewcareerpaths

Researchandconstructnewdiscoverieslikeyoualwayshave,butthistimeonyourownbehalf• Trackwhatyoudiscover• Beopentonewideas• Keepfollowingthebreadcrumbs– youreffortsarecontinual;yourrésumé

willjustbeastrategicsnapshot/momentintime

DifferencesbetweenCVsandRésumés

CurriculumVitae(CV):• Length: 2-30+pages• Style: exhaustive lists• Users: academia, research,

medicine• Audience:gatekeepers, SMEs• Content:education,

experience lists,categorizedlists+intellectualauthority

Résumé:• Length: 1-2pages;3+• Style: targetedexamples• Users: mosteveryone else• Audience: gatekeepers

(incl.ATS/ASCII), SMEs• Content:executive

summary,experiencesection (scopeofwork,bulletpoints),education/profile,addendum+quantitativeoutcomes

Bothareself-marketingdocuments,justpresenteddifferently.P.S.Theguidelinesaredifferentoverseas.

MakingHumanitiesStoriesRelevantBeyondtheAcademyPurpose>Content>Design

CaseStudies:Howothershave“wire-framed” their storiesHandout,pages2-7

“TheJDA!”(JobDescription Analysis)

Reverseengineerwhatyourintendedaudienceswant,whilefindingtheintersectionbetween“whoyouare”and“where youwanttogo,”ANDmaybeidentifyingotherfactors(e.g., amI

qualified?aretechnicalgaps?doIevenwanttopursuethiscareerdirection?!)

Whatare“buckets”Simply,they’re“brandedbulletpoints.”Behindthescenes,they’recoreskillsorthemessoughtbyyourpotentialemployers;presentedascorestorythemes;visuallybundledforvariousreasons

Why“buckets?”Becausesomeaudienceswillwanttoseeskills/expertisethatothersdon’t

Becauseit’suptoyoutofilterwhoseeswhat (theylargelywantskillsthatarerelevant)Because30versionsofarésuméispainful! (AmIright?!)

JDA:FromCrazytoOrganizedHowmanyrowsinyourExcelsheet?

Here’sanexample“outside”ofwhathumanistswouldexpecttosee.Today’sjourneyisheretostartmaking yourJDA(and jobsearch)feellesscrazy,andmorehelpful

JDA Step1:You’vealreadydonethis

Researchand“pulldown”interestingJobDescriptionsIndeed.comLinkedIn®

Etc.

FiveTipsforFindingJobs (thankyou,AnnieMaxfield)

1.GotoIndeed.com,leavethelocationonUSAtogetthelargestpoolofjobs(youcannarrowbylocationonceyouhavekeywords).

2.Usebroadtopicsofinterestassearchterms:immigration,immigrationpolicy,immigrationadvocacy,gender,waterconservation,etc.

3.Addskillstotheinterestsearchesusingtheword“and”:immigrationandadministration,immigrationadvocacyandtechnicalwriting.

4.Lookbeyondthefirstpageandhoneinontitlesordutiesthatyoucontinuetofindinteresting:“Communitymanager”“SocialMediaContentDeveloper”

5.Justfindjobsthatlookinterestingfornow– findingtheexactfitintermsofqualificationsandskilllevelwill comelater.

JDA Step2a:IfyoucompletedyourJDA,thisiswhereyouarerightnow….

Group“like”jobtitles/positions• JobType/Door #1=Analysis#1(3-5jobs,Excelsheet)

– Thismaybeallyouneed,butforthesakeofconnectingdots,let’ssayyouhavethree

• JobType/Door #2=Analysis#2(3-5jobs,newExcelsheet)• JobType/Door #3=Analysis#3(3-5jobs,newExcelsheet)

Door#1JDA1

Door#3JDA3

Door#2JDA2

• Ourgoalistounearth,identifyandpresenttheintersectionbetweenyourskillsetandthosesoughtbypotentialemployers.

• Theremaybemultiple intersections.Someemployerswillwantsomeskills,otherswon’t.

• Allofthisworkletsuswrite“themed”or“branded”bulletpoints,soyoucanmix-and-matchthemlater.

• Itmighthelpyoudecidewhichdoor(s)youwanttoenter– oratleastexplore.

JDA Step2b:IfyoucompletedyourJDA,thisiswhereyouarerightnow….

Yikes!• JobType/Door #1=Analysis#1=37rows!

– Thismaybeallyouneed,butforthesakeofconnectingdoes,let’ssayyouhavethree

• JobType/Door #2=Analysis#2=52rows!• JobType/Door #3=Analysis#3=26rows!

JDA Step3:

Takeabreath.Let’sdojustone.• JobType/Door #1=Analysis#1=37rows

Tablework(15minutes):

Analyzeyourfindingsand“bucket”themintolikeideas(1-3wordthemes)

Inotherwords,seewhereideasoverlapinyourrowsandstartcreating themes.

Tip:Forgettheactualjobdescriptions.They’vedonetheirworkfornow.You’rejustusingthemforresearchatthispoint.(Unlessyouneedtoreference themforcontext.)

JDA Step4:

Tablework(4minutes):

Pullout/isolate/choose4“buckets”

Examples:ProgramDevelopment&Administration

PublishingOutreach&ConstituentRelations

GraphicDesign

JDA Step5a:

Tablework(4minutes):

Nowchoosethesingle mostcomfortablebucket/themeThenchoosethetimeframeyourbucketwillcover

Examples:“ProgramDevelopment&Administration”whenIwasaGraduateFellowatXYZResearchProgram

“Writing&Publishing”overthecourseofmyentirePhDprogram

Why?We’reabouttoquantifyaccomplishmentsandscopeofresponsibilitywithinthetimeframeyouchoose.

JDA Step5b:

Tablework(15minutes):

Nowlet’squantifyyouraccomplishmentsandscopeofworkJustplunkthemina“bucket.”SeeHandoutpages8-10

Why?Quantifyingyourprofessionalaccomplishments,output,and“impacttotheworld”ishallmarktoarésumé.

Ittellshowmuchyouhavehandled…itdoesn’tjustsayyoumadeadifference,itdemonstratesitwithnumbers.

JDA Step6:

Tablework(15minutes):

Nowdrafta narrativeforoneofyourbuckets

Whenfinished,placeonthewall?Anyvolunteerswillingtoreadtheirsaloud?

Examples:Handoutpages8-10

Q&A

JaredRedickExecutiveRésuméWriterTheResumeStudio.comjredick@theresumestudio.comlinkedIn.com/in/jaredredickThankyou