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Writer's pictureEd Lawrence

Stop Tweaking - Work from the Inside Out, Instead

From my July 2024 Newsletter



 

Tweak - Verb: improve (a mechanism or system) by making fine adjustments to it. Example: "engineers tweak the car's operating systems during the race"

 

Career professionals have plenty of stories about people who think tweaking their resume will land them a job.

 

The job seekers in these stories are wrong on two counts: First, the purpose of the resume is to land an interview, not land a job. And secondly, tweaking usually doesn't make any difference.

 

Of course, you should customize your resume for every application. Tweaking, in our scenario, refers to the act of changing some words or adding fluff--simply because what you've got doesn't seem to be making working. That is, you are not landing interviews, and you don't know what you should do, but you feel you need to do something; anything.

 

Recently, a prospect contacted me; asked me to help them fill out a template resume that they obtained from another resume writer. I declined.

 

My #2 reason for declining was because the person was asking me to work with someone else's template. Apparently, they had obtained the template from another client of the other writer. I hope that bothers you as much as it bothers me; hope you agree they should hire the other writer. I don't think they will. Apparently, the other writer charges more than I do.

 

But my #1 reason for declining,was the fact that I had previously discussed with the prospect how they needed to analyze their skills, qualifications, and traits to compose a presidential message--the brief message that summarizes what they most want the employer to know about them.

 

They didn't want to do that. They just wanted a job.

 

If you have followed my work and know my philosophy, then you understand tweaking and other desperate minor changes won't increase your chances of just getting a job.

 

On the other hand, meaningful self-examination--working from the inside out-- can help significantly. Your self-examination will likely lead to meaningful answers for job interviews.

 

It's a tough job market. The competition is plentiful; the filtering is fierce.

The road to employment is similar to running a gauntlet.  

If you don't know your "why;" haven't compiled your strengths, qualifications, and traits; and can't convey a concise presidential message---you will likely be knocked out of the running because you won't have those strong answers.

 

Adding one more skill or changing a verb won't make one lick of a difference.

 

So, while you have some time available over the 4th of July holiday/vacation week, consider doing some self-reflection and some writing. If you need some help, you know how to reach me.

 

 

 Wishing you all a safe and happy 4th of July holiday!

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