Don't Start with your Resume' when Beginning a Job Search

As a career and life clarification coach, I help people find clarity, purpose authenticity and joy in their professional lives.  Although I understand the role and importance of the professional resume', writing or developing them for clients is not what I do.  My marketing materials and website make that quite clear by stating “if  you want to recreate yourself on paper (i.e. resumes and cover letters), I am not for you.  If you want to work with someone who will push you to examine not only your core strengths and values and passion, but to also identify and overcome your limiting beliefs, let’s talk!” 

Mark Franklin of OneLife tools explains that "a career is not just a job, but the full expression of who you are and how you want to be in the world...."  Therefore, I firmly believe that before you ever put your pen to paper or type away on the keys of your computer, you need to tune in emotionally and vibrationally to who you truly are and who you want to be as a professional.  As stated by author and career coach Laura Berman in her 2015 TEDx Talk, “Career Satisfaction doesn’t come from what you do.  It comes from who you get to be while you are doing that job.”

Words hold power and can elicit emotion which inspires action. You must be sure that the words you are choosing to represent you are truly in alignment with your desires and “who” and “how” you want to be as a professional. Words should not be chosen solely because they are popular on job posting platforms.  Aligning yourself with how others want you to be by using only their words and descriptions can lead to an emotional disconnect between your authentic self and your professional goals.  If the words on the page don’t emotionally inspire you, your actions and how you show up as a professional to job interviews and the workplace could be detrimental.

Before beginning the process of writing your resume’, I suggest engaging in reflective work about what you truly want from your ideal career position. A great exercise for doing this is called, “Clarity through Contrast” and the “Desire Statement.” These exercises, developed by Michael J. Losier, encourage you to identify what it is that you DO NOT want in your ideal career (contrast) in order to obtain clarity  about what you DO want.  Here is how it is done.

On a blank piece of paper make two columns.  Label the one on the left “Contrast – What I Don’t Want” and the one on the right, “Clarity – What I Do Want” (see image).  Under Contrast, record all the things that you do not want in your ideal career (i.e. lack of flexibility in scheduling, no ability to use my creativity to develop new product designs).  When you are done with your list, re-read each statement and re-write it so that it reflects what you do want in your ideal career (i.e. flexible hours and scheduling, ability to use creativity to develop new product designs).  Be sure to convert all your contrast statements to clarity statements.  
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After you have become clear about what you do want in your career, you need to write out your Desire Statement.  The Desire Statement is an effective tool for raising your vibration in a positive way to attract what you do want to bring into your life.  On a new sheet of blank paper write the following statement at the top of the page: 
I am in the process of attracting all that I need to do, know, or have to attract my ideal career. 
Then, use the sentence starters below to re-write your clarity statements:
I love knowing that my ideal…
It excites me…
I love how it feels when….
I love the idea of…
I’ve decided…
I’m more excited at the thought of …
More and more…
I love seeing myself…

For example: “I love knowing that my ideal career offers flexible hours and scheduling” and “I am excited to know that my ideal career is one where I can use my innovative thinking to create new product designs.” 
Re-write each of the clarity statements as a desire statement.  When finished, write the following statement at the end:  I am in the process of attracting all that I need to do, know, or have to attract my ideal career.

Once you have crafted your desire statements, then you can begin looking at your resume’ in a new light.  Do the words and phrases you use to describe yourself, your skills, your talents and accomplishments on your resume’ create the same level of emotional excitement and enthusiasm as your desire statements?  For example, if one of your desire statements is, “I am excited to know that my ideal career is one where I can use my innovative thinking to create new product designs” and nowhere on your resume’ do you enthusiastically share your ability to use innovative thinking to create new product designs, then your career desires and resume’ are not aligned.
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In addition to helping you authentically create yourself on paper in the form of a resume’ and even a cover letter, the “Desire Statement” can help you create the  positive energy vibration to attract your ideal career.  Be sure to keep it somewhere visible and read it as often you can while embracing the positive feeling states and emotions that it elicits in your mind and body.

Want a coach conversation partner to help you craft your own Ideal Career Desire Statement and guide you through the process of manifesting your ideal career?  Schedule your 20 minute FREE initial consultation session today: https://nhcoachingappt.as.me/consultation

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