Regaining Your Creative Spark

In a recent weekly email newsletter, author Harvey Mackey addressed the topic of creativity. 

I addressed the same topic in my book, "Write Great Resumes Faster." 
Sometimes you just get stuck when you're writing a resume. You can't figure out how to start -- or you start, and you can't finish. While the book gives you some specific strategies for helping you write resumes, Mackay gives you some more general creativity builders.

His suggestions:

• Be aware of what's going on around you. Stay on top of trends. Learn from other people's ideas and mistakes.
• Rely on your instincts. As you assimilate the information around you and assess the possibilities, factor in your instincts to come up with creative solutions.
• Assess your options. Sort your ideas into categories, and rank them. Try combining ideas, and eliminate any that don't fit what you're looking for.
• Stick with it. You need to be persistent if you want to achieve anything significant. Keep a detailed picture of the intended result in your mind to hep you stay focused and move forward.
• Be patient. You can't hurry creativity, so take time to ponder your ideas. Sit back and take time to think things over. That's usually how the best ideas bloom.
• Evaluate the results. At the end of the process, ask yourself: Has my vision been realized? Learn from what works and what fails, so you can move on to your next project.
• Creativity isn't just a process. It's a value. If you value success, get creative!

Creativity can be your best asset when you're feeling it -- and it can be your biggest enemy when you're struggling. Use Mackay's tips -- and the strategies in Write Great Resumes Faster (including Quick Reference Guides to action verbs, personality traits, profile descriptions, section headers, keywords and more)k0 -- to stay on track!