Be More Creative in Your Resume Writing Business

You might think that you're already pretty creative. After all, you're a resume writer, and creativity is part of your DNA. But the thing is, most of the time the creative process is not really as spontaneous as some people might wish it was. You can't just sit around and wait for creativity to suddenly strike. Creativity takes a little work and planning.

Here are some ideas:

• Brainstorm on a Regular Basis

It's really easy to get tied down with typical business activities on a day-to-day basis, and that can kill your creativity. After all, it's hard to go from updating your QuickBooks account to coming up with a killer LinkedIn headline without an adjustment period. And it's even harder to go from writing a cover letter to coming up with ideas for an ebook to help your clients in their job search. So it's important to set aside a regular time — each week or each month — to come up with new ideas. The specific timing doesn't matter. The important thing is to take the time out to brainstorm new ideas.

• No Idea Is Dumb

While you're brainstorming, keep track of the ideas that come to mind, and take the stance that no idea is dumb. Sure, some ideas are wacky and may not work, but even a truly ridiculous idea can become genius if given half a chance. During brainstorming, nothing whatsoever is off limits. If you put blocks in your way and start classifying things as dumb or wrong, you will not be able to let ideas flow freely.

• Conduct Research

Once you have some ideas, it's time to narrow them down and start doing some research. It's important that you handle this process on your own. Learn about your idea, test your ideas, and get feedback from others before you move forward too far.

• Take Time Out to Learn Something New

The exciting fact about learning is that you can learn anything new — and it will help you in all aspects of your life. What you choose to learn about today may have nothing whatsoever to do with resume writing or your clients, but it will open your mind to new possibilities. It's important to always be involved with the learning process, whether it's learning a new software program, or learning how to make a square foot garden.

• Get Out of Your Bubble

It's super easy to get caught up in our own bubble. This happens a lot to people who have their own businesses. It can also happen with resume writers, when you only talk to people who agree with you, or who only work with the same clients. I learn new things by interacting with college career center staff, employees of state Department of Labor departments, and new resume writers. Invite new people into the fold on occasion, and get out of your office by going to a conference or something so that you can separate yourself from your inner circle enough to soak in new thoughts about the world and your niche.

• Allow Yourself to Think Big

Dare to dream the big dreams about yourself and your resume writing business. If your mother did not tell you that you are capable of anything, then that's too bad. Because, the truth is, your success or failure has almost nothing to do with your education, or even your abilities. It has to do with the ability to dream and think big -- outside of the world you currently live -- and see the possibilities that are on the other side.

• Only Action Gets Results

Brainstorming, researching, learning, and dreaming only go so far without actions. So, someplace in the creative process should be a plan in which to take action. Actual steps that you need to do to see something through to fruition. It's like anything else you do in life -- if you don't take the steps necessary to make it to your destination, you will never get there. That goes with being healthier, working with a different type of client, and being more creative. You have to practice doing to get results.

• Follow Through

It can be easy to get carried away doing everything and then when things aren't going the way we want them to it's easy to give up. It takes 10,000 hours to become an expert. With any idea that you come up with that you want to succeed in accomplishing, you should be willing to spend the 10,000 hours needed to see it through. If you do that, you will not fail.

Creativity isn't a magic thing; it's a thing that you plan to achieve. It's the thing that will get you up every morning working your resume writing business so that you can experience the life of your dreams.

In a Resume Writing Rut? Here's Eight Ways to Boost Your Creativity!

Feeling creativity drained? Stuck in a resume writing rut? Today's blog post will give you eight ways to boost your creativity. You ARE creative -- you just have to let your creativity out!

Here's how:

• Be More Mindful

There are a lot of things we do every day without even thinking. We get up, shower, brush our teeth and go about our lives mostly on autopilot. Try getting up in the morning with a new mindfulness about even the most mundane activities. Think about how your sheets feel on your body right before you get up; think about how the shower water feels; think about how the toothpaste smells and tastes, and so forth. Take new pleasure in everyday experiences and really be "in the moment" as you experience them.

• Look at the World Differently

If you drive to the store the same way each time, take a different route. If you have a viewpoint in life that is different from a friend's, take the time to give their world view some consideration. You don't have to tell them; it's simply a practice to looking at the world through a different lens, which might bring rise to new ideas and thoughts that you never allowed yourself to experience before.

• Go for a Walk

If you're working on a resume and feeling stuck, get up and get out. Go for a brisk walk. While you are walking, try not to think of anything but your walk for the first couple of minutes. After that, it's okay to think of the resume and brainstorm ideas as you walk. You might consider bringing a recording device with you so that you won't forget anything that comes to mind. Often, taking the pressure off is the best way to become more creative.

• Change Your Environment

One of the best things about working for yourself is the ability to change your environment. You can take your laptop to the park or the local coffee shop to do some work. Need a bigger change? Try cleaning up your office, painting it a new color, and moving around the furniture. Change helps your mind work better.

• Learn Something New

Take a class; read a book; go to a conference. However you choose to do it, learn something new. It's important that you are always learning and growing. What you learn doesn't actually even have to be related to resume writing. It can be something just for you -- such as learning how to garden, or golf. It can also be something that helps you more directly in your business such as learning how to incorporate passive income into your resume writing business. The important factor is that you make it formal enough that you do it regularly and once you've learned, move on to learning something else new.

• Get Moving

Yes, walking is moving, but you need more regular exercise in your life than a walk when you are frustrated or blocked. People who work at a desk and sit for more than four hours a day are at a higher risk of sudden death than those who have other types of jobs. The scary part is, many of us sit for more than 11 hours a day, which increases your risk of death early by 40 percent. Join a regular exercise plan or create your own regiment, and then get up every 90 to 100 minutes and move around for 10 minutes -- or buy a standing desk.

• Eat Better

The brain needs glucose to think. That's why you crave all that sugar when you are doing a lot of work and really want to stuff your face with chocolate or ice cream or both. Give yourself permission to eat more fruit while you're working, and you'll find that your brain works better. Studies show that people who eat sweets during or before a test perform better. Make the sweet something healthy like a banana or a sweet juicy peach. A green smoothie is even better.

• Take Action

Sometimes being more creative is simply a matter of going from thinking to doing. The truth is there is no such thing as a creative block. You've likely heard of "writer's block" but have you ever heard of "Cashier's Block" or "Doctor's Block" or seriously any other career that gives you an excuse not to get to work other than so-called creative professions? These blocks really don't exist. Your creativity is there for you on command as soon as you accept that it is.


Try these eight ways to boost your creativity! Do you have a tip for how to feel more creative? Share it in the comments below!

Put Innovation On Your Calendar for 2014

In December's special report, "Make Your Resume Business Better," I talk about how to reignite your passion for your resume writing business. One of the ways to do that is to think about how you can introduce innovation and creativity into your daily -- or weekly -- routine.

Smart business owners devote at least a small portion of their working time to innovation and creativity. At big companies like Facebook and Google, employees are allowed to spend a percentage of their time on their own projects. This helps keep their creative fires burning, and some of these projects turn into major successes for their employers.  

You can do the same in your resume writing business. It is important to devote some time to coming up with new products and/or services or even delving into something outside of your comfort zone to take your business to a whole new level.

Here are some ideas to help you put this idea into action.

• Dedicate time for innovation and creation. Just like you mark on your calendar the things you will do today, schedule a block of time devoted to "creation and innovation." You can do an hour a day, or 1/2 a day a week, or some other timeframe that works for you. But it’s important that it’s an actual calendar item and that you know how you’re going to devote that time to creative pursuits. This item on your calendar should be just as important as any other to-do item on your calendar. 

• Bring in a creative partner. Sometimes a fresh perspective can open up doors you never before thought were possible to get through. You don’t have to bring in a permanent partner -- you can work on joint ventures with different people on just one project at a time. Start with something small and work your way up to larger ventures. Bringing in a partner will not only spark your creative side, but it will also make you feel challenged -- and maybe a little obligated -- to be a good partner. 

• Change your location. One way to open the creative floodgates is to get out of your office. Go to the coffeehouse down the street; go to the park. In the summer, I like to work outdoors on my front porch. (And someday, I'm going to live in Arizona, so I can do that in December too.) Get unplugged and use a paper and pen instead of technology. Turn off the music, turn off the TV, turn off the noise, and get out of your comfort zone. Even a nice walk in the park with a way to record your thoughts can go far in helping you unleash your innovative and creative side. 

• Let go of your fears. You might think you’re the only person with fears, but you’re not. Every business owner has expressed fear or felt fear. Even very famous people have had fear about doing something new or different. The only difference between them and you is they felt the fear and did it anyway. You can be just like them by just changing that one thing and just going for it. Just do it. Work through the fear. Channel that fear into motivation to succeed. 

• Read industry news. You can use Google Alerts to search for keywords and you'll get an email alert when a story is published. Also join at least one industry association and read the daily e-mail list. Being up to date on what's going on in the resume writing industry can keep you from falling behind. While the resume isn't dead (yet!), that doesn't mean you can bury your head in the sand and pretend you know it all.

• Study your competition. A really good way to get the creative juices flowing is to study what other resume writers are doing. I love looking at resume books — especially the Expert Resume series by Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark. You don't want to steal from other resume writers (no plagiarism, please -- even in designs), but it's possible something you see in one of these books will spark your creative energy in a new way outside of anything you’ve ever considered previously. 

By taking out time from your busy work schedule to be innovative and creative, you will create a long-term business that will fill your life with passion and profits while never becoming mundane and boring.

Start an Inspiration Book

I was stuck tonight writing a cover letter ... so I pulled out my trusty inspiration book. I started the inspiration book while I was subcontracting a few years ago. When you're writing 7-10 resumes a week, sometimes you just get "stuck." You look at the blank page and nothing comes to you.

I address the syndrome of the blank page in my "Write Great Resumes Faster" book. One of my best blank-page busters is an inspiration book. Divided into sections, it addresses the common challenges with a resume -- the qualifications profile, achievement bullets, core competencies (for keywords), cover letter openings, cover letter bullets, and cover letter closings.

Obviously, you don't want to just cut-and-paste into your resume and cover letter documents. But sometimes just reading through some of your previous work will help create the inspiration you need to break through the blank page.

How to create your own inspiration book? Cull through your past resumes and find turns of phrases that speak to you ... or, absent that, just copy and paste a variety of phrases and pieces. I find a three-ring binder works well to organize your information, although you may find that keeping a Word document or using an app like Evernote helps you access the information you want.