What We Can Learn From the Oscars

To be the best in your career, you need to practice your craft. Every year's Academy Awards ceremony is recognition of this. It requires patience, teamwork, creativity ... and, most importantly, hard work.

Set high standards for yourself -- for your behavior, your actions, your work ethic. And then work to live up to those ideals. Lowering the bar is a cop-out. I found this quote (author unknown) that sums up the struggle for those who decide that it's too much work to live up to the ideal that they had once expressed for themselves.

“The greasiest leverage you can create for yourself is the pain that comes from inside, not outside. Knowing that you have failed to live up to your own standards for your life is the ultimate pain. If we fail to act in accordance with our own view of ourselves, if our behaviors are inconsistent with our standards - with the identity we hold for ourselves - then the chasm between our actions and who we are drives us to make a change. One of the strongest forces in the human personality is the drive to preserve the integrity of our own identity.”

You want to be an Oscar-winning actor or director? You must work hard. You can't say, "Well, that's too much trouble."

You want to be the best resume writer there is? You must put in the time. Write a lot of resumes. Work on improving your skills. Take criticism gracefully. And never, ever lower your standards.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to my resume-writing colleagues!

It's January -- and with the change to the New Year comes the hordes of job seekers, prompted by the promise of the new jobs that come with new fiscal budgets, and spurred by New Year's resolutions to get a job ... or a better job.

I was in Denver over the weekend to watch my alma mater's college hockey team (Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks) take on the hometown team (Denver University Pioneers) and was at a pre-game tailgate party at Chopper's Sports Grill when I noticed a neon sign lit up in the window across the street. My heart soared at the sight of the single, red-lit word: "Résumés."

Of course, it was New Year's Day, and the business was closed. I didn't have my laptop with me, so I couldn't look up and see if it was a colleague that I knew. But back in Omaha today, I pulled up Google and found the service I was looking for: Cherry Creek Resume Service. I checked and I don't have this particular resume company in my database (I will be adding it though) and I will be calling the owner to offer my congratulations on an attention-getting sign. I just wish I had brought my camera along ...

ReTweet Wisdom #1

I'm on Twitter and get so much good advice on there (inspirational sayings & quotes, links to great blogs) that I'm going to share some of it occasionally on here with you. I only follow 103 people (currently) and I can't believe the great ideas, information, and resources that shows up in my Twitter feed!

Here's just a sample of the ones I liked in the last five minutes:

RT @derekfred 5 Tips For Making a Good First Impression http://j.mp/8LpefI #jobsearch (Thanks @BriteTab)

@KellyMagowan Glass Door, 50 best places to work in 2010 http://bit.ly/7LSYVY (Thanks @AnneMarieCross

HireCentrix Weighing the Value of That College Diploma http://twurl.nl/66n1xf

Animal Introverts & Networking - http://bit.ly/5HHoqE - by @JulieWalraven <-- it's all explained here @KevinWGrossman

BriteTab Build Your Brand http://bit.ly/5sdOm5 #Networking #jobsearch

JobHuntOrg #jobhunting Effective networking follow-up for the holidays & beyond by @Keppie_Careers - http://bit.ly/8aBKwG

Here are some folks you should definitely follow on Twitter (more to come--this is just a start!):
Animal (recruiter)
JulieWalraven (resume writer)
BarbaraSafani (resume writer)
ValueIntoWords (Jacqui Poindexter, resume writer)

Fall 2009 Issue Now Available

The cover story in this issue is an interesting one -- the results of the 2009 Recession Survey conducted by Resume Writers' Digest, the Career Management Alliance, and the National Resume Writer's Association. Also on page 1 is the article, "A Cover Letter is Really Just a Good Sales Letter."

Also in this issue: Ligaya Fernandez, of The Resume Place, Inc. talks about "The Art of Writing a KSA: Writing Effective Accomplishment Record Stories" in a story on page 6. And Dr. Katharine Hansen contributed an article on "How to Coach Clients to Handle a Poor Interviewer," with a sidebar on "Top 10 Executive Interview Pet Peeves from Hiring Decision-Makers."

I also write about "Using Conference Calls to Grow Your Resume Writing Business" in my letter from the editor on page 2. In this month's "Resume Writer's University," learn "The Strategies of Client/Career Branding: Getting It Right Every Time" in an article by Jane Roqueplot.

Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, writes about "How to Use Twitter for Business & Publicity" in her column this month. (Be sure to follow me on Twitter @RWDigest).

Subscriptions to Resume Writers' Digest are free -- subscribe here.