Only Mediocre Need Apply

I have a son who is a genius. The day Chuck was born I knew it for a fact. Didn’t he say, simplex munditis at 10 months? The first phrase he ever spoke was not in mother tongue as though he sensed he was making history of sorts.
The occasion was simple though. He lay in his crib and between drinking his constitutional and wetting the bed he had freed himself from his blankets. When his mother picked him up and wanted to tuck him back he just backed off to say, ‘elegant in simplicity’. His dimpled smile was right and his baby fat made him a dumpling. Later it seemed to me he didn’t have the patience to say the old blankets chafed him and in his birthday suit he felt great and like a brick of gold. Naturally he had to express his joy at being comfortable with a quote from Horace. Horace, no less!
At the age of four Juvenal and Goethe were jockeying for a spot in his intellectual firmament. Before he hit the five he knew Nietzsche was speaking his own lingo.
While his mother and I went from speculation to handouts.
Chuck was getting ahead till he had a title that was impressive. His bonus was phenomenal that spoke volumes than speaking 10 languages like a native.
One comfort we had in the cash strapped times was that dialects of the world were not in the immediate danger of extinction. From South America to Fiji our son Chuck had collected them all just in case.
One week end he dropped in to see us. He said he liked what he saw about us. Next thing he wanted to move in with us.
Before I could ask what was the idea he hinted the company was downsizing so he was on transition.
I was incredulous. I asked, ‘Son what with all your education?’
He was over educated he said and it was working against him. He shrugged and said, ‘Never mind Pop, I will find a way to brand my over-achievement into edutainment space.’
After fixing himself a sandwich he added: ‘meanwhile garbage is piling up on my elbow’. ( Later it struck me garbage was his pile of resumes returned unread.)

He was somewhat moody that he had not the bandwidth besides his language skills.
He said, ’Employers don’t want to wrap around their heads but park their behinds on shmucks who do not know their onions.
It was then I realized Chuck was a genius to his own hurt. I ought to have known: since the time he quoted from Horace by a spark of inspiration he was heading for disaster.
I gently patted him on his back and said ‘ Courage, son. You opened your life with such a stirring phrase far remarkable than Longfellow’s Excelsior. You quoted simplex munditis, unaided. I am certain Horace was at your bedside.’
My son’s eyes sparkled and faded. With downcast eyes he muttered, ’semel insanivimus omnes’*( We all have played fool once.)
Yes Chuck was right. He had played the fool to rely on his superior intelligence; just as his mother and I had warmed in our knowledge his genius was of a superior mode. The trouble was that the world only needed one with just enough skills to prove he wasn’t a moron.
benny

Read Full Post »

So You Have to Write a Resume?

There is no need to panic. Understand you need the job and are the best person to write that resume. So with a right attitude and a little preparation you can write one will make open doors for you.
An interview, and a meaningful negotiation for a job you can keep is you are after, right?
A positive attitude is as good as writing one. Almost. You need the job so why not make your focus on your life experience and the job on hand tie in to a successful outcome?
After all what have you to be afraid of? You are telescoping into your life in a manner of speaking. You only need to choose from your experience that gives you an edge over other candidates. Other candidates may have much more experience but if they have not caught on to those vital elements crucial to the demands of the job they push their resume in vain.

Focus firstly why you are writing one. If you are applying for a position as a receptionist in a dentist’s office you need not include such experience of canning or packing meat. Your pleasant manners and winning smiles are wasted if you haven’t been called in for an interview. So keep out all non-essentials.
Save bother for yourself and others.

Secondly No experience is to be dismissed as of no consequence. You can in so many cases work it in to add flesh and bones as it were to the job you are trying to get. If you have worked as hair stylist perhaps you might have been swamped by confidences, gossip and what not from your clients all day long, that you could take without turning a hair. If you are applying for a job where your position demands certain degree of confidentiality you can mention your experience in as far as much it bring out your ability to keep that point- loud and clear.

Before you actually sit out to write a resume you have to see from the employers point of view. What are the credentials they most care about?

‘Pretend you are in the employer’s shoes and ask yourself, “What’s my biggest need? What’s most important to me about this job?” Talk to your mentor and contacts in the field. Try to find people who are already doing the job you want and ask them, “What is the most important part of your job?” ‘

Finally think of this job one of a kind in your life experience. It is only fair to grab it with all the aspects of your life that has the best possible chance to keep it. Once you are in the job, your new experience will leave its impact so next resume that you write will be different from the resume you need to write. So treat this as the best you can for the job you want.
The interviewers shall take you for how you have put your emphases on your career path. So writing a proper resume makes your life in a proper perspective as far as your career is concerned. If you are vague it will show it through. If you stay focused and precise it will also speak for you accordingly.
So good luck.
(Ack:Karen Burns She blogs at http://www.karenburnsworkinggirl.com.)
benny

Read Full Post »