Curiosity Gaps and the Power of Discovery

I read a fascinating article last week that took the discussion about personal marketing to a whole new level.  The article – The Surprising Secret to Selling Yourself – asserted some ideas that I have been promoting on this site for some time.  A truly effective resume strikes just the right balance between presenting a solid track record of success and communicating potential. If you read my blog, you know that your resume needs to include specific, quantifiable achievements.  For most readers, that concept is disruptive enough.  So the idea that your resume needs to also create some strategic curiosity gaps can be too much.  In fact, you may be thinking that those two ideas are mutually exclusive.  However, a resume that achieves both is going to be incredibly compelling.  Here’s why:

Discovery is exciting: When it comes to hiring, the thought that you may have found someone with untapped potential and someone who is going to be a rock star in her / his new role is a pretty exciting idea.  By creating some strategic curiosity gaps on your resume – those questions in readers’ minds that make them want to learn more via an interview – you allow for that feeling of discovery.

Quantifiable accomplishments reduce risk:  Potential is a powerful selling point, but without some track record of success, the risk can simply seem too high.  A bad hire is a costly error.  If you can show – by sharing clear achievements – that you have made a positive impact in the past, you reduce the perceived risk and allow the reader to take a more calculated gamble.

Your best is yet to come: No one wants to bring in someone whose best days are behind him or her.  No matter how successful you’ve been, you need to leave space for something even greater in the future.  Take the iPhone for example.  The product was an initial hit because it united Apple’s track record of quality and design excellence with potential.  That same powerful combination continues to make the iPhone an incredible success.

Have a look at your resume.  Are you balancing clear accomplishments with some compelling curiosity gaps?  Are you communicating that – despite your success – your best work is yet to come?  I’ll be honest, that balance is not easy to achieve.  On the plus side, those that do achieve it will stand out in an increasingly competitive job market.

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How Do I Explain An Employment Gap In Interviews?

Q. I have a gap on my resume that causes me quite a bit of stress.  The good news is that I have been able to get a few interviews despite it.  The bad news is that I find it really difficult to explain the gap during interviews, even though I have nothing to hide (I just couldn’t find work).  A. With the job market as challenging as it has been for the last four years, a lot of people have gaps on their resumes.  This means that employers are a little better about looking past these gaps.

Speaking to employment gaps during an interview is much like speaking to weaknesses – be honest, succinct and shift the conversation back to your qualifications. If you have been developing yourself professionally during your time out of the workforce, great.  Speak to how what you have learned makes you a more attractive candidate.

Listing Awards and Honors on Your Resume

Q. I am proud to say that I have earned several awards over the course of my career.  Do you suggest I create an Awards section on my resume or should I list them with my experience? A.  Congratulations on your successes!  Generally speaking, I recommend listing awards and honors within your professional experience section.  For one, this should challenge you to only speak to a few of the most impressive honors or those that you are most proud of.  This also provides greater context for the reader, as opposed to the fairly common “laundry list” of awards toward the end of the resume.

Regardless of where you list awards on your resume, it is critical that you focus on what you did to achieve that award and the impact you had on the organization, not on the award itself.  It is much more important to highlight WHY you were recognized than that you were recognized.

People Hire People They Want To Work With

Creating an accomplishment-focused resume is a real challenge for most people. Writing an accomplishment-focused resume that also makes you sound likeable and approachable can be even more difficult. This is why a Branding Statement is such a key part of an outstanding resume.

A Branding Statement not only creates a frame through which readers will see your qualifications and achievements, it can help to humanize the document. A well-written Branding Statement should strike just the right balance between professionalism with approachability. Of course, this varies from industry to industry. Someone in finance is likely going to lean much more heavily toward strictly professional than, say, someone in a creative role, who might take a more “familiar” tone.

When all is said and done, people want to work with people they like (who are qualified). In almost all cases, a really effective resume will need to subtly communicate like-ability. A Branding Statement can be an excellent way to make just the right first impression in order to communicate that.