7. Institutional: Many careers start and thrive outside the business world in academia, non-profit, government or other non-commercial sectors. There will still be the impulse to grow, metrics to achieve and levels of accountability to comply with. And, as in the military, internal dynamics will be different, though there are also lots of transferrable skills. Some people will experience a certain amount transitioning back and forth across the border to the business side. Contra standard Federal Resume or CV formats, Business Resumes are best when focusing on specific achievements and personal impact baked into a concise and flexible narrative. So jobseekers in this niche can easily have a couple of versions – one to meet official “inside” demands and another that translates industry jargon and connects the dots into more generally understood verbiage.

Pluses: a. job stability through tenure or organizational dynamics is available, though not a guarantee – there are still be RIFs. b. as with family-owned businesses, there will be a certain amount of drama and self-contained culture to navigate.

Minuses: a. no profit motive can mean less drive to succeed or accountability to optimize processes or reduce costs. b. less motivation to stay professionally fresh, innovative or flexible in order to maintain competitive edge.

8. Serial Entrepreneur: Lots of successful businesspeople have built a unique career of starting and growing innovative and exciting companies. Failure is no real deterrent to these leaders – they keep getting up and trying again – the typical lifecycle of frontier economics. Creativity, visioning and problem solving are fundamental to thriving in this career arc, as is building and leading hand-picked teams into top performance. However, it can be harder to drive growth within hierarchical structures with less flexibility and freedom to innovate. Entrepreneurs must learn how to play well with others, be willing to be held accountable and contribute toward long-term organizational stability. On the other hand, the potential is sky-high for making a lot of money, creating cutting-edge brands and making a deep, positive impact on global marketplaces.

Pluses: a. “out of the box” thinking that leads to actionable strategies that can generate big profits and revenue growth. b. comfortable in vision-casting, building top performing teams and wearing multiple hats.

Minuses: a. potential struggle to be a good team player and resist impulse to be the leader in every room. b. must learn to focus attention and resources to stay on track and effective address shifting challenges.

9. No College Degree: While many, if not most, people in America nowadays have at least an undergraduate degree, some do not, due to choices and circumstances. This should not be seen as an automatic mark against your character. When working with clients who do not have that “sheepskin,” even if they have years of coursework, I encourage them to focus more on properly showcasing what they have accomplished and to aggressively network that much harder. Yes, most companies it seems look to check that requirement off their list, but the right company will try to see the bigger picture and recognize the more critical factors – bottom-line contribution to profitability, productivity or whatever key metric. Not having a degree is no career-killer, but it can mean an additional hurdle to jump and challenge to meet.

Pluses: a. big chance to showcase natural talent under pressure in competitive environments right alongside degree-holders. b. helps to weed out companies that do discriminate against non-degree professionals – saves time in the long run.

Minuses: a. bigger need to network and connect more aggressively without advantage of degree. b. can easily become a source of greater stress and anxiety, trying to guess what potential employers are thinking at any one time.

10. Long Job Search: One of life’s hardest traumas for us in the US is to navigate a job transition – and it gets worse if the search stretches out over months and even years! Plus there is no way to predict with any confidence how long a search will go! This is not a common occurrence, but I’ve seen it happen too often. Self-doubt blooms and self-confidence quickly fades. So since no one can control the main variable – time to next job – what can you do if the job search continues to spool out? I’ve found that the appropriate approach is having the proper tools, an expanding professional network and a proactive impulse. Managing your expectations must be your mantra – if you start setting arbitrary timeframes and they’re not met, then it is not surprising that you get frustrated and depressed. And then your search grinds to a halt… My experience with clients across the entire spectrum is that eventually everyone lands in a position. The real trick is not settling for a new job that proves to be a bad fit because you just wanted the NEXT JOB. Taking the first job offer can turn into a nightmare and a quick return to the job search. Jobseekers must not outstrip their campaign and support coverage, whose feedback is crucial to seeing the red flags ahead of time. There are no real quick fixes, even if your parent or best friend is the hiring authority. So as the common phrase goes – “Be in it to win it!” No matter how long it takes – don’t settle! It also doesn’t work with marriage or car buying…lol!

Pluses: a. chance to refocus and reaffirm strengths and accomplishment – get your career narrative down pat. b. able to help others in similar situations, since we’re not made to live life alone – you can pay it forward!

Minuses: a. lots of obvious negatives – getting stale, losing momentum and direction, enduring emotional free-fall and lacking motivation. b. missing out on professional growth opportunities and being a workplace asset.

I have only briefly sketched out the most common ways that I’ve seen my client’s careers develop and unfold. They can be helpful and indicative to you as you navigate your professional growth. Keep in mind that we are all more than just our jobs – but the pathway we follow will affect our wellbeing, character and prosperity. To see how you’ve built this area of your life will give you greater self-knowledge of the whole – and thereby make you a better asset and contributor at work.

3. Single Employer: Though more common in decades past and more rare today, some have been employed by only one company in their entire career. Often this occurs in very large companies or even family-owned businesses. Typically there is plenty of room to grow in consistently contributing through different and progressive positions over time. Such stability within healthy work environments can nurture deep confidence. However, entering a job search can be a real challenge because potential employers may wonder about freshness and nimbleness in a new corporate culture. If this has been your experience, you should recognize the trade-offs between workplace stability and pushing the reset button to start anew!

Pluses: a. opportunity to learn and perform a lot of different tasks and functions within a specific culture. b. building a track record of steady achievement and wide impact.

Minuses: a. tendency to lose competitive edge due to predictable work environment. b. professional development limited to a single company culture – which may not be a good one!

4. Family-Owned Business: A time-honored tradition in American business is the family enterprise, started years or generations ago – this combined with another American tradition, the pioneering impulse, creates that a unique setting for people to succeed within “tight” familial situations. The opportunities for achieving big things or enduring a really rough working environment are equally possible. Being a family member usually means working up the job chain through different roles. Those qualified candidates coming in from the outside can also earn a solid framework of trust and loyalty from the owners. No doubt the challenges will be many and unpredictable, but so are the job rewards of compensation and satisfaction. A big trick can be smoothly navigating the “reality show” drama – different from what happens than in other businesses since family bonds will permeate the culture and take things to new levels – in good or bad ways!

Pluses: a. more direct opportunities for family or non-family workers to have an ongoing impact. b. job stability and security are available within the right culture.

Minuses: a. toxic family dynamics can produce emotional buzz saws of tension and negativity. b. a certain lack of operational nimbleness or flexibility is common, hindering quick responses to shifting market conditions.

5. Military Transition: The American business world is filled with men and women who have served their country honorably in all US military services. These veterans have given years or even entire careers to potential hazardous jobs, but now look to transition to commercial settings and wonder how this specialized background will translate. Fortunately, our current society generally values such workers more than ever with respect and appreciation. The immediate challenge is positioning specific skill sets in ways that employers will understand. Of course, there are already many veterans who already made the shift and can provide at least an initial point of contact and support. There are also many non-profits available to assist and orient veterans through various hurdles. High-ranking officers, academy graduates and leaders with extensive high-tech backgrounds can enjoy particular advantages.

Pluses: a. advantage of having acquired a vast array of deep training, experience and transferrable skills within a matrixed organization. b. veterans tend to organize, motivate and lead teams better in achieving goals and objectives.

Minuses: a. initial challenge of moving into a profit-driven business environment. b. team dynamics are more nuanced and less authoritarian than following orders within distinct changes of command.

6. Consulting: More common in today’s business landscape than 50 years ago are management consultants, professional services firms and similar providers for pretty much all industry sectors (IT, HR, Accounting, etc.). Lots of big names and market leaders: CapGemini, Marsh & McLennan, Randstad, McKinsey, Boston Consulting, etc., operate across national borders. Many professionals start with these companies right out of university through entry-level jobs – others transition from corporate structures, bringing with a wealth of expert knowledge. These consulting entities focus on providing their deliverables in such terms as productivity, efficiencies or profitability through short-term projects or long-term engagements. Those who thrive in this professional lifestyle can find it very fulfilling and significant, even if they have to please, in a real sense, two different bosses – their client onsite and the home office. The profit motive is still critical since there remains strong market competition for the same customers and accounts in this small industry universe.

Pluses: a. transferrable skills applicable for corporate settings include teamwork, project accountability, high EQ and timely deliverables. b. deep professional satisfaction earned from successful engagements without corporate “red tape” and potentially big performance bonuses.

Minuses: a. potential lack of long-term job stability due to short-term engagements or revolving roles. b. loss of professional career momentum by staying at same level over long period of time and foregoing potential promotions.

Do you feel you really need to make some kind of change? Or do you sense that you are on the verge of a brand new direction in your life? Or maybe you think that you should stay the course, keep your current job and continue paying the bills? Whatever stage you find yourself in, you can benefit from looking back on the arc of your career and see how your decisions and circumstances have blended to give you the opportunity to be a force for good in your life’s setting.

As I’ve guided thousands of clients over the years at the beginning of a job search, I began to notice distinct patterns in career pathways. This blog series will sketch out 10 that I feel are very common. Of course, these observations and opinions are not scientific – they’re more intuitive. They are not meant to be exhaustive – they are more representative. These examples are also not meant to be a kind of personality test – only a career overview, based on patterns I’ve perceived over time and interaction. So you may see yourself in one or a blend of two or more.

Bottom line, I hope this exercise helps and gives you an advantage against your competition in a full-on search. You’ll want to make informed decisions about where to put your energy, focus and resources, based on self-knowledge and good counsel from your network. It is very important for you to make good choices as you move forward, allowing for some mistakes to occur, of course. So before you get too far down the road in your job transition, take some time to regroup and refocus – it will save you emotional “wear & tear” later when life springs its surprises on you!

The ten career pathways we will review are (not in order of importance):

1. Standard Progression
2. Rapid Transitions
3. Single Employer
4. Family Business
5. Military Transition
6. Consulting
7. Institutional
8. Serial Entrepreneur
9. No College Degree
10. Long-Term Job Search

These distinctions are not based on industry niche or position title – they can occur in Sales, Marketing, IT, Supply Chain, Logistics, etc. in healthcare, manufacturing, software design and all other sectors. Instead, the emphasis on the general flow or unspooling of your career – a sort of satellite view of where you are now, rather than a prediction of how your future will absolutely continue. I have added Pluses and Minuses after each brief sketch.

1. Standard Progression: This is the title I’ve given to what appears to me to be the most common pattern that I’ve seen over the years. People will stay at a position and/or company for 4-7 years before making a change to new opportunities. Once out of college and past the first real job in business, the trending is typically upward to higher roles and better compensation. And the industry does not typically matter, whether “front” or “back office.” What emerges is a pathway of steady growth in competencies and professionalism.

Pluses: a. this pathway can employers feel good and confident about their ability to be team players and important assets. b. such professionals can be ambitious enough to build momentum for contributing in unique ways and earning promotions, and not contributing to toxic work environments.

Minuses: a. temptation to coast and go on autopilot can arise with no self-challenge to go further and get better. b. this leads to predictability and then a drop in impact and productivity – something employers typically don’t like.

2. Rapid Transitions: Often people’s inclination or profession leads to frequent job changes – maybe every year or two. This can happen in sales, restaurant or hospitality niches, particularly car sales. The focus seems to be on the next best opportunity – the bigger paycheck. Sometimes a volatile job market or personal circumstances beyond your control can make it hard to have a less transitory track record. Whatever the reason, a jobseeker with this pathway must be ready to really make their case in interviews, projecting competency, dependability and confidence. Employers must understand that the goal is generating greater revenue, profit and market awareness. And who knows? Such a path can transition from rapid shifts to one of longer, steady progression.

Pluses: a. chance to deepen diversity in product knowledge, company dynamics and different markets. b. generate profitable reputation for many achievements in terms of revenue, account and territory growth.

Minuses: a. red flag raised about job loyalty and “stick-to-it-ness” for potential employer. b. employer concerns about investing time and money to achieve fit positive fit.

The reality is that jobseekers need to have help in navigating their career transition and there are many reliable resume services available. Understanding the role such professional writers play will help jobseekers see the value in hiring and working with one. So would be good to take a pause and consider the last two aspects – the five will provide jobseekers with the right perspective for managing their expectations.

4. Executive Chefs: As with the craftsman in the workshop, so with the chef in the restaurant kitchen – the practical artist at work, another master at his trade. However, many feel that they can buy a book or watch a YouTube video to learn enough to cook a gourmet meal. A few people may actually be able to do so! But the reality for the vast majority is they won’t – they don’t have the training, skills or experience – the acquired taste that a master chef has. Anyone can read instructions and follow steps, but to know what really works and how things are done – this takes lots of time and careful effort. Good resume writers will come from a similar background and have the same seasoned approach. They will know instinctively how to identify and package much of the best bits of your career. They create smooth narratives that flow and make sense to the general reader. So jobseekers must look beyond the quick fix or plug n’ play solutions, and work with a professional service who will produce a flexible tool that gives confidence and gets traction. There will always be rapid shifts and changes in the job search – and to navigate them, jobseekers need the right attitude and tools they can trust and easily use.
5. Artists: With this metaphor, I’m not referring to the great artists in history – Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Mozart and many other men and women. Rather, I mean more the retail artist, such as jewelry designer, interior decorators or even beaders. In this sense, the real point to such artistry is to apply unique and personal taste through different venues. Such artists are directly focused on the consumer and deploy highly developed intuition to what works or looks good. They design solutions or products that will appeal to the right audience and also reflect their clients well. Exactly so with resumes produced by an experienced resume writer – verbal artists who capture and communicate a true sense of professional potential, core values and top achievements. As the client, you should be able to clearly recognize yourself, while still seeing the edge gained from a provocative narrative. All these advantages add up! And it is a win-win-win situation – the client enjoys new confidence for the job search, the employer appreciates a document that clearly “puts the cookies on the bottom shelf,” as is said in advertising and the writer get to help people and earn a living. All three are satisfied with their goals achieved.

To wrap up – some solid tips for evaluating and hiring a good professional resume writer.

1. Check out both website and LinkedIn Profile – see what kind of recommendations or testimonials the writer or service has. It is not an absolute indicator, but it is helpful in understanding their strategic approach, search philosophy and service offerings.
2. On the website, review their processes and pricing, if available – if not, contact them to discuss. This kind of research will help you build confidence. Also be aware – resume services will typically have a worksheet or questionnaire for you to fill out with the raw material, or may sometimes offer an interview. Once this material is gathered, the writer will use it all in crafting the new narrative.
3. Always speak directly with the writer to get a sense of their personality and see if there is any chemistry for trust and working together – this can also help in avoiding the “plug and play” contract writers. Keep in mind that resume writers does not have to have had every job they may write about – the goal is to package your narrative clearly, concisely and provocatively.
4. Always manage your expectations – the resume will not be a magic wand – it is a tool that works only as well as you use it within the context of the job search. This is hard to do as most people have not spent enough time in job transitions to get used to how they work.
5. Don’t look for a guarantee for your new resume – nobody can guarantee life itself, let alone career transitions. Indeed, avoid any writer who says they can guarantee you jobs or interviews, since they either don’t understand how life has too many moving pieces to make that claim or they’ will say anything to get your business.
6. Be prepared to invest both time and money to get the job done right – don’t be penny wise, but pound foolish. The right resume writer will give you confidence to pilot the rigors and trauma of the job transition – and typically that writer will be seasoned from years of helping jobseekers.
7. Successful jobseekers always focus on nurturing their self-confidence – without a strong sense of confidence, the job search will be a non-starter. The right job offering will eventually come, but the steps and tools to get there must be planned and in place. The job search is not the place to wander without a map, so get the right support team to help!

Since so much is at stake for jobseekers – income levels, family stability, job satisfaction and career progression – it is not surprising that fear and trepidation can stalk their days and nights. Professional resume writers must do the best they can by their clients and deploy their expertise in seeing things that the average person won’t, not doing this kind of work day in and day out.

So when jobseekers look to work with a resume writer, they don’t know what to expect or how to evaluate this kind of service provider. Sometimes they are initially reluctant because deep down they feel that anybody can write their own resume, or they assume that the cheapest service can do as good a job as one far more experienced, or they even wonder if they should even think about putting their career in the hands of a stranger.

Out of a variety of pictures to portray the role the resume writer plays, I have chosen just 5 for this blog – these may help the jobseeker understand what is involved, how resume writers actually help in the process and then how better to manage their expectations using this kind of service. Because so many of the moving pieces in a job search happen “off camera,” jobseekers grasp at any chance to speak to a live person, i.e. the resume writer. Unfortunately, this means the writer can become an emotional lightning rod for all the emotional stress and frustrations jobseekers can feel.

Wilderness Guides: For those who love the outdoors – hiking, fishing or hunting, it is a wise idea if you going out for any length of time, to hire a professional who knows the land, the best places to go, the right equipment, the right times of the year. The average person doesn’t know the clothing details or weather variables, so taking time to get the right advice will make the experience far more pleasurable. Having the right guide will make the outdoor experience fun and maybe even save lives! Bottom line, it is worth the investment. Same with professional resume writers – jobseekers need any edge they can get in the job competition. Plus working with a resume writer will help their clients avoid a lot of unnecessary emotional stress and position them better in the game.

Sports Coaches: In another arena, a personal trainer will be helpful for the same reasons. If you want to lose weight, get into shape or prepare for a marathon, hiring a professional will bridge the gap between intention and follow-through. Big goals require tough choices, self-discipline, focus and the right processes. In the movie, “Chariots of Fire,” the character Harold Abrahams wins a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics in Paris after hiring a professional coach who gives him that extra advantage against his competition. Again, by nature, such trainers see things the athlete can’t yet and provides the right strategies and tools to overcome the challenges in the race. Likewise, resume writers can help their clients get past the hurdles and traps that always appear. However, like coaches, they can’t guarantee jobs or interviews, they can certainly increase the probability of getting them.

Craftsmen: There is definitely an air of the workshop around resume writers. Like carpenters, tinkers, electricians and other craftsmen, they have very specific skills and very specific “tools.” Of courses, anyone can buy a DIY furniture kit from IKEA, but for a really nice piece of furniture, you’ve got to go to someone who has the expertise and the right components, and who takes the time to produce something really useful and worthwhile. The process may take longer and cost more, but the value will be exponentially higher for something hand-crafted that lasts for a long time. Just so with a professionally written resume – the packaging, flexibility and content will make it priceless. And since so much of your career transition rides on getting the right opportunities and job offers, you should be wise and make the investment in both time and money to work with a professional. Another good thing about a professionally produced resume is that with proper care, it should last your entire career.

In the second installment, I will showcase two other important metaphors – Executive Chef and Retail Artist – to help explain how resume writers are crucial for jobseekers. Plus I’ll have some basic tips about how to evaluate and choose a professional resume service provider.

As always, there is some much that could be said about the job search, career transitions and employment strategies – but any advice must also be applicable to the people actually in the middle of things. Good resume writers will have the perspective and tools to help their clients navigate what is one of life’s traumas in our business environment.

Hemingway’s clear, descriptive ability to paint so much with so few words is part of what has made his work so popular. It pulls the reader into the narrative and some how few words create a full imaginative setting. Plus his language choices are spare – words of fewer syllables. This helps to make his work accessible too. Hemingway wanted to make sure his readers understood what he wanted to describe and where his stories led.

In Resume World, there is a similar fundamental goal – to showcase a narrative of talent and deeds, while connecting the dots in a way that makes it easier for readers to grasp who you are professionally. But pulling this off is where the hard part comes – and unfortunately, many people make the choice of limiting their narrative because they don’t know how to achieve that happy balance of content and context.

If the resume is too thin and light, the reader will not understand how you have played crucial roles at your positions – and maybe this is because you don’t understand it either. Of course, working with a professional will help you to identify your narrative depth and effectively sketch out your career arc. But your goal should always be to have a flexible tool that allows you to respond to specific job specs with a customized “sales” document.

Quick Action Tips:

1. Focus on limiting your description of job scope to top 3-5 functions with 3-5 best-of-best accomplishments for each job, with the most weight usually given to the 3 most recent ones.
2. Make sure your achievements highlight results that are as specific and substantial as possible – metrics, impact and scope, etc.
3. Use the compact Situation-Action-Result (SAR) template with the achievement being sketched out in 2-3 lines max.
4. Avoid trying to cram everything into a single page – unless you are a recent college grad, it is impossible to properly package a 10-20 year career into so tight a space!

Similarly, many people create resumes that are unclear, cluttered or meandering in style and content. But in the job search, the stakes are much higher – careers, livelihoods and families are at stake! Faulkner succeeded in finding his voice and a market that would read and value his work – however, what worked for him won’t necessarily work for you. Clarity and conciseness in resumes is essential – if you make it too hard for readers to figure out what you offer, you’re not selling yourself properly and only prolonging the job transition.

Too often people neglect to pull together and package the best pieces of their career flow – hence the need for professional resume service. The results “home-baked” resumes achieve in the search are too often “hit or miss,” with most being “misses.” Rather, the goal must be – use a flexible and provocative document that showcases your best-of-best material, allows you to pivot quickly for real-time opportunities AND put you ahead of your competition.

Be careful not to assume that your resume’s reader will have the time and patience to navigate all the rambling trails of your career details. Instead, readers must understand how and why you have succeeded in your positions. Support your claims and prove your worth, and earn that solid bump in salary, by clearly adding up what you offer and how well you have done in your work history.

Quick Action Tips:

1. Make sure you both organize AND prioritize what you choose to include in your resume – this also means not trying to cram every possible thing into a 2-page document.
2. Don’t wander and meander in rolling out your career narrative – always focus on being tight and concise in describing your specific accomplishments.
3. Read your resume out loud to friends or colleagues to make sure you are being understood; don’t let your resume turn into something like a joke that never gets to the punch line.
4. If possible, get feedback from your interviews with potential employers or discussions with recruiters to see if anything big and bad stands out.

The first author was F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose lyrical voice, luxurious style and memorable characters made him a best seller. But in Resume World, this temptation shows itself by using what can be described as “flowery” language, while neglecting to keep a tight career narrative and focus on specific career achievements.

Another great writer is Thomas Wolfe. His novels illustrate a second negative tendency in modern resumes – overwriting. In his short life, he gained notoriety for creating piles and piles of manuscripts that his publishing editor, Max Perkins, had to drastically pare down into manageable shape. Without this help, Wolfe’s work would not have seen the light of day.

The same dynamic occurs in Resume World – especially with IT or technical managers and executives. Too often such jobseekers pack too much descriptive content or achievements into their “home-made” document, resulting in a 4-5-page resume. Of course, the assumption is that if more is included, it will increase the odds of being noticed and closing a new job. Well, it certainly get noticed, but not in the way the jobseeker hopes – most potential employers will not want to wade through thick blocks of content.

Unfortunately, jobseekers too often don’t have the kind of editor Wolfe did to save their resume from being morbidly overwritten. “Sales” of your resume will be way down. Fortunately, there are many resources available to help resolve this kind of disaster and keep you competitive in the game. So why hobble yourself with blunt tools that can’t do what they’re made for?

Out-of-shape resumes won’t help your job transition – if you are in for a marathon, you need to be more ready for Mile 26 than for Mile 1. The best job searches occur within a community context, i.e. support and accounability from family, friends, colleagues and even resume writers and recruiters. Successful job searches are a team effort – no one should try and go it alone.

Quick Action Tips:

1. Prioritize your job description – Focus on listing top 3-4 general job functions, such as team/budget size, critical tasks and work scope.
2. Prioritize your achievements – Organize and list 3-4 top accomplishments per position – no doubt you will have a lot to say about each job, particularly your current one.
3. Use a compact SAR version – Situation, Action, Result –This will help you keep a tight rein on overwriting and adding unnecessary info.
4. Avoid the “one-page cram” impulse – Don’t underwrite your resume either – unless you are a recent college graduate.

In job search world, I would suggest there is a similar desire for “Great American Resume” – the resume version of a winning “lottery number.” No doubt, every jobseeker wants a sure-fire, guaranteed document that will always work and get them that great job. But the reality is – no “magic wand” has been found – some will continue the search for that Great American Resume… and since there are no billionaire resume writers, the secret formula for success goes on!

One big reason that no one has ever created this magical tool is that far too many resumes have fatal flaws. Many people assume that too often resumes really are “fictional,” padded full of false facts and figures that the jobseeker cannot back up. This is probably the worst stereotypical label that resumes have earned because so many people indulge in their dark side and make stuff up – and, as we’ve seen regularly in the news, it does come back to bite such offenders.

But to illustrate my point about connecting flawed resumes and literary giants, I have chosen four top American writers from the 20^th century – F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. Certain particulars of their styles highlight what can hurt the narrative packaging of a perfectly good career arc.

Of course, this is not meant to be a definitive analysis of a writer’s approach – this is a job for literary critics. Rather, I want to showcase one obvious aspect, translate it into a resume context and explain how it is a negative. Jobseekers can, in turn, review their document and move to resolve the issue before it hinders them further.

Fiction writers write to entertain and inform. The four writers I have chosen have their many fans – I’m a fan of all of them. Two of them won Nobel Prizes for Literature – Hemingway and Faulkner – all four have had movies made from their books. Of course, their styles won’t equally appeal to everyone but they have generally been accepted and appreciated by our literary culture.

Jobseeker resumes can’t afford to run the risk of having readers misunderstand or miss out on what is being described or promoted. In contrast to writers who want lots of people to buy their books, jobseekers are ultimately looking for that one “fan” that will hire them. Potential employers, i.e. fans, must be able to read a resume and quickly grasp skills, achievements and how they can fit into their organization. And they don’t want to read made-up fiction.

F. Scott Fitzgerald: A favorite in high school and college classes, plus Hollywood – “Great Gatsby,” Fitzgerald’s writing has a distinct lyrical quality that sticks with readers for a long time and helps to make his work very cinematic. In fact, he wrote screenplays in old-time Hollywood at the end of his life, but he struggled with the requirement in screenplays for stripped down dialogue – it did not mesh well with his luxuriant style.

Unfortunately, this more glitzy quality does not always translate well into resumes, but many people still try it. When this happens, the content is too flowery and over-focuses on delivering subjective impressions – these don’t make easy sense or connect dots for the practical workplace. Rather, jobseekers should concentrate on providing a straightforward career narrative that is accessible and understandable by potential employers. This is far more crucial than creating an “artistic” touch – even for those in the more creative jobs… The employers relevant to you will want to see what specific and quantifiable achievements you have delivered. If your resume emphasizes that kind of narrative, you’ll get the kind of “fan” reaction you want.

Quick Action Tips:

1. Review your current resume – Can you back up everything you claim?
2. Double-check your details – Did you include best-of-best achievements?
3. Read your resume out loud – Do you recognize yourself?
4. Avoid “forest & trees” issue – Get feedback from a professional resume writer and a couple of colleagues for outside perspectives.

The first “horseman” is the biggest and worst – FEAR. A primal human emotion, we can be fearful of many things at any age – the dark closet as a child or the dark future as an adult. Nothing can strike fear, though, in the heart of any working America than the sudden drop-off and disappearance of what seemed to be a perfectly good job. Fortunately, life does not stop or the sun not shine in the face of a crisis – day will follow day. The wise jobseeker will understand that much of life is already out of anyone’s control, so emergencies must be faced with courage. And of course, a plan. The job search campaign should be the focal point and source of courage to face down any fear arising from this kind of transition.

The second is ANXIETY. This is a specific kind of fear – one more of immediate needs and threats. We can be anxious about such things as paying the mortgage, medical bills, car note or college tuition. These pressures easily weigh down hearts and minds, just a fear can cast a cloud over an entire life. Anxiety too can be met with specific solutions, such as a well-organized job search campaign. Action and movement are required to maintain a sense of momentum and effectiveness, just as endorphins make jogging several miles endurable. Actually, all types of activities can be a reliable cure for anxiety, but passivity and being a couch potato about your job search will breed more and bigger fears.

Third in line comes CHAOS. Most people have not been through a lot of job transitions in their career, and it usually is a negative experience. Being dropped into a job search quickly creates a zone of chaos that needs to be organized and controlled. At this initial point, it is really useful to get guidance from career professionals, such as a resume writer, career advisor or interview coach. They can help you identify and prioritize your resources. Successful jobseekers will understand what they can actually influence in the process – and what they cannot. They will be able to nurture and allocate their energies and efforts wisely, while avoiding the other “horsemen.”

Bringing up the rear is LAZINESS. This may surprise some, but it is as much as threat as the other three, if not as obvious. A common and natural emotional response, after the initial jolt of job separation, is to retreat, regroup and relax for some time. The stress of going to work and putting in the long hours is gone for the foreseeable future. Old habits and defined routines go slack and things progress to the point where the jobseeker struggles to get out of bed and get going. Again, having a job search campaign comes in handy to restore the necessary focus and drive that made you effective in your career. Laziness can easily derail a successful transition as quickly as the other three, but having the accountability of an organized campaign can make the needed difference.

Some quick applications:

1. Identify and understand how these 4 “horsemen” can threaten your job search.
2. Organize and use a solid job search campaign with definable goals.
3. Get into an accountability relationship for the duration of the transition to keep you on track.
4. Stay active and engaged with your family, community and hobbies – no downside to regular exercise.

Remember – Many things in life are beyond anyone’s control, but some things, including the dreaded job search, can be conquered with courage, stamina, focus and persistence.