I often tell my clients that rewriting a resume is like cleaning out a closet. It’s hard to clean out our closet because we can become emotionally attached to some of the items in it. Perhaps it’s a dress you bought a decade ago that is no longer in style or a pair of pants that no longer flatters your figure. Or maybe it’s that impulse buy that seemed so right at the time but turned out to be so wrong and has been sitting in your closet for years.
We struggle with the same issues when rewriting resumes. It may be hard to let go of the half page dedicated to that Y2K conversion you worked so diligently on in 1999 or the extended paragraph about the direct mail campaign that was novel in 2001 but old hat in 2011. And what do we do about that dot.com venture in 2000 that only lasted 4 months and turned into a dot.bomb? Sometimes we need someone with a more objective perspective to step in and clean out our resume.
I help people let go of the clutter and the irrelevant and get them to focus on the parts of their background that will be most valuable to employers. And I cultivate a similar strategy when I help clients prepare for interviews.
Recently I started thinking about my wardrobe/resume analogy and how integral what’s in your closet is to your overall presentation and value proposition to employers. A great resume and a great interview strategy should be complemented by a great outfit for the interview. The clothes need to be just as relevant as the message on the resume or elevator pitch.
So I’m thrilled to introduce Career Solvers’ latest service offering…image consulting through a new partnership with Style of Success image consulting for men and Vada Image Consulting for women. Career Solvers clients can now take advantage of the expertise of image consultants Ann Lindsay and Dianne Boras and purchase image consulting services and packages that include personal color and style consultations, closet clearing and wardrobe analysis and personal shopping services. You can learn more about these new services here.
In case you are wondering, I have gone through this process myself. A few weeks ago Dianne examined the contents of my closet. She helped me let go of a skirt that I’ve dubbed my Y2K skirt because it was that old and that unflattering and she convinced me to give up an impulse buy dress that never really worked and still had the price tag on it. She also helped me gain a better understanding of the best colors and styles for my shape. She removed the emotion from my closet so I could move on and remain relevant to the people seeking my professional services.
I hope you will check out this new service. After all, shouldn’t you look as good as your new resume?