Career Connections

Two little words with big impact. When it comes to the resume, interview and job search process, it’s time to "Get Real."

All too often job seekers feel it’s necessary to take on a certain persona, as well as a scripted portfolio when searching for a new position. These adopted characteristics don’t accurately reflect who you are or who you want to be. Instead, they only serve to increase your stress level, confuse and mislead the hiring representative.

Take the resume. It’s important to use key industry terms and state in professional, concise and quantifiable statements exactly what you have done and what you are capable of. But there’s also a fine line between key terms and jargon. Fluff and filler words and statements with little weight or meaning only portray the job searcher’s inability and disinterest in defining their own value. Instead, think hard about what you’ve done and what you’re capable of and how it will profitably transfer to the new position.

The same goes for an interview. They’re not granted out of the goodness of someone’s heart, instead you're there because an organization sees potential in you and it’s your time to prove their instincts correct. Simply put, be yourself as you demonstrate to the hiring representative how you will be an asset to their organization. Most importantly, get real, don’t act out a role or try and be someone else. A refreshingly honest personality and the ability to recognize and learn from one’s mistakes goes a lot further than falsehoods.

It’s time to get real about the job search. Sometime the process can be long and arduous, but it can also be extremely fruitful. The strong prosper when they approach the job search as a learning process. It provides you with the ultimate opportunity to strengthen your networking skills, get to know the community and key professionals in various industries. Most importantly, it’s a chance to learn about yourself, your strengths and ah, yes, your weaknesses. Adopt the mantra - “Challenges beget knowledge,” and odds are you’ll reach your goals faster than harboring a bitter attitude.

In some circumstances desperate times calls for desperate measures; however, when it comes to the job search, it only pays to “Get Real.”