I have spent the past few days working on my resumé. As you can see by the fact that I am writing an entire post instead of working on it, I am getting very far. I don’t know if I’ve ever actually had to write a real resumé before. My employment has always either been self, or entry-level retail, (at least upon hiring) neither of which require the formality of the resumé. I have filled out plenty of applications – applications are usually pretty straightforward, and require no more than fifteen to twenty minutes to complete. Not so with resumés, at least not effective ones. An effective resumé, I’ve learned, has to strike a delicate balance between self-promotion, brevity, and not-sounding-obnoxious-ness. I find self-promotion to be awkward, brevity restricting, and I can’t seem to write a single word of resumé without sounding obnoxious. [I am beginning to regret beginning a post that requires me to type the word 'resumé' so many times. Putting in that little accent is getting on my nerves.] Oh well. All I can do is hope that whoever ends up reading the thing has read enough of them to see past the obligatory formalities and decide they would like to pay me lots of money to come and work for them.
Either way, I am not too worried about it. The Lord has made it abundantly clear that no company or corporation pays my bills or feeds my family. He Himself pays my salary, and will do so whether or not I am gainfully – or less gainfully – employed. The Lord is my provider, and I am grateful for that because it allows me to watch the moths and rust eat away at stock prices at the ‘Bucks without anxiety. It allows me to pursue what I am truly passionate about instead of selling out to the world. That is an incredible gift.
Nevertheless, pray that the Lord gives me favor as I attempt to change jobs, and pray that He leads me to people who can find the potential in my particular gifts.
Also, Susan is convinced that Addie said ‘momma’s girl’ today. I find that ridiculous, not only because she is only seven months old and cannot yet speak, but also because it is inconceivable that she would not say ‘daddy’s girl’ first.
I’m intrigued by the balance you are trying to achieve; giving God His due for all provisions yet seeking out better employment opportunities because what you do have might not be enough. This balance often becomes increasingly difficult to maintain as life and the family expands. I’m not saying it cannot be done, but at my point in life it often seems impossible because I’ve seen the harm that times of personal inertia on my behalf have had (and still have) on the family.
Maybe I’ve missed your point and rambled on unnecessarily down the wrong blog-road? I hope not.
I’ll pray for your request.
I too will pray for your request, and I know excatly how you feel. The Lord has given me so much and I love my job, but it just doesn’t pay enough and filling out applications and resumes over the last three months has gotten incredibly monotonous. Maybe the reason I haven’t gotten many call-backs is because I can’t figure out how to put in the little accent over the ‘e.’ That’s probably how they weed-out the first batch of resumes.
Since we have begun living by faith we have always had enough. In my current employment, I am making less money than I have in a long time. In truth, it is not nearly enough to cover our monthly expenses. Yet, we have never missed a payment on anything, even with the surprises that have popped up along the way; and the only person we’ve asked for money is God.
The reason I am seeking other employment is because the Lord has told me that it is time to leave Starbucks. He seemed to be giving me the choice of where I would like to work, and I told him my choices. It isn’t really about making more money, although if it is possible to do so I won’t be upset about it. I think that there is simply more for me to learn, and this is one way that the Lord is using to teach me.
I understand what you’re saying though, Dad. I would imagine that it is a lot harder for you to live by faith at the point you’re at in life than it is for us. Our family is just getting started.
And don’t worry Reflecto Man. If only you could divulge your alter ego! Then they would have no choice to hire you…
OK, so this is usually when I would say something incredibly sarcastic, or gleefully witty. However, I’m exhausted, and mainly because the forementioned ‘Bucks’ has not given me the same directive of release. That being said, I’ll throw out something practical, since you’re new to the world of resumes, my young padawan. As you begin to put yours together, remember this one thing. Resumes don’t get you jobs; they get you INTERVIEWS, nothing more. The purpose of your resume is to make them think, “Wow, I’d really like to have a conversation with that guy.” Your resume should be short and to the point, definitely no longer than 2 pages (and maybe just 1), and should be somewhat taylored for each job you apply for. So if you’re applying for a retail job, you should put more of your sales experience with the BUX, and if you’re working more of a desk job, you should focus more on the Planning & Organizing stuff, or maybe some of the experiences from your old venue. You maybe knew all of this and more already, but frankly i’m using this reply as an excercise in winding down for the day, and preparing to go to sleep because I’m opening the store tomorr-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……