Motivation Monday: "Real World" & Resumes
I've never been a fan of revamping my resume to look ultra fantastic to future employers. I'm typing down my "qualifications" on a word document, hoping that it will translate my personality and character. Jobs leave no room for creativity by asking me to submit a resume and cover letter. Note to employers: I can win you over in person a lot easier than by having you read a list of jobs I've held. I can't even fit my experience to the two pages you've restricted me too. And it by no means would look cohesive because the path my friends has been a windy one. Kicking things off with a corporate PR internship, managing a college volleyball team, teaching yoga, modeling, juice bar barista extrodinaire, retail sales, freelance writer, and rounding things out with more than enough years in the restaurant/hospitality industry.
What does that tell you about me? That I'm all over the place? Maybe. That I like to change it up? Possibly. I've been testing the waters for some years now. Complacency kicked in a few times which lead to quitting jobs and international travels. Recognizing that I could work at a restaurant and make money for rent and then take as much time off as I'de like for adventure certainly kept me in the industry. My passion for health has brought jobs here and there including writing/promoting about it and teaching yoga but never a full time with benefits included type of gig. So I wonder again, what does that tell you about me?
It's all about perception and I have no idea what an employers will be when they read my resume. But credentials and power doesn't lie in resumes or connections. It lies in the clarity about what we are doing. A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson has a wonderful chapter on work that I will do my best to paraphrase...
Basically our ego tells us that our value is based on credentials - where we went to school, what jobs we have held, how much money we make, etc. But why are we hear? Are we placed on Earth to become CEO's and drive range rovers? Are we here to buy more than we need and compare ourselves to others success? Negative. We are here to connect, love and promote healing. So shouldn't the work place just be an extension, another space of opportunity to spread love and kindness? No matter what we do or the form of our job, the content is the same as everyone else's. If we talk to anyone, see anyone, even think of anyone, we have more opportunity to bring love into the universe. With that kind of perspective, there is no one whose job is unimportant.
Whatever your activity, just ask that it be used to bless the world. A Return to Love suggests, "Do what you love, do what makes your heart sing, and never do it for the money" (guess it's time to drop the waitress job right?!) Go to work to spread joy. Ultimately it is not our credentials but our commitment to a higher purpose that creates our effectiveness in this world. Our power lies in our clarity about why we are here and how we can contribute in the most positive healing way.
So to future employers, take what you want from my resume. Judge my jobs, the college I graduated from, and the fact that I've spent as much time roaming the country as I have working to pay my bills. But I rest assured- I am impacting the world positively through my presence, energy, and interactions everyday whether you hire me or not.
*subliminal message* Hire me. I will teach free yoga to the staff. ;)