Episode #17 - Creating The Best Version Of Yourself (On Your Resume)

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Welcome to the podcast where relationships, confidence, and

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determination, all converge into an amazing, heartfelt experience.

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This is Speaking From The Heart.

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Welcome back to episode number 17 of Speaking From the Heart.

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Today we're going to start part one of many episodes in a series of the services

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that Your Speaking Voice provides, not only for the fact that we are trying to

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provide you with some of the ways in which we can help you create some of the best

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versions of yourself, but through this process, and through the process that I

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have developed, we're essentially being able to create not just the best version

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of yourself, but also the best way that you write yourself, which we're mostly

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focusing on today the concept of a resume.

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Now, I know that maybe for many of us, we have already kept up

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with our resumes, and I give you a thumbs up; great job for doing that.

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You already have the company name, your position where you worked,

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the number of years you've been there, maybe months for that matter.

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You also laid out the responsibilities, some of the skills that you've learned

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as part of that position, what you actually did in order to contribute

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to the overall success, especially if you have been in a volunteer

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role, you might be putting that down.

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If you're a recent graduate, you're also putting down your education.

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Those are all aspects that you should be doing, but are you really telling the

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full story about what you've been able to do to be successful, and I think that

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for many of us, we often forget about the fact that, yes, we are hired for

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doing those positions for a whole bunch of different reasons but we need to sell

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ourselves as to what we were actually doing in order to contribute to that

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overall success, and I really want to dig into this particular part throughout this

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episode because it is something that we often forget about, especially when we

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are looking at what we have accomplished.

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It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to put all those accomplishments

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that you've done down, but you want to highlight at least two or three

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successes for each of those positions, even if you feel that they weren't

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successes at all, because it isn't about what you think, it's about what they

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your potential future employer, your potential future interview panel,

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your potential future supervisor.

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Those are the people that are looking and trying to read out all the

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different types of things that you are potentially doing as part of not just

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yourself, but also other people that are vying for the same sort of job.

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Maybe you are lucky in which they're hiring more than just one person,

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therefore, having as many people to interview might be advantageous, but

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in this ever-changing job market that we're in, just trying to get yourself

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to the top of the pile is a challenge in itself and I often talk to my clients

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that are coming to me, and looking to get their resume done, to make sure

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that they list out all the things that they have ever potentially did.

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As minuscule as it could be, it could be the most important detail that might

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help them get to the top of the pile, and I often say that because it is all

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about not just who you know, but it's about what you have done, and yes, the

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old joke or expression of, "I've only been on this earth for only 20 years, but

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I'm looking for somebody with 40 years experience", certainly is something that

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we have to overcome, and I think that even as a society, as we continue to have

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that sort of conversation and engagement, especially in the United States and abroad

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about who is really, truly qualified for a position we need to look at what those

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quality of experiences are so that's why it's so important to list out all

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the things that you have ever done, and that's my very first piece of advice.

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If you haven't looked at your resume recently and have thought about what has

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been done in, not only in that job, but what has contributed to the other jobs

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that you've had, write everything down.

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It might not be even listed in the position description, which for those not

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familiar with that concept, a position description usually provides the details,

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the knowledge, the skills and abilities of a position that needs to be performed.

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Now, as someone that has been the public sector for over 13 years, I can't stress

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enough the importance of putting that sort of information on your resume, because

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all types of recruiters, especially for the state and federal government,

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more specifically, are going to be looking for those criterion in order

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to narrow down the types of people that are able to move on to the next level.

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If you're able to list all those different things that you've been able to do as

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a result of all your job experiences, chances are that you are going to get

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towards the top of the pile so that you will be considered, and if you don't

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list it, don't be surprised if you get a rejection notice in your email box,

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or even your inbox at home, telling you that you have not met the minimum

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requirements needed to move to the next stage of the interview process.

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Resumes should definitely have as much detail as you possibly can, but at the

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what are the details that are relevant to the

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position being hired, which is going into my next point, so after you brainstorm all

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those different ideas that you have about what you've done in that job, now it's

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time to look at the position description that you are going to be hiring for and

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be able to narrow it down even further.

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Now, I must admit to you that for many people you might have been caught up

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in the generation now of artificial intelligence, especially ChatGPT, to do

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that wonderful work for you, but I must give you extreme caution using that tool.

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Although it will save you a lot of time with trying to format something if you

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give it the proper command, but you also have to keep in mind that there's not

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only the information that everybody else is going to be trying to manipulate as

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part of their ChatGPT command, but you have to go through it and make sure that

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you personalize that information to your liking because you need to stand out.

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Artificial intelligence doesn't need to stand out, but you do, and that's why it's

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so important to consider the different types of things that a human being can

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do as part of reviewing your resume and being able to sell that, especially the

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best version of yourself on that resume, often requires spending a lot of time, not

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just looking at the position description, but making sure that your resume is

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formatted in such a way that accomplishes the task of the hiring manager being

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able to consider you for the next round, because that is potentially the key:

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being able to be hired or be considered at minimum for the qualifications that

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you are setting forth, along with the independent judgment and knowledge that

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you are going to bring to the table.

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We often forget about those aspects, especially when we're trying to

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format a resume in such a way that allows us to be able to be considered

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and which leads into my next point.

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If you are only putting the bare minimum of what you are doing in a job and what

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you are able to learn from a job, you are missing the entire point of a resume.

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This is your time to shine.

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I often think about the times in which I have personally worked with resume

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reviewers, and they often ask me about what I have been able to accomplish,

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and I have to sit back and think about all the times in which I've been

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able to do, such as things that I've been able to work with on teams, in

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order to fully understand what that means and what that translates into,

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especially when I'm creating that resume.

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Those people are not wasting your time when they're asking you those questions.

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Not only are they getting to know you and your methodology and style, but you are

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also listing the different types of things that you've been able to accomplish.

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Not only does this include the successes or the challenges that you have faced,

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but also might be working through some of the most basic of difficulties as it

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team management, project management, IT expertise, or information

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technology for that matter, but most importantly, you're demonstrating how

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your critical thinking has allowed you to move from one stage to the next, and

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that's why it's so important for you to consider not only the vast opportunities

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that it has when you list those successes, but how it paints an accurate picture and

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also represents you to the fullest extent.

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Having those three things alone is not enough on a resume.

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Depending on who you are working with, who you're recruiting with, it does

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matter what you put on that resume, especially when it comes to keywords.

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Now, you might have heard over the years about putting it in white text,

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the keywords onto a resume, so that that filter bot, essentially the bot

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in which is going through and scanning your resume, picks up the buzz words

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that are needed for you to move on so that you can be further considered,

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but I want you to think about not necessarily doing that, but actually

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artificially putting it in yourself by naturally writing and encouraging

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yourself to create some of those things in your life onto a sheet of paper that

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would allow you to express who you are.

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Now, you might be thinking to yourself, "Joshua, are you asking

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me to actually lie about myself?

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Are you actually asking me to fabricate what I actually been able to do?

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You know that I could get in trouble.", and I would a hundred percent agree with

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you that you could get in trouble for fabricating something that you have never

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done or even considered on doing, but you need to be honest with yourself if

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you are writing things of that nature.

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Have you actually been able to accomplish some of those tasks

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that you have written down?

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Have they worked into your favor?

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Remember that even with a resume and even after you get through the whole

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entire interview process, you might be asked later on by your references, or

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even in a second or third interview, to demonstrate those technical skills or even

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be able to be considered for a further background check to determine whether you

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are really capable of performing what is necessary, especially if those are the

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exact skills that they're looking for.

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In other words, if you are using these flamboyant words that are essentially

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creating some of these "best versions of yourself", which are not necessarily who

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you are, you might be putting yourself into some legal jeopardy as well.

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Particularly in the state of Pennsylvania in which I work, it is a crime to falsify

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a record, and you can be punishable up to a fine or even jail time for that matter,

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especially when you're applying for a public sector job with the government.

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Keep in mind that those sort of things should not be the basis

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of how you do resume writing.

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Now, you might be overwhelmed and confused by all the different tips that I have

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given you so far, which is why I encourage anybody to work with somebody that not

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only helps you to understand where you can make those adjustments or even make

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those enhancements to your resume, but it gives you another perspective other

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than your own to be able to understand where are ways in which you can do

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better with recruitment and being able to be considered on the top of the pile.

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It's not necessarily a quote unquote waste of money if you are putting an investment

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in yourself and in turn getting an increase of potential salary, or potential

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hours of work, or even the quality of the work that you're doing, which will further

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lead into more advancement opportunities.

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Resumes are not necessarily transactional processes, which oftentimes my clients

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that come to me get confused as to what a coach actually provides.

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The coach will necessarily give you suggestions as to what that wording should

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be or how that work is done, and there are many people that are resume writers,

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which is something that I do personally myself, in order to create some of those

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best resumes that we often see displayed on news and even career advice articles

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amongst all kinds of other types of social media promotion, but the most important

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thing to consider, when you are working with someone, is to make sure that they're

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knowledgeable in the field in which they are doing, which they should fully

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disclose what kind of background that they have themselves, the success rate

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in which they've been able to work with people on those sort of jobs and writing

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those resumes, but more importantly, and the third most important thing,

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is to make sure that you are getting what the value is out of that coach.

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It is not necessarily demanding every single little thing because

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it requires you to have a little bit of participation in that process.

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By not participating in that and not giving the full breadth of the different

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types of things that you are able to do, or even create for that matter, it can

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create confusion and disparity throughout your resume, but having all those facts

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and working with a coach to be able to do that will allow you to sell yourself on

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paper, which is no longer that one page document in some cases, but allows you to

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deal with how you can unlock that maximum potential within yourself, especially

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when you get ready for your next job.

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all of us want to be the best versions of ourselves and it

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means also working towards creating some of those things that are not only

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inside of us, but also on paper too.

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If we're able to do that, we're able to not only have the best resume,

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but we will be able to move forward in ways in which we never thought

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possible, and by doing that with a coach or even doing that with somebody

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that is a resume writer, trust me.

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You will no longer have to cross your fingers to get that call.

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You are guaranteed that call every time.

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Thanks for listening to episode number 17 of Speaking from the

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Heart, and I look forward to hearing from your heart very soon.

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Thanks for listening.

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For more information about our podcast and future shows, search for Speaking From

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The Heart to subscribe and be notified wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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Visit us at www.yourspeakingvoice.biz for more information about potential

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services that can help you create the best version of yourself.