A confession
Posted by Jen on March 26, 2008
You know, I considered being coy about this. But this place is all about change and journey, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t be sharing my own personal change and journey with all of you. It seems somehow forbidden to tell you about the things I struggle with. Like it’s going to make me an outcast or it’s wrong somehow. But I just finished telling you all about how I run with scissors, so I’m going to start living the tag line. It may seem small to some of you, but things look different depending on where you stand sometimes.
I don’t have a resume. That’s right, I said it. I don’t have a resume. And what’s worse… I don’t know how to write one. I have been a government employee ever since I graduated from college. In the government, we fill out a form to get a job, and a form to apply for a new one. I have lots of forms, but no resume. Right this very second, I’m relying on the kindness of friends to help me create something and fine tune it. Because not only do I not have a resume, I have no idea where to even start.
At my age and in this world, that seems shameful to me. But it’s probably not. It’s a product of circumstance. A circumstance I am investigating right now with an eye towards the possibility of change. I feel like it might be time for my own personal shifting of gears. It might be time for a change in not only a job, but in my philosophy of the way I handle my professional life. And right now, it’s going to start with a resume.
But seriously, don’t even get me started on the cover letters.
March 28, 2008 at 11:50 am
[...] friend Jen wrote about the fact that she doesn’t have a resume. She’s worked for the government since college and hasn’t had the need. Jen writes: At [...]
April 1, 2008 at 7:53 am
Sweetie, I write a kick-ass resume, but what I need is a ‘45′. Maybe we could trade?
May 3, 2008 at 6:29 am
Jen, Hi, from another Jen. I am just around the way, in Columbia, MD, and I discovered your blog via BrightKite, which I found via Twitter. Small world. Anyway, I just wanted to comment that I feel your pain on this one. I recently had to revamp mine, and I’m looking to one day go from gov’t. consulting to the federal service. I’m also military, so I think this will help. I feel just the opposite. I’m on track with civilian resumes, but eek, I know nothing about applying for GS jobs. I’d be glad to share any advice I can about resumes. I set up mine online with a TypePad account here. I’ve also learned a little about recruiting, which has given me some info on how to set up my online resumes. Good luck.
Ecrivaine33 on Twitter
June 14, 2008 at 6:46 am
Ya know what, Jen. All of us have things that we feel like we should have achieved, or know at this point- the trick is to not let it be something that causes us to be discouraged. Look at it this way- I’d be willing to bet that writing a resume is something you are completely capable of doing, but you just haven’t done it yet.
Good luck!