Helping you align all that you do with your core values
When it comes to personal and professional growth, there appears to be plenty of secrets around. 
You may perceive that others have been granted insider life information and they aren’t afraid to tell and sell you that they have it and you most certainly don’t, and because you don’t you’re the one missing out.
For example, have you ever come across these:
Fantastic headlines (nothing wrong with that) however there are no secrets.
None.
When you read information about anything being a secret, ask yourself ‘is it really a secret’, if it’s a secret why on earth is the person sharing it?
When anyone is selling you on a secret, they know what they are doing, they have your mind in a state of curiosity, and your brain loves that. Always has. Always will.
Being human we don’t want to be left out, we like being let in on a secret.
It’s ingrained in our conditioning. Remember the days of your childhood when your friend said ‘can you keep a secret’? How special did you feel?
There are no secrets.
Why am I telling you this?
Question everything, you probably know the information already.
Maybe you just need to apply it. And that has never been a secret.
Who do you listen to? Are they accurate?
It’s nearing the end of the year and chances are, someone somewhere has asked or you’ve read ‘so what are your goals for the New Year’ or worse ‘what are your New Year Resolutions?’
When you read those statements you may get a fleeting little fuzzy picture of some sort of ideal scenario in your mind of how you would like your life to be.
Then it passes as quickly as it came and you carry on doing what you were doing.
See, goals are great, yet they are only guestimations.
And resolutions, well…erm… I’ve said my piece on resolving gunk at new year before, and I still feel the same as I did last year.
Guestimations are fantastic.
Even better is having direction. A mission. A statement of intent if you like.
Let’s play with writing a mission statement:
Assume you’re a cruise ship heading from the Mediterranean to the Bahamas, the chances are you will make it to the sunny shores. You may venture off course every now and then and have to correct yourself by making adjustments to get yourself back on the right path unless you sink, you’ll make it!
You will arrive because you at least know the direction you’re sailing.
You will have set sail with a good enough plan.
Most people set sail in life with no direction.
No plan, no rough idea, or no thought of the land on the horizon.
They have the goal to sail, but that’s it.
The entire crew of your ship before they raised even the anchor knew their mission and direction. Everyone systematically playing their part to make sure that you arrive in one piece.
Have you sat down and thought (great first step, thinking that is), then captured (written, even better second step) your mission statement?
It’s not the easiest task in the world.
Mainly because it’s not something we’re taught and does require a little self-reflection and awareness. And you may need to ask yourself some breakthrough ‘Quest-ions’.
Just write. Bullets, words, statements, remember the quotes that have stuck in your mind? Maybe they will help. I know, you may be have expected some secret tool, but there isn’t one.
In short, you want to create a statement (how long is up to you) about who how you want to live your life and what person do you want to be.
Remember the ‘fuzzy little picture’ you get when people ask you what are your goals? You only need to spend some time making those pictures clearer. Seeing and describing what would be your ideal (make sure your mission isn’t someone else’s mission.)
Don’t edit, plenty time to refine later, just write.
You do know how you want your life to be, we all do.
Consider your career, your business (if you have one), lifestyle, health, spirituality, learning. It’s your mission, it can be whatever you want it to be.
Don’t question what comes up as you write, don’t dismiss what you think is ‘impossible’ or a dream. A mission is usually a big deal!
Refer to it often.
Rewrite it if needed.
Play with it. It will change.
It will begin to include values, goals, hopes, dreams, ways of being, ideas. The end result is creating your own little manifesto, a piece you can refer back to when you are making decisions about your life and career.
You may write to be a ‘loving, considerate, listening parent’, the next time your children test your patience where in the past a quick barking may have been on the cards, you may pause and remember your mission.
A mission sits in alignment with your core values. It’s another piece of the life of passion and purpose puzzle.
It’s just another tool to add to your personal development toolkit, yet a powerful one. Your choice if you want to give it a shot.
Have you written a personal mission statement? Does it work for you? Is it something that keeps you on track?
So you spend hours (days, weeks, months even) writing a CV, and completing application forms. You pour your soul over it, it’s tough going and then you send it away.
You wait, you wonder, you think about the ‘hiring’ employer and hope they have read your masterpiece.
You wait some more, and then a little more.
You hear nothing.
You say ‘I’ve sent out my CV to 20 places and heard nothing back’. You get disheartened.
You think you might call them and ask for some feedback. But you don’t.
Okay, what I’m about to share with you is not good news, in fact, it’s a bit of a horror story.
I couldn’t even make it up.
But don’t panic, just yet.
Ready?
Let me give you a little background…
I spend a lot of time online.
I stalk a mammoth amount of websites mainly looking for questions that people are asking about careers, confidence and starting a little biz, which in turn help me to create blog posts for you (well that’s the plan!)
Part of this addiction is forums, you know, online communities where people with similar interests, ideas or businesses hang out and get inspired, motivated, annoyed and sometimes generally have moan.
Just a couple of weeks ago I visited a very large and popular small business forum, and there was one thread that caught my eye.
It had the title ‘How hard do you find it to hire staff?’ and it had about 50 replies from various business owners who are responsible for hiring and firing.
My interest was in the replies.
I wanted to know from the horse’s mouth (people hiring) what they found hard, mainly so I can help you.
This isn’t pretty but here are some of the replies to that thread and the reason why I’m so glad you’re here.
Rather than write that usual trite nonsense, just tell us if you are a psycho-loner liable to go on a shooting rampage or are insecure with a strong herd instinct.
Spent all afternoon reading vacuous nonsense-filled CVs composed of trite phrases which mean little and tell me nothing about the person as an individual. I could feel my life ebbing away.
The more people are given ‘help’ with CVs by well-meaning people the more all CVs are saying the same thing. Several of the ones I read today left me with no better idea of the person behind them at all so were binned.
I will choose on looks and that’s entirely human nature – last time we interviewed, one bloke had no chance before he’d even spoken as he was scruffy with tattoos everywhere. (What!)
The other ball-ache about recruiting is the job centre applicants that turn up because they have too or their benefits will be stopped. (This one made my blood boil)
I heard about one person who had 200+ CVs on their desk.. they split the pile in 2 randomly and threw one-half in the bin. They claimed that they did not want to hire unlucky people! (Stunned, I’m stunned!)
Blame the job centre and the “back to work” organisations that assist young job-seekers. It’s practically part of the template they use – jobseeker’s home address, today’s date and trite fluff. (Blame? Seriously?!)
The worst part about all this interviewing malarkey is that clearly some of the people you have seen cannot even read the advert so how are they supposed to the job?
It was the same crap CV after CV of generic answers taken from job websites. In the end, I put all of the what I called ‘void of personality’ CV’s on one side and interviewed the one’s that looked as though they actually gave a damn about getting a job and tailored their CV to the particular job.
I told you it wasn’t pretty.
How do you feel about these? Surprised or angered?
The above is negative news. Some of them are against the law, rude and so darn obnoxious (in my humble opinion). But my professional Careers Hat understands some of the frustrations.
We aren’t given these career lessons in school, we don’t learn this ‘stuff’ until the time comes when we need it.
Erm, your thoughts? I’m still stunned, what do you say? Please feel free to leave a comment below.
‘The Resistance’, I love when people insert the word ‘the’ in front of resistance.
I like breaking arrows. With my throat. I like to see other people break arrows with their throat.
Now, I first got to try this when I was training to become a fire walking instructor, and I actually wasn’t thinking (at first) ‘this is impossible’ because I knew it could be done, I’d witnessed others in the group: snap snap snappity snap.
Rejoice. Clap. Clap. Clap. (cue winning punch)
The time came for me to get up there, in front of my peers
Wow, what a thought rush was had.
In the space of 10 seconds my brain screamed: ‘don’t do this, risky, this is risky, it’s going to hurt, what if you’re the first person the arrow doesn’t break for, oh you’ll be fine, don’t make a fool of yourself, get up there, others are watching you better do it, what if it goes through your eye, what if you can’t do this, you’ll look a right fool, just do it, don’t, relax, your so nervous…on and on’.
Quietly asking my brain to butt out, up I continued.
So there I was, with the sharp end of the arrow on the soft supply part of my throat, the other end against a wall, all I had to do was take a step forward.
One step. One slight movement. Just enough to encourage the shaft to bend, then snap.
That was it.
One push.
And in that ‘moment’ is where most get stuck.
Not just in breaking arrows, but all through life.
That point when the task, activity, goal, idea, whatever it is, requires a final push. When you need to deliver.
That point where a little pain is felt. It’s uncomfortable, not life threatening, but still not pleasant.
That point where there are moments of doubt and ‘can I actually do this, oh wait, hold on, let me stop and think’.
That point where the easiest option is to take a step back and say ‘oh I can’t, maybe next time‘.
Or even worse, getting stopped. Not being able to move forwards or back. There you are stuck with pain and you’re choosing to do nothing about it.
But, you’re going to have to let go at some point, yes? Either by choosing to release yourself from the pain or by going through it.
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
One day, you may decide to take part in this activity. And I can’t even express in words how you’ll feel, because it’s not really about breaking arrows, but smashing through resistance.
Where do you need to take one small step forward today? What requires a final push?
Do it. Or release it.
Why Your CV Is Going In The Bin is a free report and is part of the the Living Moxie Toolkit (free). You can sign up for the toolkit using the box on the right or read the page below and use the box at the bottom. If you want to know what’s in the rest of the toolkit, please click here. Dawn xxx
Now then, let’s get on with ways to improve your CV
Writing a CV is obvious. It’s so simple, so glaring. You know it, but do you do it?
You know why you have CV, you probably know a lot about the definite ‘do’s and don’t’, but some peeps even ignore those.
Your cv has one job — sell.
You do this by selling you not by telling you.
People waste months, squandering their time over tiny details that aren’t going to make a hoot of a difference anyway – where if they just focused on the sell, I bet the process would be easier.
What do you have in there that is just a warm up, especially at your personal profile or statement.
Read your CV from your readers perspective, not yours.
At each point ask yourself, ‘so what, who cares, what’s in it for them’ — take ten minutes and think of the reasons why each point will benefit them, not you.
If you can’t answer it, or it’s not good enough, get it out.
If it starts ‘reliable and hardworking’, or any other CV cliché, come on, seriously? After all your experience, knowledge, qualifications, that’s the most important part.
I bet it’s not.
The first line of your CV has a purpose, to get the next line read, then the next, then the next all the way to the last point.
Yes, people skim CV’s. Highlight in bold two or three of the absolute golden nuggets.
Struggle with sentence structure? Then write smaller sentences.
If you have used a comma, replace it with a full stop. Make the process easy on the eye for the reader. Help them out.
Will the person reading, instantly (or within 10 seconds) know they will be better of if they meet/hire you?
Or have you hidden your biggest assets? Are they in there somewhere but lost half way down the page.
e.g. Applying for a managerial position?
You could begin your profile with ‘Manager, with 12 years leadership experience…’ not ‘Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills’.
Specific, concrete, to the point. Answer instantly what they are seeking.
Answer the advert, job description or person specification.
No comic sans — that is all. No. Never.
The rule (norm or general consensus) is no more than 2 pages. However, that doesn’t mean you squish and squash everything in because you have too much to say!
Cramming does nothing to help the reader. Create plenty white space.
Why? It’s easier to read.
If you are sending your CV via email or recruitment websites and it’s going to be read from a screen, you need to consider this even more.
Light comes from behind and if it’s crammed, with hardly any or no white space it’s very hard to read.
Yes, add bullets.
But a list of 20 bullets ‘kinda defeats the purpose of having bullets, no?
Go through your CV ask yourself if each bullet sells you. Have you repeated yourself in any bullet?
Have you got the most important in 1, 3, 7th place?
Have you more than 7?
Rewrite and delete the fluff.
Choose the right layout for you, not because it’s a pretty ‘free template’, either chronological, functional or combined.
What’s the difference?
A chronological CV is a good layout to use to showcase your experience and career for a progressive role.
Let’s assume your entire career has been in retail, you started as a Sales Assistant and now are a Manager, maybe not all roles were with the same company, but you can clearly layout your route from where you started to where you are now.
Using a chronological layout: (if applying for a position within the same field) the reader will no doubt recognise the route you have taken.
In your personal statement, clearly state what you are wishing to achieve next in your career, why the experience you have to date will bring added value to the position that is available. Layout positions worked, bullet key experience, qualifications, and your achievements.
A functional CV is great for showcasing your skills and expertise rather than the chronology of your employment so far.
Choose a functional CV if you have gaps in employment or if you have worked for many organisations & employers.
Perhaps your career involves short term contracts, a variety of part time work or you’ve been freelancing, a functional CV will showcase you the best.
Using a functional layout: use the personal statement to showcase achievements.
Choose 4/5 of your key skills to highlight, remembering to keep bullet points to the point. Include voluntary and nonpaid work if it relevant to the position.
Think of the last big weekly shop that you did. (Go with me here, it’ll make sense, I promise.)
How did you end up with the items you paid for?
Let’s assume ginger nuts were bought. Did buy on how the ingredients were sourced, that the packaging is suitable for recycling or that the butter used was from a cow running free in a field. (You may have, in which case substitute gingernuts for something else!)
Or did you buy them because you remember that you like to dip a ginger nut in a cuppa, watching your favourite TV program, which was coming on that night, you could see yourself all comfy, relaxed enjoying the experience, which is funny as there is a picture on the package with someone doing the same thing!
Sell the benefits.
Heard the saying…
Tell me I forget. Show me I remember. Involve me I understand
An example:
Tell: Worked as a HR assistant with responsibility for administration and training event planning.
Sell: As an HR assistant, 3 years experience working with Senior Managers. Co-ordinated and organised the smooth running of 40+ in house training events per year for all staff. Supported managers in the organising of interview days. Solely responsible for job fair recruitment and used past marketing experience to produce recruitment materials. Proficient in Microsoft Office packages and Adobe Photoshop.
Your personal profile is the sizzle.
The grabber of attention.
The remainder is the juicy steak.
Remember your reader, they have a pile of CV’s to get through. They will probably have read the same information over and over, in CV’s that have been put together by people who think that their entire CV is going to be read.
Try it, read the same chapter of a book 200 times!
Get their attention, read points 1 and 2. And then keep going.
Don’t lose steam because it’s the last page.
Use plenty verbs. Create pictures in their head.
And never disappoint.
If you give them sizzle via your Personal Profile, proving you have for the role much more than what they were looking for, don’t you dare disappoint them.
Have you ever waited ages for a meal and it was rotten? Same thing applies. Keep the quality the whole way through.
Sorry, but the date, title and where and then the line ‘worked at the (insert where) doing (insert title)’ is a lack of steam.
Choose a functional CV if you struggle or find you are repeating yourself.
Getting to hobbies and interests and putting in any old thing, is a lack of steam.
Making up dates and times is a lack of steam (and lying!)
Lastly, don’t hold back.
Ever.
Your CV is a selling activity, recruiters are expecting to be sold the best you.
Make yourself marketable.
If you struggle finding good things to say about you, it’s an esteem issue, this will help.
Struggle on the structure. Short. Snappy. Sentences.