CAREER COUNSELING: The Open House Resume

Fact: we all have passions. But here’s a question: when is it appropriate to commingle personal activities with past experiences on a resume when job searching?

Genuine enthusiasm for personal interests is something that a candidate should never stifle during the interview process. But what about the resume? Is that the right place to draw attention to some of these activities?  

My answer: sometimes.

Before explaining further, just wanted to give you a heads up of my preference for analogies when explaining my theories. Some of my followers will recognize my affinity for using housing/construction analogies.... blame it on my shameless addiction to HGTV and the DIY network. So, with that disclaimer, let’s talk about presenting your resume like hosting an open house:

Realtors may ask that you remove some personal effects when showing your home to potential buyers so that nothing unnecessary distracts from the house’s framework. After all, as a seller, you’d essentially be decorating your home for the next owner, right? Taking personal effects out of eyesight allows potential buyers to more easily see themselves in that space without being distracted by sentimental items that have little to no meaning to them. Likewise, take that approach when preparing your resume. Present yourself in your resume according to who you’re interviewing with. Remove unnecessary clutter from your resume and allow potential employers to envision you as a hire without being distracted by too many personal traits that may have little relevance to their business needs.

Here are a few additional thoughts:

• Understand your buyer: knowing what a buyer is looking for will help you declutter more effectively. If an upgraded kitchen is important, don’t cover up the granite countertop. For your resume, look at the basic and preferred qualifications of the job description. This is a list of ‘must haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves’. Focus your resume the same way, if it’s at the bottom of the qualifications list, it should be at the bottom of the resume.
• Focus on your skills:  a three month volunteer trip to Costa Rica may make for a great story during an interview, but if you are dedicating half of a page to that in your resume, you are distracting your buyer from the skills they want to hire you for. Don’t let the 17 photos hanging in the hallway detract from the view through the bay window.

Remember, design your resume as you would your home for an open house. You will not always have everything a buyer or potential employer is looking for, but if you can draw attention to the key aspects that are important, they will be more willing to consider making a deal. After all, you can always put your personal photos up in your next office!