“Your reach should be greater than your grasp.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson
You do not have to go far to realize that the job market today is really tough these days! What makes it even tougher for those who are already out and looking and for those who are on the verge of a layoff is that they see no hope for them to overcome their plight because there are fewer and fewer jobs of the kind that they did before. They are scared to try something else, either because they do not know how to create a message that allows them to launch a credible campaign in a new direction, or that they are simply out of ideas!
Traditional résumés are constructed using deductive reasoning. It is iron-clad by virtue of its logical power. It is also historical, so no one can doubt your veracity, unless you chose to overtly lie to get away with something just to claim what you do not deserve. In my experience with nearly 4,000 clients across the globe in a variety of situations is that most underestimate their worth and overestimate their value! This statement looks like a contradiction, but let me explain:
Our worth is what we are capable of doing (“reach” in the Emerson quote, above). Whereas our value is what we can transactionally extract when engaged in what we typically do (our “grasp.”). For example, working in our jobs we often believe (and feel) that we can do a much better job than what our boss is doing. We also believe that we deserve a much bigger raise for our contributions at work. This is our dented sense of proprioception about ourselves that prompts us to believe that our value is much greater than it is as perceived by others or than how it is rewarded. Emerson also wrote: We judge ourselves by what we are capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done! This is normal and many of us spend agonizing hours brooding over how undervalued we are because of this very fact! We go through all kinds of contortions to get a measly one percent higher raise than the next guy!
Worth, on the other hand is something that is intrinsic to us and it reflects what we can be if we reach out and apply ourselves in different and unusual ways. In the context of your transactional engagement (such as you current or previous job) it requires a different mindset for you to leap into a position that allows you to apply yourself in a new direction. Such a campaign requires a message that is different from what your typical résumé conveys.
How can one do this?
Well, you do not have to go far to see how this is done. Candidate Barack Obama successfully overcame his résumé to craft a message that got him the job he was after. To develop a message that is different from your résumé requires an inductive résumé (my phrase). An inductive résumé creates a forward looking message that takes you from the known to the unknown; quite a change from the linear, deductive résumé that everyone is used to and knows how to do well!
An inductive résumé is what can propel you in a new direction in this market. Despite its gloom and doom the current job market is rife with interesting, even exciting, possibilities. All you have to do is show a target employer (of your choosing) what is not happening for them in the realm that you have interest in and how you can make it happen for them. This requires some research, some fortitude and enormous self-confidence to pull it off. As a career coach I have done this myself five times (this is my fifth career) and have done this for my clients nearly 4,000 times across the globe. These are my proof points. If you do not believe these, go to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC and have a session with Barack himself!
Making an inductive leap requires the following elements:
A clear vision of what you want to do
Owning your genius that allows you to craft a verbal message that translates what you have done into what you can do
A few compelling stories that link your genius (Unique Skills) to your achievements in a direction that makes your claim of value creation in a new direction credible
A campaign that is highly targeted and moxy that is second to none!
Good luck!