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Writing Themed Resumes

Back when I was desperately searching for work, I was neither very efficient nor effective at first. My generic resume didn’t really sell me very well for each particular job I applied to, so I rewrote it for every single one. That, on top of writing unique cover letters for each job application, was taking too long, discouraging me, and not getting me any results. There had to be a middle ground between 1 overly-generic resume and 25 overly-specific ones.

There was! At first, it was to make two differently-themed resumes: one for office work (what I really wanted), and one for general labor (my back-up option). The office resume highlighted my work with filing systems and computer programs; the labor resume highlighted my ability to work long hours, to keep things clean and organized. Of course there was overlap, but I took the skills off that were irrelevant to the theme of the job I’d be applying to with each type of resume.

From there my office-themed resume expanded to a few different sub categories: one that emphasized working at a university, one that emphasized my background in fundraising, one that emphasized my experience putting on events and programs. I could see myself in any of these kinds of office jobs.

Once I had 5 or 6 themed resumes, I found it much easier to apply for various jobs. Instead of fussing over an entirely new resume every time, I could just focus on creating good letters of introduction (i.e. cover letters) to sell myself, and just attach an already-completed but relevant-to-the-job-at-hand resume. Way less time-consuming, less stressful, more effective.

Feel free to use this tip to get yourself organized in your own job search! And good luck!

 

Image by athree23 from Pixabay

Searching for a job

Unemployed Full-Time Work

Some of my longest, most depressing, and most anxiety-filled months were those in which both myself and my husband were unemployed, with rent and bills piling up every month on my credit card. Having that kind of stress and fear hanging over our heads was debilitating. To the degree that occasionally, out of hopelessness, we stopped applying to as many jobs as we could and just succumbed to the inertia that grabbed at us. Not getting the results for which we’d hoped discouraged us from putting more effort into trying.

I found that I needed a perspective-shift.

Continue reading “Unemployed Full-Time Work”

Hiking in mountains

Mountains of Decisions, part 3

Prologue from part 1 and part 2:

I am not a hiker. And though I appreciate the beauty of green and flowering things from behind the glass of a window, I’m not even really that fond of being outdoors. So I was surprised to discover that the image that came to me year after year as an analogy to describe my life, was a mountain. Complete with hiking trails.


The last time the mountain imagery came to mind I was at a major crossroads in my life instead of my ministry. Well, it had something to do with my ministry in that I was considering leaving it.

Continue reading “Mountains of Decisions, part 3”