PLEASE INCLUDE A COPY OF YOUR RÉSUMÉ (IV)

 INTERESTS:  And you would probably look forward to “writing” your résumé if it was a compilation of things you liked in life:

• A list of your favorite books and those you want to make time for
• A collage of your top ten Facebook pictures
• A folder of your elementary school artwork
• A leaf of a tree from your backyard or a shell you found at the beach

Unfortunately, although résumés act as a means of self-validation, they’re not written for ourselves. Concerned about how others will perceive you and caught up with the wants of your prospective employer or society, obsessing over what font to use while you should be out continuing to write on that slate, can make you contemplate adding annoyed to your traits.

The bitterness of defining yourself for another person who may not see your worth is captured by the definition of résumé on urbandictionary.com, a website on which users post definitions of common words and then others rate them: “It’s a document with which the employer cleans his a** after you leave it with him, generally after an interview. Example sentence: Leave your résumé on the desk; I’ll take a look at it.” Yes, a résumé makes you vulnerable. 

REFERENCES:  But once you’ve finished it, it’s physical proof you’ve accomplished your objective: your experiences have embedded you into the world. Even though getting the position you want isn’t about blood or money (for the sake of this ideological argument), it certainly does depend on social capital. When you can reference where you’ve worked, who you’ve worked for, and what you’ve achieved, it means you’re a part of a network of people.

The résumé is one of your references itself. Although it will never define you, or encompass who you are, your résumé gives a reader a glimpse into the journey of your life. You decided you wanted to become a butcher and you did it. Or now you want to be a high school English teacher and here’s why the last four years working as a cashier make you qualified. 

Do you need a piece of paper to confirm your value as a human being? Absolutely not. However, who knows who will read your résumé and what they’ll read between the lines of your experience as a law office intern or a retirement home waiter?  

Darlene Wilson, the production manager of the Glens Falls, New York branch of Genpak, a national foodservice packaging company, says that she “feel[s] there’s always more to the person than what the résumé says.” One of the most important things she looks for in a résumé when hiring is balance, and although education is certainly a considering factor, “degree(s) don’t always equal common sense or the skill needed for the job.” If you want to get an interview, she suggests putting in a statement that you are willing to learn and do what it takes to get the job done, indicating that you’re a motivated person. And, honestly, if any of the fears of not getting recognized or anxieties of putting yourself out there manifest themselves as you sit down to write your résumé, you have to be motivated, and courageous, to continue. 

Look forward: to the job you may get, to the career you may have, to the person you may be. Look forward to spilling your accomplishments onto a CV as your résumé grows beyond one page. Look forward to the day that you see a résumé doesn’t show who you are, but you couldn’t care less because you’re out living.

If all else fails, and your identity crisis won’t go away, remember, we’re all mad here. No one knows who they are; we’re just at different skill levels of faking it. So include that copy of your résumé in hopes of adding another bullet, and then go read the next book on your list, or go outside to smell the lilacs, or go to your kitchen and practice pouring milk.