To refresh your memory, here is the feedback my client received, (copied exactly as forwarded):

“Your resume is very colorful and creative, however, it looks more like a print ad or bulletin board… Take out the top section and replace it with your objective statement (one line.. To obtain a position as a _______ teacher…) The things you have in this section are more for your cover letter or the interview conversation, not your resume. In addition, remove the quote from the faculty member…All reference information goes on a separate sheet (3-5 list) or in a reference letter, not on your resume itself. Be consistant with the bullets or crayons…I prefer the bullets…it’s looks more mature and professional. You are also missing a Professional Development section (workshops, presentations and conferences attended with dates…see sample)). If you agree with the suggestions and make changes, don’t forget to upload it to … [name withheld career center website.]

Differentiation is key in today's employment environment. Cookie-cutter doesn't cut it. Discover value in what makes you unique; embrace and extol it. (Photo of a poster at husband's work. If you know the source, I'll gladly give attribution.)

Let’s dissect the response:

“Your resume is very colorful and creative, however, it looks more like a print ad or bulletin board…”

The message: It doesn’t look like everyone else’s. It’s different.

My response: This highly-competitive market is about differentiation. Tastefully done, professionally-different (dare I say branded) material attracts attention and gets the resume content read.

“Take out the top section and replace it with your objective statement (one line.. To obtain a position as a _______ teacher…)”

The message: The employer cares about what you seek at this point in the job search.

My response: Nothing is further from the truth. Employers today, overwhelmed with floods of applications, and mountains of non-hiring-related responsibilities, know you want to land a job as an elementary school teacher (or whatever) with a properly done presentation. The format, content, strategy, headline, everything about document itself states the objective clearly without taking up valuable real estate stating the me-centric obvious. Besides, you don’t walk up and tell a complete stranger what you need – “I’m seeking …” – Tell them what value you bring and what you can do to help them, with a strong presentation of skills.

“The things you have in this section are more for your cover letter or the interview conversation, not your resume.”

The message: The cover letter is always read.

My response: First, the information in the section in question was a concise summary of what value our emerging teacher brought to her new school. It respected the reader’s time and told them what they wanted to know immediately, in the top third of the first page – prime resume real estate.

Always include a cover letter (unless told not to), but do not count on it being read in the order you intended, if at all. It is important for the resume to clearly state your value, and do that equally well combined with the cover letter or as a stand-alone document. Understand, the cover letter may not be read; once you hit send, it’s out of your control. A cover letter is not a me-me-me-centric narrative. It is a compelling introduction to go read the resume. Be respectful of the reader’s time. Tell them what they want to know quickly. If you don’t, they’ll quickly move on to someone who does.

“In addition, remove the quote from the faculty member…All reference information goes on a separate sheet (3-5 list) or in a reference letter, not on your resume itself.”

The message: It’s different. Don’t do it.

My response: Testimonials sell. The quote we selected contributed to her value proposition and has the potential to make a reader pause a while longer. It draws attention to the document and increases the chances of being read. If your resume looks like every other word-templated document out there, the chances of being noticed or read diminish greatly.

“Be consistant (sic) with the bullets or crayons…I prefer the bullets…it’s (sic) looks more mature and professional.”

The message: It’s different. Don’t do it.

My response: Would I use crayon bullets on a resume for a CEO? Definitely not. For an elementary school teacher, wanting to work with kindergarteners and elementary-aged students? Absolutely. Differentiating her academic teaching experience from her peripheral summer job experience visually with dividers and changing bullets makes it easier for the reader to determine what they want to know. I used square blocks for the additional experience, differentiating the experience, but further contributing to the elementary-focused theme.

“You are also missing a Professional Development section (workshops, presentations and conferences attended with dates…see sample)).” (sic)

The message: Everyone else has this section. You must have it too.

My response: I was not provided with this information from my client. Depending on the length of the list, I would probably not include it in the resume proper, but make it a supplement. If the job posting requested a specific conference or workshop, I would incorporate that into the body of the document. A resume is about what an employer wants to know; not what you want to tell them. You don’t want their eyes glazing over with a list of conferences and dates before they get to the value you bring because you’re “supposed” to have this section here.

“If you agree with the suggestions and make changes, don’t forget to upload it to the [name withheld career center website.]“

The message: If you’ll adopt a cookie-cutter, 1990 approach, losing the design, pop, and value message, and are willing to look like everyone else, you can upload to … [name withheld career center website.]

My response: Conform or you can’t upload? That is the most terrifying piece of all. I have no words.

An alternate approach:

In fairness, career strategy is what I do for a living. I immerse myself in hiring, recruiting, sales, marketing, writing, and presentation information every day. I interact with career professionals through various social media platforms and professional affiliations. This client and I spent several hours together on the phone. I spent several more crafting her resume.

I do not have to offer advice to thousands of students and deal with the daily duties and stresses of career center activities. I understand the need to provide quick and basic information to large volumes of students.

What troubles me, is rather than say, “I recognize you’ve invested in advancing your career and engaged a professional. Listen to the specialized, customized-for-you-and-your-search information provided. My information is basic for the masses. I’m here to support you in other ways. You’ve got the resume covered”

Instead, this center representative rolled out a cookie-cutter, look-like-everyone-else method and “suggested” changing her current presentation so my client could take advantage of the school job search resources.

Launching a career, after investing thousands of hours and dollars in pursuit of your profession with dated, ineffective career documents and look-alike advice can mean the difference between career success and failure; gainful employment and yet another month of searching. An inability to articulate a unique value proposition in relation to employer needs can cost thousands in starting salary and ongoing earnings too.

Vet your job search guidance carefully. One big clue. If “objective”, “seeking …”, and “this is the only way to do it” advice are bantered about, it’s best to move on. There’s nothing to learn there.

Photo by satguru via Flickr

Too often job seekers and careerists focus on the one thing they perceive as a lack and forget to dig deeper and find value in that one thing. To add fuel to the fire, not only do they apologize for life choices, they throw them up as red flags and roadblocks during interviews. Rather than keeping conversations focused on what they learned, they make excuses and apologize for the fact they weren’t “gainfully employed” or “weren’t in a normal cookie-cutter situation” while learning new, exciting, and marketable skills.

We all, intellectually, know we’re in a completely different job market. Fifty years with the same company and retiring with a gold watch are pretty much a thing of the past. Frequent job changes, gaps, sabbaticals, conscious decisions to take a break, relocate, go back to school, just sit and be are common pieces of today’s careers story. YET, we continue to act as if we took more than two seconds off since the age of 16, something is wrong and must be “explained away.”

I worked with a young man last year. He made astute investments and managed his money wisely. When he married, he and his bride traveled Europe – for a year. A dream vacation for them both; they had the time of their lives.  He came to me, ready to re-enter the work force. One of his first questions, “How do I explain the fact I didn’t work for a year? That looks bad doesn’t it?”

Hmmmmm. Let’s see. His target was financial analyst for organizations with a global reach. He saw a gap. I saw someone who:

• Invested, saved, and managed his money well enough to support two people traveling for an entire year in Europe.
• Learned about currency exchange and market fluctuations, first hand.
• Embraced many different cultures; became versed in behavioral nuances and social expectations in each one.
• Made lifelong connections building a solid foundation for a global network.
• Troubleshot and responded to last minute changes and emerging situations.
• Planned and arranged international travel.
• Communicated frequently with non-English speaking locals, eventually attaining understanding.
• Honed interpersonal skills through meeting so many people from so many different countries and navigating the first year of marriage.

After looking at the trip through career-value eyes, he no longer saw the time spent traveling as a roadblock, but rather a differentiator. He had the skills needed, like “every other financial analyst,” but now, he knew how to capitalize on the extra layer of expertise, derived from his travels, he brought to any employer.

I could tell you about the aspiring office manager who volunteered for a local charity during a two-year gap in employment. She thought she just answered the phone.” With prodding, she shared she built a donor database for the organization enabling targeted donor campaigns and boosting overall fundraising. She also helped create content and managed mail marketing campaigns. She thought she “didn’t do anything” for two years because she “didn’t get paid. In reality, she’d built solid office management, collaboration, and marketing skills.

Or we could discuss the person I spoke with the other day who started the conversation, “I’m sorry, but my degree is only in history ….” She didn’t see the value, knowledge, or skills derived from attaining the degree – time management, teamwork, research, communication, subject matter expertise. She’d decided that her degree in “history” was no help to her current career goals and led with a statement pointing out that fact. She didn’t see the thousands of people who would LOVE to have the opportunity to earn and hold a degree, or that (I’ve read repeatedly) a good many folk have drifted away their majors only five years out from graduation. She brought her own job search and interview roadblock with her and quickly flopped it into the middle of a conversation about her career goals.

{As an aside, she was doing marketable things in operations management and logistics. By the time she’d dazzled with all she could do from an operations, efficiency, and cost saving standpoint, a potential employer probably wouldn’t care if her degree was in eating bon-bons.}

Bottom line: life and career choices make up the wonderful fabric of you. Job searches and career moves are difficult enough without feeling like you have to apologize for anything falling outside the “fifty-years and a gold watch” scenario. Look at what you learned during the “non-traditional” times and rather than apologize for being different, embrace, tout, and flaunt the value being different brings.

Female Military Health System Leaders by militaryhealth via flickr

On Tuesday, I posted the first two of four career questions I’d answered for a virtual interview somewhere along the way. These are the final two questions and answers in the interview.

#3.    Is there a particular leadership style which is great for bagging a career promotion?

Great leaders establish clear, measurable goals, put the right people in place to accomplish those goals and then get out of the way. They do not control the process; they offer the support and the tools needed to accomplish it. They let their employees know they will stand behind them, but they will also hold them implicitly accountable for their actions. They praise in public, frequently and offer brutally honest feedback in private, equally as often.

Great leaders embrace innovation and yes, even failures and errors. They understand the only people not failing or not making mistakes are those not doing anything. As long as lessons are learned and improvements made, there is nothing wrong with a slight misstep in the forward progression toward a goal. They work well as part of a team, but don’t forget their personal contribution toward the success of the team. They aren’t shy about reminding others of those contributions, when appropriate. Those demonstrating confidence, leadership and a whatever-it-takes approach head most promotions lists.

#4.    Being made redundant can really affect job seekers self esteem. What’s the best advice you can give them?

Photo by insertinanename via flickr

At the risk of sounding terribly cliché, “Fake it ’til you make it.” It’s all about maintaining a positive attitude. And sometimes, you have to fake that positive perspective until you have a genuinely positive point of view. Internal sentences, “self-talk”, is so important during difficult times. “You weren’t laid off. Your position was impacted because of a business decision.” “You’re not looking for a job. You’re a solution, waiting to connect with the employer who has a need you can satisfy.” See the difference.

Maintaining a positive attitude is far and away the most difficult part of the search. I’m not here to diminish the intense and deep emotion attached to redundancy, but I will be forthright in saying carrying a dark cloud into the search will do nothing to advance it or shorten the time it takes to land a new position. No one wants to bring “Mr. Doom and Gloom” or “Ms. Whiner” on board. You may feel like that on the inside (and rightfully so, it is a frightening, stressful time), but as the old saying goes, “Never let them see you sweat.” Confidence, enthusiasm, a positive attitude, a smile, gratitude, all combine to support a successful search. If you can’t muster if from deep inside, then plaster it on the outside, eventually, it will come from within.

Photo by bpsusf via flickr

I’ve been organizing virtual files lately and came across a list of four questions I’d answered back in November 2009. I responded to a request for a virtual interview. I’m not sure what the recipient ever did with the information. Sometimes responses are gathered but never used. Since I can’t the find the information I provided elsewhere on the Web, I’ll share the questions and answers here.

#1.     Changing careers can be daunting – what advice can you give those who feel like a change?

Do your homework. If you’re looking for a career change, know what skills the new career path requires. After you know what the hiring authority seeks, either identify the skills that naturally segue in your own work history or acquire the skills needed to facilitate the change. Be creative in your thinking and don’t discount anything in your work history. What’s expected and nothing special in one position can be a treasured skill in another. Demonstrate a willingness to stretch and learn, and above all exude enthusiasm for a new challenge. Career changes can be the most challenging of all types of job searches, but with proper preparation, they are not impossible.

#2.    What are the biggest CV (resume) sins you find jobseekers keep repeating?

Underselling their skills, expecting readers to extrapolate information from vague lists of job duties and approaching a job search from an “all about me” perspective. An employer does not care what you seek (all about me); they care about what you can do for them. If a job seeker is not boldly and proudly telling the hiring authority what they can do for the company, the hiring authority will not take the time to figure it out for him/herself. Quantifiable, qualifiable, accomplishment-driven statements outlining challenges, actions, results and the benefit to the employer are integral to successfully conveying value. I’ve seen too many career autobiographies and not enough compelling sales and marketing documents. The employer does not care about what you have done until you can put what you have done into the context of what you can do for them.

The other two questions will post Thursday.
#3.    Is there a particular leadership style which is great for bagging a career promotion?
#4.    Being made redundant can really affect job seekers self esteem. What’s the best advice you can give them?

See you then.

Photo by Rennett Stowe via Flickr

Tuesday, I shared things college sophomores could do to start gathering information and preparing for their after-graduation career launch. Today, I’ll share information about what college juniors and seniors can do to sharpen career tools as they prepare to graduate and venture into their chosen professions.

For college juniors and seniors:

As you advance in your studies and gain focus, you’ll be able to take all the data gathered while volunteering, completing class projects or even working a part-time job and build a solid presentation of skills for a potential employer. Research what they seek and demonstrate how you can deliver. You’re not “just a student”. You’re someone who has __________ (fill in the blank with all the accomplishments you’ve been documenting) while attending classes full- or part-time. Don’t discount what you’ve done.

If you think flipping burgers at the local gathering spot is no big deal; think again. Didn’t you learn teamwork, how to provide stellar customer service, follow procedures, resolve difficulties and get to work on time? Mundane and inconsequential is in the eye of the beholder. Sell what you did boldly and proudly. A potential employer will not take time to extrapolate what you’ve done and figure out how it fits into their organization. Know what skills pique an employer’s interest and present them in a way that demonstrates how you can benefit the organization. A job search is “all about them”, not you. Prepare career documents with that in mind.

Take advantage of internship opportunities – paid or unpaid. Regardless the compensation, don’t just phone it in. Take them seriously. It’s part of your education and you get out of it what you put into it. I read recently, an internship is like a long interview. “They” are watching you. Go the extra mile and you may end up employed at the company when you graduate or impress someone enough to gain a referral to a friend of a friend. You never know.

Showing up five minutes late and skipping out early because your perception is, “I’m not getting paid. What does it matter?” is wrong-headed. That approach closes more doors than an intern opportunity will ever open. Add to your growing professional network and seek out individuals willing to mentor you during the assignment and beyond. And don’t pick only like-minded individuals. Sometimes a difference in opinions stretches you in ways you never thought possible. You may never completely agree with someone, but disagreements help solidify your own passions and beliefs. Embrace it all.

As you start to sell your skills to potential employers, think about your overall presentation. Target determines focus. Focus determines design, content and presentation. Sometimes your degree carries more weight than your skill set with a potential employer; put it first. Sometimes skills outweigh your degree; then put them first. Knowing what sells in a particular industry enables you to highlight what they seek.

Don’t let anyone tell you “this is the only way to do it”. Study advertising; there are a million ways to sell things. Effective advertising knows it’s demographic and does what it needs to do to appeal to that demographic. The same approach doesn’t work for every audience any more than the same resume format works for every industry or every company. Get to know your “buyer”, target your resume to what they’re “buying” and the effort will reward greatly.

While you’re selling skills to your audience pay attention to details. An email address of “qtpie” or “partyanimal” may be fine for personal correspondence, but not when trying to brand yourself as an up and coming professional. Same with emails addresses that end in “.edu” – you’re advertising student while trying to convince professional. Get a .gmail account or buy a domain with your own name and use it. Sounds trite, but it all pertains to your overall image and demonstrates your ability to pay attention to detail more than a fluff resume entry like “detail-oriented” ever will.

And one more thing as you develop your skills and build your network: don’t forget to say thank you. Taking a moment to follow up with thank you not only proves “mama reared a polite child”; it’s a great marketing tool. It helps someone remember you and differentiates you from the rest of the non-thanking crowd. It also demonstrates, in a very powerful way, your ability to see a project through to end. Standout professionals get the opportunities. Invest the time and energy in standing out and you’ll be in charge of your career path from day one; not hoping and dreaming something comes along.

Photo by raw301usa (via Flickr)

A few years ago I responded to two questions about how to help college students start developing information for their resume. I “re-discovered” what I wrote the other day so thought I’d share the information here. The first question asked:  “What advice would you give college sophomores as they start to think about developing their career documents.” I’ll post the other question and response later this week.

For college sophomores:

Find your passion. It sounds counterintuitive, but before you start developing any career tools, you need to know what you want to do. It’s important to know your target audience so your resume, cover letter, VisualCV, bio, portfolio, everything, focuses on what the potential employer seeks. Your skill set has to resonate with your audience. A potential employer does not care about what you’ve done until you put it in the context of what you can do for them.

This doesn’t mean you’re making a decision about what you’re going to do for the rest of your natural life, could be, but don’t put that much pressure on yourself. Find what excites you now. It may or may not change, however if you don’t take charge in some way, life and your career will happen to you, instead of you making it happen.

For some, knowing what they want to do is easy. You know the type. They’ve known they wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, stockbroker, business owner … almost since they were born. They can skip the “find your passion” part of the process. They’ve already got focus. For everyone else, talk to people, try different things. Information interviewing is a great way to figure out what you want to do. Don’t dismiss opportunities on preconceived notions. Every job has its good points and bad points. Until you take time to investigate and ask questions, you won’t know about the good or the bad. Remember, they call it work for a reason. It’s not all fun.

Another way to investigate your passion is through volunteering – for extra class projects or community service organizations or both. You’re not only discovering a career path, building a network and accumulating skills, you’re learning more about yourself. As you get more involved, be sure to write down the things you did in qualifiable, quantifiable, accomplishment-driven terms. “Volunteered for sorority fundraiser” is nice, but isn’t selling what you did. Document, document, document the details: make note of how many people attended, money raised, how donations were solicited, number of sponsors and donors that participated, prep work required, number of booths and vendors, where did the money go, how did the recipients benefit … well you get the idea.

The same goes for class projects and assignments, write down how many people worked on the project, required steps for completion and the result. You think you’ll remember the details. You won’t. You think it’s not important. It might be. More is better when starting to gather information for career documents. You can select what pertains and edit details as you develop documents. Remember, skills are skills whether you were paid or not while learning them. Those skills are the building blocks for your career documents. You can’t sell what you can do for a potential employer if you don’t remember the details. (This is a good idea to carry through your entire career.)

As you’re building your professional portfolio, don’t overlook social media. This is a powerful tool to start building a brand, differentiating yourself and supporting your career goals. Use it wisely. This means keeping questionable pictures and controversial statements off the Internet. If you don’t want to see it on a billboard in front of your parent’s house, then it doesn’t belong on the Internet. You, at 23, starting your career and trying to impress a potential employer will see things quite differently than you did at 19 or 20. Have fun with social media, but think before you post or comment on a blog. Once it’s out there, it’s out there for good, regardless the delete button you just pushed.

I’d love it if you’d head over to their site and check out my post. Here’s the link: How do you find a good resume service? Thanks.

She’d successfully completed a telephone interview and did the “proper thing” sending a thank you email after the phone interview. (BRAVO!!)  A few days later, she checked her email and found not only did the email bounce back as undeliverable; the message about it bouncing went to spam. (Horrors). She called the company and found out the person with whom she interviewed spelled her name Alyson (with a “y”), not Alison, with an “i”, as she had “assumed.”  The story turned out well. She corrected the spelling and resent the thank you. Alyson responded with a thank you of her own. (See how that works? … but that’s a soapbox for another day.)

This was not a client, so I took a moment to give her a tip about names I share with my own clients. Be sure to get the interviewer’s name and the correct spelling of it – gather business cards or come right out and ask if you have to, but get it right. You “should” have a notepad with you during the interview, so take a moment to focus on your interviewer and get their name. (Nothing is more melodious than the sound of one’s own name.)

While name gathering, take the time to get the correct spelling. Never, ever assume just because it’s a common name, it’s spelled the way you think. (Alyson/Alison/Allison). There’s a caveat here; you don’t want to come across as someone without a clue if the name is common.

I hear you: “OK, Dawn. So how do you THAT?” Don’t come out and ask, “How do you spell Allison?” (See, there’s a third spelling ….) Say something like is that Alyson a “y” or an “i”? Or is that with one or two ll’s? That’ll trigger the person to spell it for you. You come across as intelligent enough to know there is more than one way to spell a name and you’re thoughtful enough to confirm how this person does it. (And look at the message it sends. You’re considering options, presenting solutions, solving problems and you’re not even on the payroll … yet!)

A few more examples:

• Is Brown, with or without an “e”? (Browne)

• Is it Greene, with an “e”? (Green)

• Is that Tom with or without the “h”? I’ve known people who spell it both ways.

• Carol? Do you spell it with or without the “e” at the end? (Carole)

• Scott? I know this is crazy, but I know someone who spells Scot with one “t”. Are you a one or a two “t” Scott?

See. There are a number of different ways to ask for correct spelling without coming out and saying, “How do you spell Brown?” which, can leave the interviewer thinking, “Duh.”

The positive of a well-written thank-you letter (or cover letter) can be negated by leaving the “e” off Carole or the “h” out of Thom. Or an email can end up bouncing back as undeliverable and all that effort and positive after the fact marketing is for naught. Never assume the spelling of anyone’s name. Names are important, and spelling them correctly equally so!!

(Melissa, this one’s for you. Thanks!!)

SEPTEMBER: Update Your Resume Month – 5 Reasons (and ways) to update your resume today
By Ilona Vanderwoude, MRW, CPRW, CEIP, CCMC, CJST
Career Branches
www.careerbranches.com

When September rolls around, it means “International Update Your Resume Month.” An initiative spearheaded by Career Directors International (CDI) meant to promote awareness about the importance of having an updated resume ready.

Why is this so important, you ask? Fortune favors the prepared mind (Darwin), and this is particularly true when it comes to the job market.

Specifically, here are five reasons why you should update your resume TODAY:

1. You can’t plan for this scenario and that’s exactly the reason you need to be prepared with an updated resume: one day, one of your contacts approaches you with an unbelievable job offer. The position you’re being offered is even better than the fantastic one you have right now. Your contact just needs to forward your resume to his/her boss or to the Board of Directors…NOW. Don’t be the sad person going into a frenzy and ending with a sub-par document to submit – barely in time.

2. Another scenario: Overnight, you find yourself in an industry in distress. Doesn’t sound too far off after everything we’ve been through recently, does it? Who would’ve thought not too long ago that Wall Street would be in the kind of trouble it is today? It can happen to anyone.

3. A little less dramatic: Ok – maybe your company is “just” downsizing due to an acquisition, bad financial results, etc. Dealing with the stress of suddenly having to update your resume is not something you want on your plate in addition to everything else that’ll be going on.

4. You are up for your annual performance review and/or want to ask for a raise. I’ve seen people receive internal job offers for positions with more responsibility after updating their resumes. Finally, it was clear to their bosses what they’d been contributing all along.

5. It takes time to get prepared. If you go the professional route, keep in mind that most good resume writers don’t churn out resumes overnight. If you’re looking for quality service, count on a turnaround time of 1-6 weeks from beginning to final document. If you currently don’t have a well-constructed, powerful resume and you know you should do a complete overhaul, plan ahead – whether doing it yourself or hiring a professional.

Here’s how to get prepared – either for your do-it-yourself resume project or for your collaboration with a professional.

Five ways to update your resume now:

1. Evaluate your current career goals and make sure your resume still reflects these. Use a “focus statement” or position title to make it clear who you are and what you do (this replaces the outdated objective statement). If your focus changed since your last update, go through your entire resume and make sure everything is strategic and relevant.

2. Write all your accomplishments down since your last update. Did you initiate or work on a special project? Did you achieve something special? Surpass goals? Save time or money? Gain clients? Go above and beyond? Did you obtain new skills? Be specific and quantify your results as much as possible.

3. List conference, training, and seminar attendance. If you finished your education or obtained a certification, make sure to add this, and, if it’s relevant to your current career focus, list it close to the beginning of your resume – not at the bottom.

4. Is your personal information still current or did you move, change your phone number, or get a different email address? Also, make sure this is truly “personal information” — not your employer’s contact info!

5. Include any awards or honors you received.

Sounds like a lot of work? The good news: you’re killing a lot of birds with one stone! And from now on, if you chip away at it throughout the year as you obtain new skills or finish a project, it will get done before you know it. When your peers — and your “competition” — are losing sleep and scrambling to get their stuff together, you can rest easy knowing you’re ready for whatever comes your way. No more missed opportunities: priceless!

There we were, waiting in line to pay for DH’s jeans. He spotted a boy (OK, young man) from his high school and stepped out of line to speak with him. I stayed in line, but could hear the conversation.

Hubby (DH): Hey man. What’s up? What ya doin’?
Young Man (YM): I’m here looking for a job, filling out a few applications.

Up to this point, I’d barely acknowledged the exchange. The kid said the word “job” and “application” and I immediately turned in – imagine that. The check-out line was slow moving, so I had time to join the conversation. Mind you, I’d not paid much attention when the young man passed by originally, but after hearing his primary reason for being in the mall today (Sunday) was for job search (Sunday?) he had my complete attention. As I turned, I now looked at him with a career coaching eye.

The conversation continued.
DH: So you’re looking for a job?
YM: Yup. Thought I drop by and fill out a couple of applications.

He’s wearing tennis shoes, shorts, a t-shirt (with a logo of some sort – at least it wasn’t a questionable saying) and a knit jacket.

Me: You’re here applying for a job?
YM: Yes ma’am.

And golly gee, before the filter that stops everything that pops into my head from coming out my mouth even had a chance to operate, I blurted out, “Dressed like that?”

YM: Yes ma’am.
Me: Really?
YM: Well. I’m on my way to the gym.
Me: No excuse. (Smiling.) I should explain. I’m a resume writer. That’s what I do for a living. I work with people seeking employment every day.
YM: Guess I should have come after the gym.
Me: Yes. After you’ve changed clothes and are ready to make a good first impression.
DH: You only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Me: I’m sorry. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything.
YM: Well. It is kind of a buzzkill.
Me: I know. I’ve been called worse.

He bade farewell and quickly left. (Gee. I wonder why?) I know what you’re thinking. Lighten up Dawn. He’s a kid. It’s “just” a job in the mall. But, think about this. At some point he’ll graduate. I don’t know his future plans – school or work – but I do know one thing, his future will include a job search. And in most instances, you don’t advance your career in shorts and a t-shirt. (And you’re never too young to learn that lesson.)

Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything. I regret if I embarrassed him, but if two minutes worth of buzzkill helps him land his next job, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.