Don’t Write Your Resume

I love to write — I’ll let you decide whether you think I’m any good at it — but either way I enjoy doing it. I also read a lot of resumes of people who also share that passion. Too bad.

Writing resumes is not about writing. It’s about reading. Not your reading — your prospective employer’s.

How long does the average employer give to a “first-read” of a resume? My un-scientific guess is about 15 seconds. In that 15 seconds, will that employer stay focused on a well-written paragraph describing your last job and all your successes? No.

In your resume, focus on bulleted points.

Under the name of the place where you worked, the dates you worked there, and a two sentence (at most) description of your responsibilities, create a bullet for each of your achievements on the job. Quantify each achievement. For example:

• Raised $1,500,000 in six months from individuals and corporate partners.

Be assured, simple, quantified bullets will get your next employer’s attention and could get you the interview. Save your writing for your cover letter.

On the Hunt

I have friends who like to hunt. For some it is an active sport. They’re out moving all the time, flushing out the game. Others just park themselves in a tree stand and wait for something to come by.

Even if you see hunting as a “blood sport,” my guess is that how you approach your development job is what kind of hunter you would be. Are you sophisticated — would your prospect benefit from a lead trust? — or do you take the simple path — just ask for the big gift now? Do you scatter a lot of bait, like a direct mail campaign, or put all your effort into a single, well thought out snare, like a foundation proposal?

How does this reflect on your career? Do you sit in the tree stand waiting for the perfect job to pass by (it’s easy to fall asleep on a nice warm day — when things are easy at work) or are you working with your dogs — your network — with a “nose for a job” ready to point out the best opportunities?

What We Learned as Kids

You know, we’re still children, just grown up a bit.

Your tastes may have become more sophisticated, but I’ll bet that you’d rather have a favorite childhood food than what’s good for you, and while you may not be in school, you probably approach your work in much the same way as you did back then.

Did you always engage others in conversation, Mr. Major Gifts Officer? Ms. Annual Fund, did you like to write? Or did you solve big problems, like the development manager you became? Yet there are days when I know that I feel like I’m just not quite placed where I should be, and I sit back to wonder, “What will I be when I grow up?”

How is this a career lesson?

There are a lot of clues from our childhood about what we can be successful at doing today. When I was a teenager, some of my best experiences were teaching environmental studies at a local park. Today I don’t teach 6th graders about the water cycle, but teaching about the fundraising cycle has become a big part of my life.

So what can you pull from your past that can tell you how you will be successful today? Since almost none of us grew up saying, “I want to be a fundraiser,” you are likely to bring a very unique, career changing perspective!

Networking, Fueled by Starbucks®

I am certain that coffee is the parent of the tech revolution. At least from afar, it looked like the rise of Starbucks® in the West came at about the same time that personal computers were getting a grip on the American economy.

I am just as certain that the rise of Starbucks® and the local coffee shop can fuel your career just as effectively. Do you need to be a “coffee achiever”? No, tea or water will work just as well. The point is that Starbucks® and their ilk make great places to see people to promote your career and theirs.

Your assignment today? Just like you would with a gift prospect, pick up the phone and call someone you haven’t seen for a while to meet and “just catch up” at a local coffee shop. Then do just that. Catch up on your respective careers, mutual contacts and aspirations for your next five years — then watch that fuel, I mean coffee, do its thing!