Resuming Resumes

I recently sent my resume to a friend for his review. It's fascinating to see different folks' criticism of form and content, but I wasn't prepared for his evaluation.

"It's only one page?!" he squawked.
"You can let it run to two pages?!" I squeaked back. I was stunned. I've read a lot of resume-writing articles and books, but I was still stuck in the one-page-or-bust mindset. Fortunately, my friend blew apart my mediocre resume. Miracle of miracles -- I suddenly had room to explain my biggest accomplishments.

There's a lot of advice about what works and what doesn't for resumes and cover letters, but I've learned to keep it simple. Show your strengths. If you're passionate about the projects you've worked on, it will show on your resume and others can catch the vision.

Most of all, I've learned about the power of human relationships. Not simply playing the job hunting equivalent of LinkedIn Professional Pokemon (gotta catch 'em all!), but spending time. My friends have offered job leads, support when I've gotten fatigued and frustrated, and distraction when the hunt has gotten too overwhelming (or taken an existential turn - what I am here for?!). Cultivate that. Cherish that. And don't take your contacts for granted, because you'll eventually be helping them too.

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