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The one time Seth Godin got it wrong

How to identify, attract and keep talent via resumes.
Last week, serial entrepreneur and marketing wiz Seth Godin announced on his blog that he is looking for talent.
In particular, Seth is seeking people who are skilled, passionate and open to making change happen. The reason why he is embarking on this journey is simple: he wants to maintain a file of talented individuals, suited for the execution of the many projects Seth’s involved in.
Yet, the way he is searching for talent has some room for improvement. This article will explain why the strategy Seth has employed to unearth human capital can be enhanced.
But first, a bit about who Seth Godin is. For those who aren’t quite sure. Seth helped invent commercial e-mail (that’s not spam) as we know it today. That’s right. For every time your favorite newsletter finds its way to your inbox you have Seth to thank. In addition, he pretty much invented educational computer games for children. And he published 18 best-selling books. And founded Yoyodyne. And Squidoo. Impressed? So are we.
Seth knows the nooks and crannies of digital marketing. He crafts each one of his blog posts as if it were his last. He also runs the world’s most selective MBA program – the altMBA. The guy could use an extra pair of hands, okay?

We Enhancers couldn’t agree more with Seth’s idea for a treasure hunt. Even when they are not actively hiring, smart companies have to maintain a file of talented potential employees/contributors. Yet, what is the clever way to do this? Is there an optimal way to spot talent? To get to know the candidate as a professional and an individual?
These were the questions that were running through the minds of Enhancv founders Volen, Georgi and Dimitar some three years ago. Helping people showcase their life’s work is Enhancv’s mission. Finding clever and efficient ways to do it is the company’s present.
Yet, Seth appears to have missed the Enhancv revolution. In 2009, he wrote a blog entry titled ‘Why bother having a resume?’. In it, Seth argues that remarkable people should refrain from having resumes at all. Well, Seth. We beg to differ.
We know that most resumes are boring and ineffective. That they only get 6 seconds of the reader’s attention and often take the form of a dull, 2-page list of job responsibilities. This is why we exist – to breathe life into resumes. We add the extra dose of sparkle and magic dust. How you may ask?
First, Enhancv resumes are crafted to showcase the tangible summary of your work. Start with a verb, measure your accomplishments numerically, detail the skills you acquired on the job, provide a baseline for the measurement of your personal growth. These are just some of the recommendations provided by the automated Enhancv resume builder. No way to get it wrong.
Second, Enhancv stimulates you to provide a prognosis of what you will do for your future employer, rather than a mere account of what you have done for your previous one.
Third, having an online platform where you can store your resumes enables you to make each one contextual, concise and targeted. We discourage the spray and pray technique.
Fourth and most important, Enhancv enables you to design an authentic personal brand. We trigger introspection. When you sit down to write your resume, you don’t usually think of the books, which have influenced your thinking; the strengths and talents, which make you a capable professional; or how a pie-chart of one day in your life would look like. The Enhancv resume nudges you to ask yourself the self-examining questions that make a good resume great.
The traditional resume is dead, people. Long live the Enhancv kind. So here’s a quest for you, cherished reader. Help us convince Seth of the value behind meaningful, well-thought over resumes. Send him your Enhancv creation, showing you are neither average nor destined to wither in a corporate behemoth. In the meantime, you can draw some inspiration from the one we created on Seth’s behalf. Cheeky us.
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Looking for more inspiration? Check out our resume examples section that got people hired at their dream jobs.
















Photo of Seth Godin by: MIMA Photos under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Hero of the russian federation, the resume of valery legasov

A mixed bag, the resume of anatoly dyatlov

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The Resumes of Chernobyl

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A surprising lesson from Maisie Williams about career change

Reading that another celebrity has tried to become a politician, entrepreneur, or different kind of celebrity has always provoked eye-rolls for me. I was always certain a bunch of celebrities couldn’t teach me something about changing careers (something I’ve experienced and written about plenty).
I was wrong.
It turns out there are universal lessons on making a career change, even for someone . Case and point: Maisie Williams. If you read the headlines, you’d think she had just woken up one day and decided to co-found Daisie, a tech company (specifically, an app for young creative people to build their careers). But it turns out a huge portion of the skills, knowledge, and relationships she’s developed as an actor apply directly to her new role as a co-founder.
Actor → tech co-founder
It all starts with an exercise we developed to think about how people change careers. The idea is to get you thinking in concrete terms about what each role actually involves. So instead of considering a software engineer job in the abstract, you think about the day to day coding, fixing bugs, debating features to add, etc.
Then, you compare the skills, knowledge, and relationships at your current role and your new role. This is where things get interesting. In Williams’ case, many of the skills she developed as an actor apply directly to co-founding a technology company. Her PR training taught her how to handle media as the co-founder of a company, her lessons on choosing the right roles to advance her career has lent her some basis in strategic thinking, etc.
Her knowledge of the kinds of challenges young people in creative industries face is also critical for her new role. Luckily, being just one of those people means she has a good understanding of those challenges. Finally, with a devoted fan base and connections in the entertainment industry, Williams has the kinds of relationships that can help her succeed.
It’s also worth mentioning what doesn’t show up here: knowledge of technology. Williams doesn’t know how to code, but her transition is a great example of how non-tech people can still bring vital knowledge to tech companies: understanding people, PR, presentation skills, etc.
But what are the broader lessons to take away?
Old role → new role
As I learned when I made the transition from academia into marketing, a lot more skills, knowledge, and relationships transfer than you would think. I found research skills, writing abilities, and an understanding of quantitative methods were invaluable. Sure I was studying early 20th century radical agrarian movements, but I had a good understanding of statistical significance and how to write on a deadline.
But I learned those lessons organically. It would have been more helpful to realize how much of my skills, knowledge, and relationships would transfer from the beginning. I could have been more confident and leveraged that information to perform better. I hope Williams’ story and my own can inspire you to try this for yourself.
You → new you
So give it a try, imagine a new role you’d like to have alongside what you do now and see how ready you really are. Whether you’re looking at moving into the tech world like Maisie Williams or myself, or just want to try something new, there’s a lot to learn. It’s just 4 easy steps, so what have you got to lose?

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Job and date searching have something in common…

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Sick of dating apps? See how the dating resume might change the game

The cures for modern singlehood are many and familiar: Tinder, Okcupid, Bumble, The League, Grindr, Match.com, speed dating, and underwater dating. Okay, we made the last one up. Point is, the serious dater is always on the lookout for the next best thing. But what if the next best thing was actually there all along?
Job and date searching have something in common…When job searching, a resume is a tool that we rely on. The best resumes represent who we are as both a professional and an individual. When done right, they can make us feel proud and boost our confidence. It’s no surprise that most people looking for a date could use some of that same confidence. That’s why crafting a dating resume could be your secret weapon this year.
The idea came from just one innovator, a college kid named Joey, who showed the world a new way to kill it in the dating game with a dating resume created with our platform that went viral.
Being resume experts and having dabbled in dating ourselves, we thought about crafting the perfect dating resume template, for anyone to use.

Our perfect dating resume sections: 
1. About me:
Are you a stable, healthy human being who happens to know how to listen, make life-changing blueberry pancakes, and make people laugh? Toot your horn – but keep in mind that you should also consider why your qualifications might matter to a perfect mate. 
2. Ideal qualities in a partner or what you’re looking for: 
Here, describe what exactly you’re looking for. Do you need a partner that can travel on short notice? That wants kids ASAP? Someone you can bring home to your parents? Ask and, hopefully, ye shall receive. 
3. Deal-breakers or red flags: 
Best to get these out of the way early. But they should be serious issues that would prevent you from moving forward with someone who might otherwise be great. Bites their fingernails? Eh, they can probably unlearn that habit. Doesn’t share your opinion about having children? Probably better to be straightforward about that. 
4. Ingredients for a perfect relationship:
Using the Enhancv platform, you can add a section called “MyTime”, which can be renamed and adjusted to suit any topic. Use it to identify your top 5-8 characteristics for a perfect relationship and adjust the chart to show how much importance each has. Add things like spending time at home, being active, cooking, visiting relatives, or anything else that matters to you.
5. Activities you’d love to do together: 
What kind of experiences and adventures do you want to share with a partner? This can often be a great insight into shared interests and common ground. 
Next steps… 

If you’re on a lookout for “the one” at the moment, give a dating resume a go. Answering the right questions about yourself and the perfect partner can not only give you clarity on what you want, but it can also boost your confidence. Create an account on Enhancv and be your own Cupid this year. 
Happy Valentine’s Day and may Cupid be with you! 
 


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Marissa Mayer: ''Thank you for a great resume!''

Our team met with the former Yahoo! CEO in London for a brief catch-up on resumes, motherhood and the best ways for dealing with bad press.
Few would take on the challenge of walking a mile in Marissa Mayer’s shoes. After five years as CEO of the troubled Internet behemoth, she is now taking her superwoman cape off and moving on to the next big thing. Her achievements as CEO (during her leadership, Yahoo! became one of three digital companies with over 1 billion users globally) and personal sacrifices for the company’s well-being (she only took a total of eight days off for the birth of her first son) are numerous.
Yet, it is safe to say that Mayer is leaving a troubled legacy behind. From spending over $1 billion on the acquisition of Tumblr, which she herself called “poetic”, to failing to disclose the large-scale security breach, which affected over 500 million Yahoo! users – Mayer has had her fair share of cringe-worthy moments.
The Enhancv team was inspired by Mayer’s ferocious ambition and in August 2016 we created and published her resume. It was a crucial force in enabling more users around the world to learn about our platform. Mayer’s resume was liked over 40K+ times on LinkedIn, without any paid advertisements. And the Business Insider article covering the story received 300K+ reads. Today, Enhancv boasts over 250K+ registered users from over 150 countries worldwide.
This is why we were particularly excited for the opportunity to meet Mayer and thank her in person for the unknowing contribution she had to Enhancv’s success. Imagine how proud we felt when her face lit up with recognition and amusement as we introduced ourselves. “I know you, you did a great job with my resume! I loved it”, she said.
We also had the chance to ask Mayer a few questions, which we are happy to share with you. Get an exclusive peek into the thoughts of the First Lady of the Internet!

What was the biggest challenge you tackled at Yahoo?
Definitely, it was returning the company to its original 1990s culture. The Silicon Valley tendency to combine business and fun has its roots in the work environment created by Yahoo!’s founders – Jerry and David. The idea that the corporate culture and brand of an enterprise can have a meaning larger than the business itself has in my view been one of the key ingredients to Yahoo!’s early success. 
The challenge which I faced when I joined as CEO, was to reboot the original culture, while also encouraging Yahoo! employees to spend more time at the office and give that extra discretionary effort, which the company needed to pull through.
You were the first Yahoo! CEO to promote maternity leave. Why then did you hide your pregnancy for six months and why didn’t you take a longer break from work following the birth of your children?
For legal reasons – in the US maternity leave technically is a disability leave. If I took maternity leave, I would have had to appoint a temporary deputy, which would have been complicated and confusing for the board and shareholders. I also felt that Yahoo! needed me, needed a strong leader, who was present. 
What’s your strategy for dealing with bad press?
I follow the advice a close friend gave me – I don’t read any news or articles about myself. 

One question, in particular, remains on everyone’s minds. Namely, what caused Yahoo!’s slow demise? 
As made obvious by the many achievements on Mayer’s resume, she was expected to over-deliver during her time at Yahoo!. Yet, the geek goddess was largely criticized for almost every decision she ever took, while in charge. 
It may be that expectation was set too high. When Mayer joined the company as CEO in 2012, Yahoo! employees made posters with her picture and the word “hope” underneath. These make-shift pieces of art were in a similar graphic style to the emblematic Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign. The posters were hung all around Yahoo! headquarters. Newspapers all over the world were blasting headlines like “Google’s First Lady Jumps Ship to Yahoo!”. 
A good indication of her slim chances to steer the Yahoo! ship in the right direction may have been the short-lived careers of Mayer’s predecessors. She was the fourth CEO in four years. Her immediate predecessor was taken down after it was discovered that he had lied on his resume. 
Observers judged Mayer’s task of saving the poster-child company for the first era of the Internet as close to impossible. Google’s search algorithms had been performing better than Yahoo! employees categorizing the web by hand. Facebook was doing a better job of serving the communication needs of digital consumers than Yahoo! chatrooms. Apps had taken traffic away from desktop computers to mobile phones and Yahoo! was lagging behind. 

Regardless, Mayer’s name will grace the tech history books, while her life experience will inspire young women and girls the world over to dream big and aim high. Kudos, Marissa! Should you be looking for a job again, we will be waiting for you at www.enhancv.com.


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How to make a dating resume? Your professional one has all the answers!

The world of dating was shaken this week. A young student showed everyone how to make a dating resume and drew attention to the fact that online dating is just not effective enough. It raised a question amongst people: Is online dating good enough? Isn’t it better to go back, offline?
Creating a dating resume might sound a bit strange at first. But wasn’t it like that when Tinder, the king of online dating, came to the scene for the first time? Suddenly it was enough to swipe left in case you’re not interested, to show you don’t like the guy/girl. Before even meeting them or knowing what show they like to binge-watch.
If you don’t have such a resume yet or you are not sure what to write in one, here are some tips to follow. You might be surprised how similar the content of professional and dating resume is. You can thank me later when you find your dream guy/girl! 😉
Here’s Joey’s example:


Before you start…
Before you approach your dream guy or a girl, you surely know why you like them so much. Yes, at first it might be the great looks but if you’d like to date them too, some more important factors come to the scene.
Do they like the same things you do? What are their values – why would they be interested in you? An important thing to keep in mind here is not to underestimate yourself. Many of my friends thought – that guy will never even look at me, I’m not pretty enough, smart enough… Yet the magic did happen after they approached the guy, or at least sent some signals that they are interested. Definitely, don’t sell yourself short!
Why is it important to know more about the dream guy or girl? Well, it will be much easier to get their attention like that. If they see some similarities in your resume and themselves, your chances are higher instantly!
Same goes for your dream job. When you begin to think about your career, you should start with the research. What company would you like to work for? Think about why do you want to work there. What’s appealing about that job/company? It could be their values, their amazing culture or the fact that their HQ is right next to your house.

State your objective
A good objective will attract the attention of the right one for you right from the start.
In your dating resume, state what exactly are you looking for. What should they be like? Remember that setting up a good objective can be a tough cookie. You don’t want to come across as unapproachable or too easy to get! The trick here is, to be honest, and straightforward.
When it comes to the company you want to work for, do the same. Especially when you’re a student with little experience, it’s good to share your objective. It shows that you know what you want in a job and that you are familiar with the industry or field.

Show your personality
I can’t emphasize the importance of presenting your personality in your dating resume enough. You are going to date the person, not their looks! That’s why you need to get to know them better and the earlier you understand what kind of character they have the better. When you receive the resume and instantly see what the guy’s/girl’s favorite books or movies are or what set of skills they have, you can get a pretty good idea whether you’ll have what to talk about and if you’d have fun together.
Personality revealing sections have the ability to provoke emotions in people. You can leave them with a positive feeling and make them excited to meet you. If you use a joke here and there, you might even make them smile! And what’s better than that?
When it comes to showcasing personality in your professional resume, it is still being underestimated. When employers look for a perfect candidate, the personal element of a resume is the deal breaker. Most of the companies want to secure a perfect culture fit. A candidate that is similar to the rest of their team, someone who shares the same values. They can only understand that through personality revealing sections.

What does your usual day look like?
This is a part of the ‘’reveal your personality’’ point, however, I think it needs special attention. This section is very specific for the Enhancv platform.
Sit down and think, what does your usual day look like? Do you do something fun? We are not robots, after all, and demonstrating what you do in your day says a lot about you. You can also show how much time you spend on each activity too. It showcases you both as a professional and an individual.

Mention your professional experience and education
Your dating resume isn’t just about the fun part of your life. Definitely share some of the ‘’serious’’ stuff, too. You don’t want to look like a moron in their eyes! Rather like an educated person that works hard to develop themselves as a professional. Again, state your accomplishments and not just duties. Mention your education and working experience.
To help with that, you can use the formula from Laszlo Bock, Google’s former VP of People Operations – Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]. You can never go wrong with that.
In a resume aiming to get you a dream job, this section is a must. Always focus on your achievements and provide exact numbers and tangible data. What impact did you have in your previous job and what wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t there? Specify your own level of involvement.

Honesty equals success
I must confess, I lied on my resume! It was a great lesson, though, and I never lied again after that. It was the proficiency in languages. I stated that I’m fluent in both English and French (and I also mentioned basics of Spanish and German – which was true). I studied French before, but haven’t spoken for a few years and it was far from fluent at that point. Yet I wanted to impress the employer and said I was fluent. After coming to an interview, it appeared they wanted to try my French and started to speak in French. Imagine my face, after understanding exactly 3 words from the 5-minute introduction!
Whatever information you share on your resume, for both job and love hunting, make sure you’re honest. If it’s the right company/guy/girl, they will be impressed just by your true self. If they decide to ignore you, take it in a positive way. It would probably be a waste of time.

That’s almost everything, but…
It is pretty exciting that a dating resume created on the Enhancv platform got millions of views online. It proves that a great design, personality focused sections and focus on real achievements can do miracles and get you the attention you need.
What else would you recommend to add to a dating resume? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.
Good luck with your love hunting! 😉








The Resume Bulletin