HBO has been on a roll lately and the team at Enhancv has been enjoying every minute of it. Two years ago, we geeked out on Game of Thrones and now we’re indulging in our collective Chernobyl fandom.
Why?
Well, because it’s fun.
But also because we love telling stories. We’re not as good at it as HBO but hey, a software company can dream right?
Creating the resumes for Anatoly Dyatlov and Valery Legasov let us explore how to condense the lives of two consequential and (until recently) obscure people into single pages which still managed to tell their stories.
We think both have plenty to teach both about the people and about how resumes can (and should) tell compelling stories in general.
Hero of the Russian Federation, the resume of Valery Legasov
Frankly, we wanted to put together a resume that was a fitting tribute for Legasov. The challenge was to compress his achievements and experience into something that would be interesting for someone familiar with his story and informative for anyone who knows nothing about it.
Funnily enough, that’s the challenge most resume writers face. You don’t always know whether the person reading it is going to be steeped in your field or just a random HR person.
For Legasov, this meant acknowledging his work in physics and chemistry prior to the Chernobyl disaster, while putting the focus there. It reflects his voice as well as his achievements.
A mixed bag, the resume of Anatoly Dyatlov
Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t seen the show yet but Dyatlov is… not the hero.
His resume balances his confidence, his genuine accomplishments, and has a little fun along the way.
References to his “secret supervision room” aside, it’s a nice reminder that his failures during the Chernobyl disaster shouldn’t overshadow the fact that he had a real experience. He’d even experienced a small scale nuclear accident before!
What do these resumes have to teach us?
We hope this is a reminder that the history of your work is more than just a list of what you did, it’s your story.
How you tell that story makes all the difference.
In the meantime, enjoy the show and stay away from those REMs. Otherwise, it’s the end of the world as we know it.
Make one that's truly you.
