Career and resume advice from your mother

With Mother’s Day coming up, I thought I’d re-purpose a couple common things mothers tell their kids, since they all happen to be great advice for career changers.

If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Diplomacy about your former employer – regardless of how bad the experience was – is always your best bet. Find the high road, and take it every time. You don’t want your interviewer thinking you’ll badmouth his or her company, too.

I’m not just talking to hear myself talk. Unfortunately, we’ve all encountered people at networking events who completely tune us out when we start talking about our own company, position, situation, et cetera. Don’t be the person who only asks about someone only to find out if that someone can be of use to you.

I’m going to give you until the count of three. Moms want action, not lollygagging. Hiring managers, recruiters, headhunters, and HR folks like action, too – they just call it “initiative.” Show it on your resume, take it in your job search.

You can’t always get what you want. At this point, the Rolling Stones may be more famous for this line, and personally, I kind of rebel against it. I believe the more focused and action-oriented you are about getting what you want, the better chance you have of success.

And last, but not least…

If Timmy jumped off a cliff, would you do it, too? It’s easy to abandon your own critical thinking sometimes, and when it comes to resumes, it’s easy to just follow along in someone else’s footsteps and create a cookie-cutter resume.

Instead of trying to fill out the various resumes sections as though it were one more form to complete, take the time to decide what you really want out of your next position, and re-write your resume with that goal in mind.

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