I have unintentionally directed my attentions towards "selling myself" recently. And it has been a rather positive experience.
I have the direct comparison of the year I spent scouring the help wanted ads and revising my resume and cover letters in my attempt to sell what I thought I could learn to do. I felt rather chameleon-like, as I endeavoured to make myself and my abilities adapt to various work environments. It was hard work.
These days, I am selling my childcare services. I am a mom. I have practical experience. I have a home equipped with all I need to create an environment to grow and learn. I have been there. I know what it feels like to be a parent faced with the unpleasant task of leaving their child with someone they don't know.
I am comfortable with who I am and what I can provide. When I talk to people, I am genuine. I can feel the difference between "then,” the daycare provider I used to be, and "now,” since I reopened my daycare.
In the years in between "then" and "now,” I was attempting to sell my ability to learn and adapt. It takes a good year to learn all of the ins and outs of a brand new work environment. There is so much to learn. The world out there was so foreign to me, it was very hard to adapt. My chameleon abilities were being taxed to the max.
Now when I talk to people, I am putting my true self forward. This isn't work. I am no chameleon. I am who I am and it is simply easy.
Recently, I brushed up my resumé. My true-self resumé. The resume that sells the "writer" in me. Once again, I am putting my true self out there for the world to see.
The resumé focuses on how I have brought writing into almost every job I have had. And beyond. The resumé speaks of jobs I have had that define where I've been. It encompasses courses I have taken that indicate my desire to continue to learn. It includes my hobbies and interests that provide a balance and show I have many topics to write about.
My resumé is me. It is who I have been and who I am and where I want to go. Past tense, present tense and with my eye on the future.
When it doesn't hurt to wake up in the morning and face the day and job ahead of you, you know something is right in your world.
What would your resumé say if you were selling your natural and God-given talents? Write your own personal resumé, if only in your mind. When "where you are" matches up with "what you do,” you are walking with the current of your life.
It is harder than it sounds. But take small, steady steps with your eye on where you want your life to go. Relax. Trust. And go with the flow.
Interesting fact, I wrote that sentence and received an email from a paper I contacted at almost that exact same moment. It said, "Love your stuff Colleen ...”
Follow your heart. Do what your soul tells you. And the "love letters" will follow.
