The Resume of Life
I had an interesting conversation with a student today about how we present ourselves on a resume and how that changes over the course of our career. The things is, what you put on your resume depends on where you are in your career.
When you're just starting out and don’t have much experience yet, it's OK to include things like part-time jobs in stores or news paper delivery. Even if those roles aren't directly related to the job you apply to, they show that you're willing to work, instead of lying on the couch watching Netflix every night. Early on, it’s more about showing you’re capable, motivated, and ready to take on work, no matter the field.
But as you progress and build up experience in your career, your resume changes. It evolves.
The jobs you once had, like working in a store or delivering newspapers, will be swapped out by roles that are more relevant for a position you apply to. For example, a few years into a software development career you'd probably highlight previous projects you’ve worked on, programming languages you’ve learned, and other developer-related roles you’ve had.
What’s important is that your resume grows with you.
And this is about more than just your resume. It's about life itself. Over time, it’s worth regularly checking where you are in life and where you want to go next. Your vision and mission don’t have to stay the same forever. As you update your resume to reflect your current professional life, you reevaluate your values and goals in life in general as well. Your career evolves, your values change, and your purpose changes as you get more experience.
That actually makes a resume a reflection of both our personal- and professional journey. Updating a resume is more than just refreshing your job experience list.
It's about larger goals and ambitions in life.