Throw a Resume Party

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Throw a Resume Party

Imagine that you are in a room full of people and all of those people are talking about you. Yes, they are saying things about you and they are saying it to your face. They are saying things that you couldn't have imagined in your widest dreams. But its okay, because they are only saying good things.

That my friends is a resume party in a nutshell. Think of it as a reverse intervention.

Not only does this help you create content, but it can remind you about what makes you great when you need to hear it the most. Unemployment is extremely stressful and depressing. That's not a helpful frame of mind when you are job hunting. So even if you love your resume, think about throwing a resume party anyway.

Who to invite? Anyone! Remember, the party can do double duty as a networking opportunity so you may want to think strategically.

friends
family
coworkers
former coworkers
business associates
volunteer associates
your spiritual advisor
strangers

A good number of people is 5-8, but try to keep it to no more than 10.

Lubricate the party. Wine or beer could be good, but your speed may vary. Food never hurts, so if you are unemployed, make it a pot luck.

To some extent, the party should parallel the resume sections. Especially focus on Profile issues and PARs and SARs. To a lesser extent also cover skills. Discuss your resume and career goals and consider if a chronological, functional or combo resume is most appropriate.

Creativity techniques:

Brainstorm, Role play, use visualizing techniques or just sit around a table and talk. Ask people to bring their own resumes, job listings or anything else for inspiration. You know your people and you should know what works best for you.

The party can take many forms. You may like something more structured or unstructured. Start with an agenda and have a job history on hand, but let the creativity go where its most productive.

The party should have a leader and a scribe. The leader keeps it moving. It can be you, but consider if an invitee would be better suited. The scribe records the important points. Not everything has to be recorded, just the concepts worth preserving. The scribe will be most effective as a non-participant and does not count against the 6-10 total.

Don't get hung up on the perfect wording, just get the thoughts out there. Than take the thoughts and organize them into a rough draft resume using the tips on this site and then, post them to the community.

The networking opportunity is not the only side benefit. You'll likely get good content for interviews. Even better, you will even get some interview practice because you are talking to people about some of the same issues that come up in an interview.

Make the scribe's job easy

Use a Pulse. A Pulse is the one of the most amazing pieces of technology I have ever seen. That's high praise from a technology geek like me.

A Pulse is a pen, sound recorder, and writing recorder all rolled into one small instrument. It also can be a language translator, musical instrument and many other things.

It's great for Resume Parties because:

It synchronizes sound with notes, so if you tap a note, it will replay what was being said at that moment. It's so good that a lazy scribe can make a simple mark on the paper at important moments, and then just tap the mark to hear the sound later.

It converts notes to digital text. Just plug it in to a USB port, upload the handwritten notes, then convert to text. The handwritten notes are also viewable on screen as digital ink.

If you can't get one for the party, try to get an attendee to buy it. It's perfect for meetings or as a gift to kids for school.