Rule of the day: Your life is based on a true story

accomplishmentsThe rule of the day relates to how your life is based on a true story and is probably better and more believable than a lot of fiction.

Some people think they’ve never accomplished anything interesting in their life or career and feel like they need to embellish their resume to make things sounds better.

Other than the fact that lying usually gets caught one way or the other, the truth is that you’ve probably accomplished a number of interesting things that can help to illustrate your experience, skills and talents and make you stand out from other candidates who are applying for the same jobs you are.

When I think of things I’ve done or experienced in my career, I’ll bet that some people reading this might have accomplished or experienced something similar and I’ll bet at least some of those things would be an interesting talking point in an interview.

Below is a list of some things that I’ve experienced in my career that I think are worth noting.

Among other things, I:

    • Know what it’s like to work internationally, having worked overseas (in New Zealand) for 4 years.
    • Have survived several corporate downsizings while many of my colleagues were being laid off.
    • Have experienced being laid off twice myself during corporate downsizings.
    • Know what it’s like to be self-employed.
    • Have helped many people find better jobs.
    • Have observed people lose jobs at every step of the job search process and most of the time they didn’t even know where they’d lost the job until I told them.
    • Have written numerous online articles on job searching and career management.
    • Wrote an ebook for career-minded individuals called Recruiter Secrets Revealed that can be bought and downloaded online.

I think at least some of those things are interesting and in each instance I can tell you a few things that I learned or experienced with each point that made me a better person.

During an interview a few years ago, I was asked numerous times about the fact that I’d started up a few websites on my own and the interviewer was very interested to not only hear about how I did it, but about other entrepreneurial endeavors I’d been part of.

Moral of the story: Think about things you’ve done, places you’ve visited, people you’ve met, experiences you’ve had. Chances are you have plenty of interesting things to weave into your resume or into a conversation that while not necessarily related to a job might give the person you’re speaking with an indication that you’re more just what is written on your resume.

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