Are your shoes dirty?
You’ve heard me talk here before about the value of a career coach. And I really do believe in what they do. Likewise for resume writers. They lend a voice, a structure and a strategy to folks who a need a big leg up.
If you are out looking for your next job. Or are employed but looking for something better. You might want to take a look at a career expert directory. Just to see who is out there and what an expert can do to help. But before you do that, read my post about hiring a career expert.
Because hiring an expert should be a decision you make as part of a larger job search strategy. And you should do it early in your process if you decide it makes sense.
You know your strengths. You’ve identified your weak spots. And now you are going to make one key investment to make sure that dirty shoes will not hamper your ability to impress people.
But not everyone can afford a career coach. And not everyone’s weak spots require professional help.
Sometimes a spit shine will do.
A spit shine is something you can do at home. At your own pace. You just need a little guidance. And in the case of a spit shine, for me this came during high school. From my dad who came down into my room with his can of shoe shine. He popped it open, spit without reservation into the can. And mixed the shine into a really unpleasant looking stew. As if he were spitting into his baseball glove.
That stew warmed my shoes to a deep black color. Then he buffed them out to a pretty good shine. Good enough for me to leave the house confident and ready to impress. Instead of running down for a professional shine at the shoe store.
A spit shine for your resume
If you could solve the majority of the problems on your resume without a major expense, you would. I think we would all do that, right?
I wrote about some of these simple solutions in my guest post on Ryan Rancatore’s Personal Branding 101 blog. It included 5 reasons your resume makes me sick. They make me sick because they can be solved with a little bit of knowledge and a little bit of time.
So where do you get ideas for a spit shine? Well, here of course! Be sure to check out the posts here in the resume and cover letter category. That’s one option. You can also compare your resume with new friends you meet while networking. Especially those that are getting calls on theirs.
You can check with your local church to see if they have a career ministry. Or check with your city’s government EDD office. Or ask your friends who do a lot of hiring to take a look.
Free advice from the experts
But the truth is that most really good career experts share their spit shine ideas on a blog. Or on Twitter. And if you go into the directory, look for their links. By reading their free ideas and advice, you may find a voice that you can trust enough to pick up the phone. And, if it makes sense, one that you can pay to upgrade from a productive spit shine to a professional one.
As time allows, I review resumes for people. Spit shines only. Many can be quickly improved with just a few adjustments.
And a few need to be burned at the stake.
