Another Eye

It just hasn’t been working. I have been sending out résumé after résumé and I haven’t been invited to interviews.

I know I have many talents that I could offer employers. I can write. I have a great knowledge of computer software applications. My experiences in life can help any company. I have a great imagination. Can’t they see this?

After chatting with Halina on the phone today, it turns out that they can't. What is worse is that I have rationalized many reasons why I haven’t been selected for interviews. Could it be that they were not true and I was only fooling myself out of ignorance?

Halina is pleasant lady in information management at a hospital in London. She broke the news to me in a gentle, kind way. She asked me a few questions, including what I have accomplished with each employer. I could almost feel her enthusiasm grow on the line as I told stories of what I have done at work and as a volunteer over the years.

She told me that the people in human resources want to hear these stories.

Here I thought all along that my résumé was fantastic. It wasn’t. It was as dry as reading an index of a book. It had all of the information of my employment, but it didn’t put a human face on it.

I almost feel as if I have wasted two years’ work. I am happy that another eye has looked at my résumé. I could have gone for a few more years of frustration.

It sort of reminds me of my colour blindness. Sometimes my colour combinations when I get dressed look fine to me. The reality is that they clash badly. It takes somebody to tell me when I look rather strange. Of course, you have to be careful in selecting your advisor. Another colour-blind person, for example, wouldn’t help make me be dressed more nattily.

In this case, I had a blind spot on what I was sending to prospective employers. It has taught me that when things aren’t working out, a fresh set of expert eyes on the problem can be very helpful. I can stumble around wasting my efforts for a long time thinking everything is fine, or just as bad, knowing they aren’t fine, but having no idea what to do.

It reminds me of what I do when my car breaks down. I get out and look under the hood. The only problem is that I have no idea of what I am looking at. It’s just a thing that all men seem to do. It’s great when someone else comes along who can offer you some wisdom especially when you haven’t a clue and are figuratively looking under the hood trying to pretend to look as if everything is in control. I’ve done this before, and the only person I seem to be fooling is myself. I have also found that there are many people out there who have what I need and will be glad to help.

I have confidence that Halina is the right person to help me present myself in the best possible way. I’m glad I didn’t let my ego get in the way and that I accepted her help. I think it will make a significant difference in the very near future.