Resume Tactics

A recent conversation with a recruiting contact brought up (again) an old and fundamental resume-writing concept. My associate mentioned that his son, a music/opera major in college, ended up working in New York for a firm that specializes in providing services to PE firms. Dad was proud and slightly bewildered in a “who woulda thunk it” sort of way. After all, his son’s alma mater is two time zones west of NYC, and his music major isn’t the usual prerequisite for landing a job on Wall Street. However, as it turned out, the interviewer also had a music and opera background.

Bingo.

I recall helping a reentering job seeker put together his first resume. Even though he was in his early 40s, there wasn’t much to work with. He’d been “off the market” for much of his adult life, incarcerated and living on and off the street. But he had graduated high school and was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps. He was pessimistic about the whole process, insisting he had nothing to list work-wise, so why even bother with a resume?

I convinced him.

We built a basic one-page resume using the odd jobs and training he’d received here and there. Toward the bottom, I suggested an “Education and Service” section listing his high school diploma and military service. The resume strategy for this man was simple: use the two positives (his HS diploma and his military service) as hooks to attract interest. And sure enough, it worked. It took effort, patience, and persistence, just like fishing, but our guy got a bite from, you guessed it, someone who had also been in the Marine Corps.

From experience, I knew that keyword phrases like “US Marine Corps” have mystical powers. No kidding. Without consciously knowing it, the eyeballs of other former Marines spot this every time. It jumps off the page and demands further scrutiny. And with that, mission accomplished. Our guy’s resume stood out. It got a second look, followed by an interview and eventual job.

So, what’s the takeaway…that interviewers look for something to discuss beyond the duties and responsibilities listed in the job description? Yes, we/I do. Guilty as charged. Or maybe they look for opportunities to talk about themselves and their experiences with someone who’s had similar experiences. Okay, I’ll admit it. Or maybe interviewers are people (and not bots) with personal histories, preferences, interests, and a whole bunch of other stuff that makes them spot music majors or ex-Marines from all the others.

The lesson from these examples is to include personal “distinguishers”—things that are real and unique to you even if they don’t connect or align with your career path or objective. Indeed, the core of your resume must present your education, qualifications, and experience appropriately and professionally. That said, it’s also important to introduce more about you in a fun or clever way. Give yourself an edge. Bait the hook for someone who might take an interest and another look.

BTW, the resume line items about being a music major, former Marine, or anything similar will go unnoticed by everyone except those looking, consciously or unconsciously. So, find a way to show more of you.

BTW II, I do wonder what the bots think about this.

Onward!

Seller of Service

Some people have it—most likely learned from or modeled after a parent or relative—but not always. Sometimes, it's just there, built-in, and part of their personality from the get-go. I'm referring to a combination of characteristics that describe successful people in the Marketplace. These traits could include diligence, punctuality, responsibility, perseverance, a positive attitude, and many more—things any employer would like to see in an employee or, for that matter, in a vendor.

These attributes fall under the soft skills category. They are great to have but, unlike hard skills, difficult to train for. It seems there's a required intangible foundation for them to stay or stick. Here again, some folks have such a foundation, others don't.

What happens if this foundation is missing? How can you get or develop it? One pathway leads to and through the "school of hard knocks"—experience, requiring a lot of trial and error, which can be problematic for the background-challenged person. And, of course, experience isn't forthcoming if you can't get your foot in the door in the first place.

Another way comes from a hack to experience and the school of hard knocks. This workaround happens before getting to the trial and error of experience—which can go well or not. If the experience is negative, it will likely reinforce preexisting attitudes and lead to a hardening of one's outlook, "See, just like I thought, screwed again." Or, if the experience is positive, a revelation, an "Oh wow, things turned out okay" realization. The hack hedges the bet on experience going south because the background-challenged job seeker may get only a few (good) chances.

So, what is it that short circuits learning by experience?

A change in perspective.

It starts with seeing oneself as a Free Agent, being the pilot of the vessel that is you and your life—having agency. Getting to this step also necessitates changing one's mindset and perspective, which isn't easy for folks accustomed to being dependent and reactive. Furthermore, being a Free Agent and a Seller of Service needs context. The question, "How and where does all this stuff fit together?" requires an answer. So here it is, the Marketplace, the field of play where all work occurs.

How can we bring about a change in perspective? After all, things like this are hard-wired, if not burned into, many who find themselves on the reentry path. True. Bringing about change of this sort takes effort and is difficult to measure. Helpers often skip or skim over it—a big mistake. Sending job seekers out into the Marketplace without allowing them to reset their perspective is like playing the lottery. Many will fail immediately, which isn't good, but it should happen early while there's time to adjust. Failure that comes later, after initial progress, can be catastrophic, leading to a return to the dark places that existed before attempting to reenter.

So, introduce these concepts as a connected set early in the reentry process: Free Agency, Seller of Service, and Marketplace, with the following message delivered repeatedly and through multiple channels from helper to helpee:

Like everyone else, you are a Free Agent operating in the Marketplace. You will sell your services to a customer, usually your employer. Your goal is to see yourself as a self-contained, independent business with a clear-eyed view of what the Marketplace is and isn't. Your job is to deliver the best service possible to your customer for as long as you need or desire.

You want this change in mindset and outlook for those you are helping move forward on the reentry journey. There's more that comes with it, such as strategies and objectives unique to each person reentering. However, these and other reentry puzzle parts are building blocks that need the foundation provided by these three concepts.

Think of it this way: the change in perspective brought about by acceptance of these foundational ideas is like putting on a metaphorical seat belt, protection against the inevitable speedbumps and potholes sure to come.

Onward!

The Marketplace

Where is your success as a Free Agent job seeker determined? When I ask this question, the usual response is to ask a question in return for clarification. What exactly do I mean by " where?” Is it possible I mean "by whom?” Perhaps I’m fishing for someone to say, “I determine my (own) success.”

Without additional prompting, most people eventually answer that their success is determined by their employer, themselves, the economy, their education, the HR department, the level of competition, globalization and free trade, discrimination, and so on. It's all over the map. Generally, the responses focus on specifics and details. In economic terms, the micro vs. macro point of view.

Of course, in a general sense, all these answers are correct. Many things determine whether or not a job seeker will experience success. However, the “where” of my question is missing, and this achieves my objective. These micro answers indicate the job seeker's perspective—the trees, not the forest. Unrecognized is the field of play where all decisions are made.

The “where” I’m referencing is conceptual, not tangible. It’s a place and a thing combined. Still, we can’t directly see, hear, smell, touch, or taste it. There are rules and ways of behaving associated with it. And, like the thing itself, these rules are abstract and hard to pin down.

Most people accept the existence of this place/thing but find its essence hard to grasp because there’s no easy way to measure, value, or compare it other than results. It operates 24/7, nonstop. It’s ahead of, behind, and all around each of us. It’s where all business happens.

It’s the Marketplace.

Here’s how I present the concept directly to background-challenged job seekers one-on-one and in workshops, but the core message is universal and applicable to all of us.

To find out what it is and how it functions, you must enter the Marketplace and experience it directly. But here's the thing: most job seekers will plunge right in. Little, if any, thought is given to where and how things play out. There's no assessment taken from 30,000 feet. Instead, job seekers drop to three feet and cannot appreciate the lay of the land, finding themselves surrounded by nothing but grass, bushes, and trees.

Taking a micro view such as this creates a problem. Humans are programmed to see things in terms of polarity, as good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair. But the Marketplace operates differently. It doesn't care that we want to size it up or figure it out. It doesn’t matter that we want to take a class or watch YouTube videos about it. Our need to have someone tell us what it’s about and perhaps hold our hand as we enter it is of no concern to the Marketplace.

As a job seeker and eventual Free Agent seller of service, you must embrace the concept of the Marketplace and see yourself as a participant. You need to come to terms with the fact that the Marketplace has no emotions or opinions. You must understand it doesn’t care who’s on the field and who wins or loses—getting your head around the fact that the dispassionate Marketplace is where the game takes place and the game itself is essential.

If the first half of a successful job search comes from seeing yourself as a Free Agent, then accepting and understanding the concept of the Marketplace is the other half. Absorbing and integrating both concepts allows you, as the job seeker, to take to the field as an actual participant and not a reactive wannabe pretender. Instead of feeling trapped and hemmed in by all you don’t see or understand, you begin to experience freedom because you know you’re a Free Agent and you know you’re operating within the Marketplace.

Coming to this point of integration requires abandoning excuses and blame. Without them, you can better see yourself for what you are: a service seller operating within an open forum devoid of attributes like fairness, equality, and goodness. It’s not to say these things don’t exist, but you must be prepared to function without them.

As people, we’re incapable of total objectivity. Nevertheless, the Free Agent job seeker must work toward it, eliminating the constraints of assigning decision power to anyone or anything. Sure, you didn’t get the position because the owner’s brother-in-law was selected out of nowhere or the manager picked someone with the same cultural or ethnic background. You’re frustrated, angry, and resentful because it’s unfair and “not right.”

Let’s pretend for a moment that the Marketplace had a point of view. If so, it might say you don’t understand the rules of this specific game, that brothers-in-law are always picked over non-brothers-in-law, or that managers never pick candidates from outside their social group or ethnicity. If the Marketplace could communicate with you directly, it would tell you not to spend time and energy stewing on any of this. Instead, learn from this reality, take it in stride, and move on. Furthermore, it would remind you that your Job Search Objective (which I will cover in future posts) hasn’t yet been achieved and that any time or energy spent on these outcomes is wasted and fruitless. You would be told bluntly that the Marketplace couldn’t care less about your feelings. You’re merely a player who wins, loses, or draws.

All this is cold and harsh but true. As an independent Free Agent, focus on the side of the equation that you can manage. You have no control over the Marketplace. You can, however, exert influence as you participate. To do this, you must see things accurately and objectively. You must be open, willing, and teachable. The Marketplace provides everyone with a continual stream of lessons. Are you ready and willing to listen? Are you up to making the adjustments necessary to achieve your objective?

In my experience, of the two concepts, Free Agency and Marketplace, Marketplace is the concept that background-challenged individuals need help embracing. Background issues rarely exist in a vacuum. Frequently, they’re outward manifestations of inner baggage, emotional scar tissue, pain, grief, and fear. Thus, it’s too easy for someone with these constraints to lay blame, project frustration, wallow, and complain. If the Marketplace could speak to you, it would say:

I don't care because I can't care. I’m not capable or programmed to care. I set up the game, and I report the results. It’s your job to compete, bring your best game, advance from a win, and learn from a loss. You do with it what you will.

In the end, Free Agents accept the Marketplace for what it is. With this acceptance comes the possibility of achieving success quicker and more comprehensively than otherwise would be possible. Acceptance and adjustment lead to freedom, but at a price—responsibility. Overseeing your future is no small thing.

Onward!

Free Agency

Successful workforce reentry involves a series of steps. Some are behavior-based (doing vs. thinking), and others are intangible (thinking that leads to new doing). One crucial intangible is taking on a Free Agent mindset, which is to say, seeing oneself as the captain of one's ship, a proactive and independent (internal) repositioning. It's a huge step.

I must introduce two essential concepts before getting into the Free Agent mindset. The first is the overall goal for those reentering and, from my point of view, for all of us: to become self-sufficient, independent citizens in good standing. That, in the end, is what we're out to achieve. I'll have lots to say about this in forthcoming posts.

The second, which is much more specific to reentry, is Personal Job One (PJO). It refers to the one big thing that must be addressed and managed before any hope of success. Here's what I mean: for the person with a drug addiction, it's getting and staying clean. For the alcoholic, staying sober, and for the ex-offender (especially repeat offenders), it means staying away from the people and situations that have contributed to confrontations with law enforcement and incarceration.

As noted, these are Big Fundamental Things—nonetheless, success in managing them is non-negotiable. I use the term "managing" deliberately. In most cases, seeking total victory over issues of this magnitude is unrealistic. Management isn't. It's practical and feasible. It works. Imagine the metaphorical mind-sign that says, "Under New Management."

A person must be ready to take on this mindset, and they are not while their PJO battle continues. This struggle must end, and they must win, be the victor. Addressing one's PJO comes first. Otherwise, there's no point in developing a Free Agent mindset. Doing so would amount to a premature misfire with little merit or benefit. However, when the PJO issue is dealt with and managed, the victory becomes a confidence builder and a foundation to launch free agency.

The Free Agent mindset is a benefit and a gift that keeps on giving. We live in the "Gig Economy," where new side hustles appear daily. Furthermore, tenure at full-time jobs with stints of nine months here and a year and one-half there are, by "back-in-the-day" standards, hardly more than “gigs.” Grabbing hold of the job search reins as a Free Agent positions the reentering job seeker perfectly with the actual job market landscape.

Another gift (frequently under-appreciated if not completely unrecognized) is that it sets the stage for becoming a first-rate employee. Seeing oneself as a seller of SERVICE to a customer (their employer) is a powerful attribute and something I'll explore in detail in future posts.

Like all mindsets, free agency is nonphysical and abstract. You can’t see or measure it. But as any experienced reentry worker will tell you, a change in perspective, such as integrating a Free Agent mindset, becomes a high-value asset for the challenged job seeker. There's no alteration in the physical world around the person and no immediate outward change in them either, but suddenly, they start rotating on a new axis. Some excitement, enthusiasm, and hope are now present, perhaps just a sliver, but enough for the heads-up helper to notice.

This shift in viewpoint may be subtle, but I can't overstate its importance. The job seeker is ready to take on more ownership and responsibility for their search. By absorbing this change in perspective, they begin to arm themselves for the actual search. They become more receptive to moving out of their comfort zone, such as it is, into the world of work, the Marketplace.

Onward.

You’re Not Looking For A Job, You’re Looking For A Person

“Not a job, a person…” is a core concept of my reentry approach. Simply put, background-challenged job seekers need to connect with other people – actual living, breathing human beings. Success depends on it, in the short run and particularly in the long run. Connecting with people is so important because it will be people who help mitigate the inevitable roadblocks reentering people always face. But connecting takes effort and often a mindset flush because meeting new people is something many challenged seekers don’t want to do.

Let’s be honest, society is becoming more digitized daily, which is not good news for someone getting back on track. More digits mean more ways to get knocked out early in the game. It means getting through to someone who might be able to help is increasingly problematic. There is no doubt about this, but it doesn’t change the fact that for most reentering job seekers, people, not digits, not an app or platform, will make it all happen.

What do I mean? What kind of people? In short, people in the work world. But here’s the thing, reentering people come from alternative worlds – the prison world, rehab world, homeless world. Worlds filled with people either caught up in them or working in them. These are not the people I’m referring to, even those helping with transitioning out.

To be sure, helpers such as counselors, job developers, or case managers play important if not critical, roles in reentry success. Still, they don’t represent the types of people that reentering folks NEED to meet; why? because they work from within the transition world, not in the heartless old marketplace world.

Many reentering people have trouble making the move outward. They stall and linger. Being around others with similar challenges creates peer groups and community, where challenges are shared, and there’s a sense of belonging. So, they hang on because the leap is scary, and contemplating it is uncomfortable with so many bad memories, disappointments, and failures “out there.”

To get moving, those reentering need a step-by-step plan that breaks down the mountain into ready-to-shovel piles of gravel, which they can take on with purpose and intentionality. This last point, intentionality, is important. As the job search moves into gear, the heads-up job seeker also looks for these work-related contacts who could become key contacts. Most people they encounter at this point will not become individuals who will take the time to understand and allow the job seeker to show what they can do and who they are.

I’ll have much more to say about connecting with people in forthcoming posts. For now, know that the digit is no friend to the reentering person, but people will be. That said, looking for work requires interacting with the digit – the internet – there’s no choice. However, there is a choice to be made about HOW it’s done. Submitting apps online without a plan that includes job search and people search strategies is a Class-A counterproductive move and, maybe worse.

Look, the background issue will come up, it always does. That’s why there’s a plan with built-in deliberate strategies and tactics to facilitate getting the job and connecting with people who can help achieve milestones and objectives. And let me be clear on this: forging ahead without a plan is where most reentering folks go wrong. It’s like hitting the gas with no map, GPS, or clue.

Onward.

Why Write The Book?

A frequently asked question is, "Why did you write the book?" I wrote it primarily to capture the strategies, tactics, and overall reentry approach I had developed over the years, consolidating them into a single resource. It was essential to present the concepts and actions in the sequential order in which I typically used them, allowing readers to follow along step-by-step. I also added characters to liven up the "how-to" feel, making it more engaging and readable. Some were real people with changed names, while others were compilations based on actual individuals and events. I could have easily included twice as many characters.

The book-writing process was also important to me. I wanted to experience the whole circle, from compiling my notes to publishing an ebook and a paperback version. It took about twenty months in total.

I wrote the book for many reasons, some of which I'll explore further. But in essence, I wrote it to preserve the frameworks and methodologies I had developed, serving as reminders of the numerous situations I encountered and the amazing, fascinating people I met.

This Substack project is an extension of my book, delving deeper into the' why' behind it. Writing about my writing is a journey, often leading me to the edge of the rabbit hole. However, there are a couple of underlying reasons why. I wrote this book specifically for the underdogs, those who are facing challenges and are determined to overcome them. I also wanted to incorporate business concepts into job searching and advancing, which I felt was missing in the reentry process for background-challenged individuals. Understanding these reasons will help you, the reader, comprehend my perspective, both in terms of the book and in general.

For the underdog. I am drawn to the challenge of regrouping, taking on the odds, and finding success. Why is this? I don't know. It's just how I am. But I can say this: I am passionate about being part of making it happen, of seeing someone succeed from behind vs. adding more to an already full basket. I am, by nature, process-oriented, interested in more action and less drama, more step-mapping toward the objective, and less angst about the past or the future. This feature of my personality and approach fits the bill for reentry. It works.

Something’s missing. It suddenly occurred to me, why aren't business concepts such as organization, structure, marketing, and sales incorporated into job searching and advancement? Why aren't these basic, 101-level business strategies and tactics part of the reentry game plan for individuals with a challenging background? My journey from the social sciences and education sectors to the for-profit world and then back to working in reentry gave me a unique perspective. I had hands-on experience in both areas and could see what was missing. So, I decided to bridge this gap and rewrite my helper script, incorporating many business concepts.

Another reason was digits. By early 2008, when I returned to the reentry world, the transition from the old-school ways of paper to all things digital was underway. The internet, a novelty in the early-‘90s, had become much faster and more reliable. The same is true for cell phones. They were (now) everywhere and about to explode to the next level with the release of the first iPhone nine months prior. The point is this: job searching, in general, was undergoing a tectonic shift from how it had been to what it would become in the broadband/mobile phone era. This sea change created a new set of circumstances for reentering job seekers.

Here’s an excerpt from the book’s introduction referencing what I found early in 2008 when I began working at the Nevada Department of Corrections, Casa Grande reentry facility in Las Vegas:

The situation was crystal clear to me. If a background-challenged seeker was to have a shot at success, they would need a different approach.

I developed a method built around two critical concepts:

• Digits are no friend to the background-challenged job seeker.

• Using a strategy that is not dependent upon the digit can and will work.

This approach didn't just work; it really worked, and it continues to do so. The methodology I developed helping inmates and, in the years that followed, homeless and recovering clients reentering the workforce is what this book is about. Anyone with background snags and an inconsistent work history, for any reason, can use it effectively.

It’s a success story, not without irony. How interesting that lessons in people skills, rooted in a time well before cell phones and personal computers, would turn out to be just what's needed to counteract limits created by all things digital. Yet, that's exactly what I found.

I intend to present reentry ideas and concepts from the book, drilling into and expanding on them. To focus on practical ground-level strategies and tactics needed to progress, step by step, toward success. I will, however, take the liberty to move the discussion forward and upward, touching on personal, social, economic, and political factors that play a part in the reentry journey.

One more thing: why start on Substack? Here, too, there are a few reasons. To start with, I need to keep myself engaged. The second edition of Get Beyond Your Troubled Past is overdue. A lot has changed since 2015, and it needs updating. This Substack project will push me with the updating and other associated adventures. Additionally, I want to keep the many steps and tactics in the book out in the reentry eco-space. Some concepts, such as seeing yourself as a Free Agent or Delivering the Mail (telling a prospective employer you have baggage), come around frequently. Others, not so much. They are all important and worthy of equal airtime.

Please subscribe and pass the word. For the time being, my goal is to boost readership. The content is free. Over time, I will add a pledge button and a paid subscription. But for now, the mission is to add readers and connections by providing quality content.

Onward!