Ministry of Propaganda - 07/Sep/2006: "CV Writing is Difficult"

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CV Writing is Difficult

With my parents back in Germany I've now started working on finding a new job. Two things to sort out first: What do I want to do and preparing my CV (or resume for my American readers).

First the question of what I want to do, is a career change an option?

My current thinking is that I'm not ready for a complete career change yet. It's something I would possibly consider longer term, but it's not really an option for now. I haven't finished reading it yet, but there are some interesting thoughts about career changes in 'Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career' by Herminia Ibarra. Her main point is that people who change careers typically grow into new fields through earlier interests, they don't just switch from one day to the other. While I have a number of interests for none of them I feel ready to turn them into a new career at this point or in a reasonable time.

As a lot of people are talking about patchwork careers, reinventing oneself, job insecurity and the like this is certainly something I'll keep in mind long term though. But for the immediate as well as foreseeable future I'm looking for a position in my current area of expertise (operational management, analysis, reporting). And if I find a great company offering interesting and challenging opportunities I'll stay with them for quite a while. I'm open for most industries though, I'm not restricting myself to the IT industry.

Which means I have to prepare a CV I can use to successfully apply for openings.

I had a first meeting with the consultant from the outplacement service today, he gave me some good pointers what to keep in mind when I write my CV. After all I'll need to sell myself and my skills. Or in other words complete a self-assessment about my skills and achievements. Quite a few things to think about over the next few days and to put on paper (well, virtual paper probably, although I might also just use plain old pen and paper for some 'brainstorming'). I'll probably also have to consider different versions of the CV, depending on the positions I'll go after. But that's for later.

Better get going tomorrow then...

End of entry

Entry trivia

When writing this entry the weather was: clear, colder than recently
When writing this entry I was listening to: BBC 6 Music
I'm currently reading/have just finished reading this book/publication: The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas - John Howkins
I recently visited this website/-page: YouTube
The last drink I had was/is: milk

End of entry trivia

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