A New Way Through the Noise

That was me last year, this year it is all about momentum building.

I should be looking for a job, in reality I have not since the 2012 started.

Why haven’t I? I have been afraid of taking chances, of exploring, really exploring the possibilities beyond just a job. I am in transition from what I thought I wanted to do to trying something completely different and that is somewhat alien to me. So it is about taking chances and focusing my time and energy of a few key things instead of trying to do everything and getting nothing done.

I have worked on the corporate side and the stability was nice but I realized that what I crave most is empowerment. It is about being able to take ownership of something, it doesn’t matter how big or small but taking the chance to show just what you can do.With my previous job, they were not ready for someone like that and near the end I knew my time was up. Not because I was a bad guy but because they wanted the status quo and were not ready to jump into new territory.

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The Thoughts Behind my Suit CV

I was talking to a recruiter last month and showed him a 1 page CV I did. He told me that it was too colourful and I’ve heard that a couple times Right now I am sending 2 different ones, the one page CV called metro inspired by Windows 8 preview from awhile back and a cleaner version that goes into more depth. He told me to go into more depth with a 2 pager and the above is the result.

I didn’t want it to be a wall of text, that was never going to work out for me. So what I did I put icon images that I had as vector graphics in the CV. I felt I needed to do it give a voice and the icons help me do that. I used the blue because it gives a calm feeling for it. I decided to have some sort of imagery to break up all the text. I needed to punctuate it to have personality and make if feel like a person behind it rather than it being something just to scan.

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To Job or Not to Job

To job or not to job, that is the path

I will find the equation to settle this math

A few directions are open each scary and new

Should I travel to a job or start to run through

If I were to work what should I do

Shall I make my way to the corporate en lieu

Is a startup the path to take

To wear many hats and get a chance to make

The job hunt is one part russian roulette

With a side of chips needed to take on the bet

The house always wins as they say

The deck is stacked against you long before you play

The other part is the illusion of the stable

Run because that is a phantom that is not able

What will make it so that you can increase your odds

Or do you take a step back away from the mobs

Work the angles and play by a new set of rules

Take smart risks and show them that you are no fool

Never fear failure because that is funnel

the hole you must dig to get to the end of this tunnel

Companies in the job hunt are all about the filter

They loose a ton of talent that is for others to pilfer

I am not perfect, I make a ton of mistakes

I am better for them and that is part of the breaks

I shall listen more than I talk

That is key to what curiosity sought

I am bruised but I can never be broken

I will not stop the march and will continue to be outspoken

Cover Letter and CV Thought and Format

So creating a cover letter is not always easy. While a CV will get you to the door the cover letter is what will open it for the next step which is the interview. It is all about what you are saying in those few paragraphs that will be the difference between the trash can and a phone call or email. Since I was creating a new CV I thought about making the CV and cover match. I love National Geographic daily wallpapers and I used those for the images in the boxes along with my own images. I download them ever few days cause the pictures are amazing.

*I just wrote this up quickly and so it will not be perfect, it isn’t an article or anything just my own thoughts on my CV if only so I can remember what I did if I ever come back to it.

Here is a PDF version of my CV, Metro Style

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When it rains (you know the rest)

Another “no” as a notch on my belt at least it was one of the better agencies out there that probably has a line up that goes around the block to get into their door. So I sent my resume to them and then heard back from someone from their Toronto office. They said they would be in touch in a few weeks, they were not so I inquired over twitter, they got back to me and then a day later I got a formal “no”.

I was more disappointed that I never had the chance to make a case, that I got a “no” without having the chance to talk to someone and for a community manager role that is all about the conversation. For some reason I found that kind of ironic.

It is hard when you put yourself out there faults and all. It is so easy for someone to say no to someone like me because my strengths and weaknesses are on full display. People want to filter you through their lenses because like the Internet some agencies like this one must go through endless resumes.

They stated that they checked my work which means they did a Google search and that I wasn’t the right fit. What I would of actually liked is if they gave me feedback on the reason for the “no” which would of been useful but you rarely get that from most of these people.

Did I want the position? yeah of course but if I got a no without ever talked to anyone then that tells me a lot and that maybe that place wasn’t ready for my kind of rock and roll.