Thursday’s Thought: Being Different Is the New Normal

Just about every aspect in our society today has changed from what the "norm" was about 20-30 years ago to a new and different "acceptance" on the street. I won't even bother to try an list all of them, but to give you an idea of where I am going: Tattoo's were hidden, hair color was natural (not pink), sexual preference was not out in the open, communicating to someone was done in person, via snail mail, or over the phone, resumes were a simple black and white history document, we relied on our own efforts to accomplish a task, and if you were against public opinion you probably kept your mouth shut.

Maybe some of us that are unemployed are sticking to our "older" traditions, and we are not trying new things that might get us noticed. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to have you dye your hair pink if that is not your desired hair color, but I am asking that you open yourself up to formerly non-traditional actions that we still think is not for us, or still hold onto the "we never did it that way mentality". For example, how many job seekers today are using more than 3 social media avenues? The answer: less than 10%. Most of us have 1 or 2 and some use 3, but very few explore more than this. It's a good idea to only start with a few, but you need to expand into other social media channels if you want a broad coverage and to enhance your online identity. Also, does your resume look as bland as it did in the 90's? You need to attract the recruiter's attention, and the proper use of pictures and graphics will help make you stand out from the other 499 resumes that they view for every position they work on.

We all know the definition of insanity, yet we still stick to our traditions thinking society is going to change. And it will, but change takes time and I don't ever think that we will see a resume chiseled on a cave wall like we did in the past.