Let me ask you a question: How do you look on paper? Does your resumé make you look good? Does it list your greatest qualities?
Now let me ask you another: How does the real you compare to the paper? If you look the same in person as you do on paper, you’re missing out on some series personal marketing potential.
You see, papers can only list your achievements and accolades. It can only showcase your talents. It doesn’t really showcase the uniqueness that is you. So if you don’t look any better in real life than you do on paper, you’re competing with everyone who has similar talents.
If you want to stand out from others in the world, you need people to remember the you they met in person over the you they met on paper. And how do you do that?
You do that with things that paperwork can’t capture. You do that through encouragement. Through enthusiasm. Through confidence. Through being easy to work with. Through positivity. You stand out when you bring more to the table than just what you can do. You bring who you are.
You can’t make the real you as boring as paper. Otherwise you’re competing with everyone.
Be the person you’d want to hire. Be the person you’d want to work with. Be the person you’d remember. And you’ll be the person they remember.
Talent is fine. Accolades are fine. But they don’t set you apart from other people. Be someone remarkable and you’ll be remembered.
Every time I’m in my car, waiting to meet someone, I psych myself up. “How will I encourage this person? How can I make an impact on their life more than just some knowledge or skill I have?” Then I seek those opportunities in my conversation.
I need to be better at this. But I’m working on it. I want to blow my on-paper-personna out of the water. I want to deliver more than my resumé promises.
