Query
Template: /var/www/farcry/projects/fandango/www/action/sherlockFunctions.cfm
Execution Time: 10.3 ms
Record Count: 1
Cached: Yes
Cache Type: timespan
Lazy: No
SQL:
SELECT top 1 objectid,'cmCTAPromos' as objecttype
FROM cmCTAPromos
WHERE status = 'approved'
AND ctaType = 'moreinfo'
objectidobjecttype
11BD6E890-EC62-11E9-807B0242AC100103cmCTAPromos

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

New Professionals and Graduate Students
February 27, 2017 Marci Walton

What stories do you tell yourself? Do you tell yourself you’ll never get a job? You aren’t as qualified as other people in your grad program? You will completely bomb for your first interview? Maybe you tell yourself you’ll have to move back in with your parents while job searching. Or that everyone at TPE is more qualified than you are. Or that the number of interviews you have directly ties to your self-worth. What stories are told to us about our identities and how we show up in the world? What is accomplished by telling ourselves these stories? Is it helpful? Is it motivating? If it isn’t, let’s tell ourselves another story, the one that is actually true.

During the job search, you get to tell your own story and not the one that has been running through your mind since the first time you thought about the search. Instead, you get to tell the story of you to employers and future colleagues. You tell this from your application materials such as your resume and cover letter. You tell your story during interactions with search committee members, either on the phone, over Skype, or at The Placement Exchange. You expand on your story and fill in the gaps during on-campus interviews. And you set up the next chapter of your story during the job offer and negotiation process. So, what story do you want to tell?

The first chapter of your story is your resume. Your resume just doesn’t tell the story of your experiences and accomplishments, but also what you value as an emerging professional. It requires you to be thoughtful and purposeful with the information in which you share and with whom it is shared. The idea that you can make one resume and use it for every job application is a failed one. Instead, make one, giant, master copy of your resume with every possible task, project, committee, and responsibility you have had. Then, craft the story of your resume to the intended audience. Pull and polish items which make sense for the position you would like to be considered for and do this for each and every position. Do your best to reflect the story of the position description with the verbs and responsibilities on your own resume. Employers should read the story you tell of the resume and see you as the next chapter of their story.

The next chapter is your cover letter. Employers can smell a form letter a mile away. While it is much more time consuming, your cover letter should tell the story of why you are best for this job, not just any job. If you are simply changing the position title and institution’s name, the story that gets told to the employer is that you do not have attention to detail, do not plan to personalize your experience to their institution, and don’t want to put in the time or care to make a project shine. Your cover letter gets to tell the story of both your competence in what you have accomplished and the potential for what you could do on the employer’s campus. Don’t squander the opportunity to round out your candidacy!

Your story continues to unfold once you interview, either through technology or in person. Remember, employers don’t hear the story you’ve told yourself, they want to hear the story you tell them! If you believe the story of not being employable, it will read that way to the people interviewing you. With very few exceptions, you get to control the narrative. They have no idea if you messed up a supervision conversation or could have been more assertive during a confrontation. Instead, you get to reflect upon your experiences and tell them the truth through your own lens. While I am in no way advocating for you to be untruthful, it is important that you aren’t just yourself, but rather the best version of yourself. Employers want you to tell the stories that make you shine, either in how you handled something or in how you mishandled a task, reflected upon the mistake, and learned from the experience.

So, what story do you want to tell employers? The story of someone who is unsure of their talents and skills or the story of a new professional who has had great experiences, has learned from mistakes, and is ready to work hard? The narrative is up to you.

 Do you have thoughts on this blog post? Share them with us on Facebook @NPGSKC, on Twitter @npgs_kc, or on Instagram @npgs_kc! 

Marci Walton serves as the Associate Director of Residence Life at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is interested in residence life, social justice, political engagement, and the intersections of identity. She is passionately curious about social media, women’s leadership, and finding the perfect Hamilton lyric to describe her day. Marci can be found on Twitter @MarciKWalton and blogs regularly at www.marcikwalton.com