I've been helping someone with his CV today. He warned me that he didn't want any of that storytelling stuff in it, that he'd read up on it and it's all more theory than accepted practice.
We've worked through several versions, over email and over several hours. I think he's as pleased as I am with it. But I haven't pointed out to him that what we've done is build in a clear story.
I maintain my position: a story is when Somebody Does Something and it Means Something.
That's all.
We spent some time on the 'Somebody' - he was selling himself short. He wasn't showing off his achievements, and he wasn't really clear on what he's all about.
Of course a great deal of what you're 'about' is made up of what you 'do'. So we looked at the actions and achievements, figured out that they made him a certain type of person, and tweaked it to sort that persona. The actions and the person are in line, reinforcing and valdiating each other.
That's typical CV stuff. The transformation is in the meaning. 'So what?' I asked (politely). 'What's the impact? Why did it matter?'
Bang, now there's lots of meaingful stories about his accomplishments, and one big story about a very caring, very efficient operations manager who's technologically savvy but does it all for the people he's working with.
It sounds like the preise for a novel. Or screenplay.
He won't let me put in the stories like about the widowed customer who cried because my friend helped him when learn to cook and use a washing machine (he thought his oven was broken when he actually was trying to bake it on GM2),but his story comes through all the same.
He can save that stuff for the interview. That's when stories will get centre-stage.
Comments