10/10 Photoshop
“On a scale of 1-10, I’m clearly AWESOME.”
What skill would you rate yourself at a 10/10 on?
Let me say that I make good mac and cheese. Cut the milk, heavy on the butter and grilled salmon. Really, it’s good.
On a business trip to Toronto. I was treated to a world class meal. A fancy restaurant with tiny cocktails and big steaks. On the menu was mac and cheese.
‘How good could it be?’ I thought. So I ordered it. The experience could only be described as transcendent. The flavours, the textures; it was truly world class.
In my mind I had an exceptional mac and cheese. I’m sure some would agree, but in comparison to truly professional meals, it doesn’t stack up. Where once I would give my dish an 8/10, it really is a 4 at best.
A Self-Professed Expert
Writing a resume is likely something you know you’re bad at, or you think you’re good at and you’re probably wrong.
I’ve read hundreds of resumes and written numerous for myself and others, and I still find it a challenge. There’s a desire to overstate, to politely ‘embellish’ a talent in an innocent enough way. Normally you say you’re ‘proficient’ or ‘skilled’ or ‘badass’, but you would stop short of saying you’re perfect.
Many years ago I started getting resumes with people rating their skills. I get it. It’s easy to read, adds a little design flair, and summarizes things nicely. You go down the rows: 9/10 in HTML, 9/10 in CSS, 10/10 in Excel and so on.
“So I see here you’re a master, a perfect 10 out of 10 on Excel. So you can do a vlookup, pivot tables, sumif. etc?”
“Well… I’ve only really used Excel to manage my fantasy football picks.”
We’ve all been there right? When someone far more experienced in something calls you out? Then you slowly try to back out, stumbling over excuses.
“No really, I’m a fast learner, I’ll be a pro in no time!”
In my experience, I’ve had the pleasure of working with maybe a handful of people that I would consider top class at their craft, and even they probably wouldn’t rank themselves at a ten. It takes years to consider oneself an expert, and that’s usually enough time for you to realise just how much more there is to learn.
Know Thyself
I’ve wondered sometimes, “What would I consider myself a 10/10 on?” Maybe I’m selling myself short, but I’ve just always thought there’s so much more knowledge to gain. I’m definitely an award-worthy nominee for sarcasm.
So when I get a kid right out of school saying they are the embodiment of perfection, I get a bit sceptical. If you rate yourself at an expert level at a skill, prepare to have yourself measured against some serious industry veterans. Of course, rating yourself at a four might not serve you well either. My suggestion, add a skill with a number of years of experience.
It is nearly impossible to demonstrate a depth of competency with a resume. It’s a tool to shortlist you down and get a look at a portfolio. And for most specialist roles, I’m looking to review a portfolio. Many specialist roles require a depth of understanding and skill. Demonstrating that requires evidence, not just your self-proclaimed rank.
Some Quick Tips
For many recruiters, a resume is a shortlisting tool. Does it hit on the right topics I’m looking for? Is it easy to digest? Is there an indication they understand the role? A couple tips I don’t often see shared:
Avoid copy errors at all costs, you won’t find many jobs that don’t care about attention to detail.
Avoid what a writing teacher once called i-i-itus, where every sentence starts with “I something something something”.
Keep it clean and organized (send a pdf so your formatting isn’t garbled).
Assemble a cover letter about how you would impact the role.
Read it out loud to yourself!
Where do you stand? Does the rank style resume help you narrow candidates down?
What is your 10/10 skill? Mine is definitely sarcasm.