HowardWright.com

Rethinking the Resume

In the last few months I have been asked to look at people's resumes quite a lot and I was reflecting on their appropriateness for the world we live in today. OK they have changed slightly since I left school 3-+ years ago - but not a lot. SO here are some thoughts on what should go into a resume for the modern age: Job History
There has to be some job history - but rather than the usual task list of projects etc. it should focus on outcome and impact I feel. People generally arn't too bothered about what you did more about what impact you had. It is no good putting experience in which is more than Personal Brand
This idea came from an exercise I used to do with groups doing team-building. The concept is to put together words that represent you as an individual - what are you known for - what is your brand? In workshop I asked people to ask their colleagues what words they would associate with you as a person - this should be work related, honest and truthful - not always easy. But for prospective employers it is an indication of what they are 'buying' - trying to deduce this from a resume is almost impossible - make it easy for them to hire you by outlining your 'brand'. This should be no more than 6 - 8 words. Online presence More and more people are checking out your online presence when applying for a job or even going for a meeting. It is important therefore that you have one and that it is in alignment with your brand etc. If I get an application for a job I check out Linkedin first, then Facebook, Myspace etc. and search for blogs etc. to see who the person really is. The resume is becoming a different animal. Ok it has to get you through the door which is why you need to have your job history etc. however at the interview it becomes a framework for the discussion and questions. Based on this belief I am proposing a slightly different format for the resume. There should be a one double sided page which contains your job history, qualifications, interested etc. set out in chronological order most recent first. At the top of the page there should be a short paragraph (no more than 6 lines) which is a pen picture of you, followed by your personal brand words and your online presence details (make it easy for people to find you!) Attached should be a timeline sheet which outlines your career - what you did and what you achieved along with your contact details and personal brand. This is mine which took all of 10 minutes to produce but I think provides something different and should get people's attention. This may not be perfect and it could do with refinement - particularly as you may want to tailor it to specific jobs but it gives you an idea of what I am talking about. In the interview this is something that can be used for you to describe your career, talk about your achievements - your brand, your choices etc. If you have thoughts let me know.

Idealised design - the case for starting from the future

The concept of idealised design is not new and as a futurist it is something we use all the tim, asking people to imagine an ideal future and then to look at how they can get from where they are today this imagined ideal future state.

Although this is a great technique for business, team and product development there are other applications where it could be used in anger.

The one I have been playing around with recently is the Postal Industry - yes the whole of it! Industries such as the postal industry have evolved over the last 400 years and what we have today is a composite of the past and various acquisitions that have been made. My point here is that nobody has started from ground zero and asked if we had nothing what would we implement and why.

This was the basis of a paper I put together called Mail on Mars which set out a scenario where a massive solar flare had taken out all electronic communication and the inhabitants of the planet had to start a communications system from scratch. Much of what we have today in this industry is there because someone - at sometime in the past made a decision about something and very often many of these decisions were and are never questioned - "...that's how we have always done it"

The concept of idealised design is to start from a blank sheet of paper and ask a series of fundamental questions. Some of these questions (taken from the white paper) are particular to the postal industry but could just as easily be asked for your industry/sector.

If paper didn’t exist what other materials could be used and what would the benefit/problems be?

This seems like a simple question but with the impending water shortages and global warming paper could become increasingly expensive which would have a negative impact on the postal services. Alternatives such as ‘e’ ink and OLED technologies are emerging which could also place pressure on paper as a communications medium. The challenge in this question is what is the value of paper and is there viable alternatives.

If no Geo-Spatial address structure was in place what would an address look like and what should the address format be?

This question is particularly relevant to the emerging economies, which have historically had no need for a formal address structure. The premise that the existing address structures of street, town postcode etc. are valid is purely based on the existing systems that have been in place since the early 1900s. With today’s technology and understanding of the geo-spatial world what would an ideal address be – would it still refer to a place or would it be person centric?

What should the standard format be for a letter and why

Many posts have moved to a standard format for letters and one question this raises is had it had an impact on mail as a communications medium. Although standard format is convenient for the postal network what has the customer response been – do they like it or not? Is there an optimum format for letters? What experiences have the postal operators had with different formats?

What should the Universal Service Standard contain and why? What are the benefits and risks of having such a standard?

The Universal Service Obligation, which is in the licenses of many of the posts, is far from Universal and very often not documented in detail. If it is recognized that the postal service has to provide a service for all citizens at a standard tariff and an agreed level of service – what should these conditions ideally be in the current climate? What should be included in the USO and what should be excluded? Do consumers actually want or care about a standard service – particularly around last mile delivery or would they accept a collect from depot model?

What is a viable charging model for mail

The current sender pays charging model was first introduced in the UK in the 1800s and has been replicated around the world. Is this the only model that is relevant? Could a model where the recipient pays all or part of the cost be envisaged? What benefits/problems would this approach engender?
What payment tokens could be used and what advantages/disadvantages would they have?
The stamp is the traditional payment token for mail services – either in its physical form or through printed indicia. Is this the only viable token or are there others that could be used. This ties back to the previous question as payment and token are closely aligned.

What management/organizational structure is optimum for a postal operator?

Many industries have evolved over time - some from Government agencies and have therefore adopted traditional structures and organizational design. Which model is most efficient and effective? Should it be a centralized or decentralized service – wholly owned or franchised – are there examples from the current postal operators of ‘best practice’?

The role of the regulator?

As postal and other markets liberalize Regulators have emerged and attempted to influence/control the pincumbants with different degrees of success. Which is the most effective model? What should the role of the regulator be and why? What lessons can be learnt from today’s regulators?

If you applied the concept of idealised design in your industry what would your questions be and how could it change the way you work, the customers you have and the competitive ladscape you operate in?

IF you are interesting a copy of the white paper 'Mail on Mars - a study in idealized design' please let me know and I will send a copy through.