The Wanderer's Corner

Blog

  • Holding On

    This is a story of my family. I have a relative that has held a grudge against certain members of my family for almost her entire life. She is in her 70s now and has held this grudge for more than 50 years. It has caused her to lie, cheat, and steal and that is not an exaggeration. All the while claiming to be a woman of Christian faith.

    Right now, it is motivating her to an act of erasing more than 120 years of Black family history. History tied to land. In South Carolina. History of relatives not that far removed from slavery. History of surviving Jim Crow.

    I was livid. I hated her. I hated my relatives for not doing more to protect the land even while knowing her true nature. I was ashamed of myself for my own financial mistakes and not being able to step in (a story I will share when I stop being ashamed of its telling).

    But then I prayed and but God. And remembered that God never fails.

    I began to feel the utmost sorrow for her. I began to pray that she can heal her heart after holding on to bitterness for so so long. I prayed that her legacy to her nuclear family doesn’t become one of greed and lies, but one of agape love and history.

    I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to not be able to forgive and hold on to vengeance for so long. What did she miss out on in her life because she was so focused on exacting her revenge? What decisions do you make in your life when it is all about retaliation while trying to keep up appearances that you kind and selfless? I have been wronged and violated in many ways (again stories I will share for later). I forgave not to forget what happened, but to allow myself the space to live my life with the purpose that God has directed for me. I forgive so I can let go of the physical reaction when I see their name, but to not forget the nature evil and those who wallow in deception. Forgiveness so that I do not block further blessings in my life by worrying about what happened yesterday, but not to forget the warning signs that come across my path.

    Letting go of the hurt, shame and anger has been freeing. It has freed me to focus on how to prevent situations in the future. It has freed me to focus on my own purpose.

    Today, I let go.

    Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash

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    Here you will find a running list of my favorite things

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  • What is The Wanderer’s Corner?

    Let’s start with some honesty – I do not know what The Wanderer’s Corner is – yet.

    I can say that it will be a journey and give you some background on why I decided to create this passion project.

    For several years I have been doing workshops, webinars, coaching groups, coaching individuals and lots of people on lots of different areas of their lives. Fundamentally I am good at three things – analyzing problems, thinking of solutions to solving problems and then connecting people to other resources to solve those problems.

    Previously, I tried to start a site focused on just career coaching called Amendment Nine. I’ve turned Amendment Nine just into my consulting and coaching business. However that felt too stifling. I love to delve in to lots of different areas and I am full of ideas. During a session with my therapist, he helped me to see that I create joy in my life by helping others recognize their own power simply by being present in a way that fits their journey. I actually really fought with myself over it because there are so many people who have huge followings who write words, sayings, etc. that I love. They create in a way that I wish I could. But I feel like I’ve been called to do this even if it is just for myself and so here I am.

    So The Wanderer’s Corner will be the culmination of those things. I can promise that it may feel random so I will try to organize it as much as possible. I can also tell you that for me, this platform will be used to talk about a lot of different topics and create an opportunity for me to think through some ideas I have that are still seedlings.

    The name of this site was a pure example of the universe conspiring. A game streamer saw my name in the chat – doyouwonderasyouwander (itself taken from Langston Hughes’ book) and and I was discussing my former business name and how it changed and he threw out very casually oh, I bet it’s called the Wanderer’s Corner. As it so happens, I was looking for names for my new business and this fit.

    Thank you for allowing me the space in your life. I hope that I can honor that in a very small way.

  • You Are Great, Your Resume Is Not

    You Are Great, Your Resume Is Not

    By my own count, I have read well over 1,000 resumes and probably closer to 2,000. Without an analytical study, I would say only 15% of those resumes were resumes that screamed a loud “YES, hire me for this job!” Probably another 30% were just mediocre and I would estimate that a full 50% actively worked against the candidate.

    I am asked all the time what makes a good resume. The short answer is a resume should scream – “Yes, pick me, pick me.” It should clearly show your qualifications for a position. A good resume should have clear easy to read bullets or paragraphs that make sense to someone who has never met you. A great resume should list accomplishments and what you have done at your previous positions using the method of “showing, not telling.” A good resume incorporates quantitative, measurable results. The general rule of thumb is less than 10 years of experience is less than a page and 10+ years can work up to two pages. There are some specialized cases, e.g. Federal, highly technical, where longer resumes are acceptable.

    Even if your resume is scanned by a computer, there are some tips you can use because at some point a human will lay eyes on it.

    1. Grammar / Spelling  / Typos – Have at least three people, who are careful and detailed, read your resume. This works even better if the people reviewing your resume do not know you because they are less likely to “fill in the gap.” Your resume cannot contain any grammar errors, spelling mistakes or typos. If am reviewing a resume, depending on the egregiousness of the error, I will forgive a single error because we make mistakes. However, if your resume contains multiple typos, all you are doing is signaling sloppiness and laziness to the hiring manager and sending them on to the next candidate.

    2. Unintelligible bullets – A person must be able to understand each bullet and/or sentence on your resume as a stand alone sentence. For example, do you know what this means? “sell multiple digital and online solutions for clients” Neither do I. What were the exact solutions? What were the results? How many clients? What’s the difference between digital and online? A better phrasing would be – “Sell B2B customer relationship management software for more than 10 clients resulting in $32,000 in additional revenue.”

    3. Misuse of verbs – Actions in the past should use past tense verbs. Sounds very easy, but it is not. Again, this is where a review of your resume would comes in handy to make sure that your verbs are aligned in tense. If verbs are not in agreement, it makes it hard to read and understand.

    4. Descriptions that are overly generic – You are a hard worker. Great so is everyone else. What does that even mean? People remember and notice specific details. Tell me you lead a team of four people across three time-zones, not that you lead international teams.

    5. Combining multiple formats – If someone is reviewing your resume, either in person or online, they will spend less than a minute reading it. Make sure it is easy to follow by ensuring your format is simple and consistent. This includes small things like making sure you are using one font for your resume. Also make sure if you are using bullets they are all aligned. Generally speaking, bullets are easier to scan and digest for the reader than a paragraph. However, there are ways to incorporate both depending on the specific requirements for your professional experience.

    6. Not using a cover letter – While some positions require a cover letter, if I am applying for a job that I really want, I ALWAYS write a cover letter. The majority of candidates online will not use a cover letter, even if the position application specifically requests one. Also if any of the following apply to you, you should definitely use a cover letter to explain your qualifications and transferable skills:

    • Switching industries or functions
    • Leveling up (explain why you think you can perform a higher level)
    • Other significant change from what your resume explains

    7. Not customizing your resume – It is absolutely critical to customize, at least partially, your resume for each position. Or if you are working full-time and trying to job hunt, have at least three versions of your resume that you can use for positions. One easy way if you are applying for a position that might use a computer scanner is to update your resume with the language used in the job posting/description. When doing this you should never lie or exaggerate your experience. However, switching verbs such as “Managed three analysts” for “Supervised three analysts” is fair game if the job description uses the word supervised. In certain industries, e.g.Federal Government jobs, there are certain requirements that are necessary for a resume. Before applying, consult with an industry expert to make sure your resume meets minimum expectations.

    If this post was helpful, please share it with a friend and leave a comment!

  • The One Thing You Can Do Now That Will Advance Your Career Almost Immediately

    The One Thing You Can Do Now That Will Advance Your Career Almost Immediately

    Do you know there is one tip that is guaranteed to help you advance your career? Do you know that it doesn’t require much effort either, but almost no one uses it.

    It is simply – ask for feedback.

    Let’s discuss feedback for a minute. For the majority of us, we get lackadaisical performance reviews once or twice a year that don’t really offer any insight into our performance. At best, they are mediocre yardsticks and at worst the potential for politics run amok.

    But, if you want to push ahead to the next level you have to ask for feedback regularly and proactively. You can’t adjust your behavior if you don’t know what adjustments you need to make. Also, feedback discussions, if you have a good manager, allow you to build rapport with your manager and your team.

     

    Below is an action plan to get you started.

    1.Learn how to ask for feedback

    The first step in using feedback, is to know how and when to ask for it. People who have studied organizations or even animal behavior (Thanks Pavlov!) know that feedback needs to be timely to be useful. The worst thing ever is finding out months or years later that something you did, which could have been corrected,

    2.Open yourself up to criticism

    We all know that one person. The person who asks you for your “honest opinion,” but then fights when you tell them something they don’t want to hear. Don’t be that person. If you ask for feedback, the first step is you have to be open to receive it. Our automatic response is to get defensive, but the first thing to remember is that most feedback isn’t personal.

    3. Learn how to give feedback

    There is an art to giving feedback. Part of the corollary to #1 is that not everyone knows how to give feedback that is useful to the person receiving it. Some folks browbeat you, some folks make it personal and some aren’t specific enough. Before you give anyone feedback, know what outcome you would like to achieve. This will help you structure the conversation.

    4. Create an action plan for how you will use feedback

    Feedback is useless to you if you don’t act upon it. After you have received your feedback session, create an action plan for how you will incorporate it to make changes. Ideally this should be done with your manager so that you can create action items that you can measure your progress against.

    Feedback is the most useful tool you aren’t currently using.

  • Career Resources

    Here is a list of free career resources you can use.

    Resume Verbs

    Brag List

    Skills Assessment

  • The Cold Email

    Over the last several weeks I have received emails from people seeking things. Sometimes they are “warm” emails, meaning a follow-up from an event where I spoke and invited the audience to reach out to me. However, I have received a few “cold” emails from people on LinkedIn. The cold email is where you email the person out of the blue without an invitation or a mutual introduction.

    Now there is lots and lots of advice on how to write great “cold” networking emails, but here are a few tips of what will actually work.

    1) Do keep your email short and well-written

    Your email is going to be the first introduction the person has to you. Let the person know why you are choosing to contact them. Write your email as if it is being read on a mobile device since most people are reading emails on the go. Make is clear and concise. Bullets help, but make your bullets relevant. If you are using a form email, have someone read it before sending it out. This email may be your only communication with the person and you don’t want it ignored simply because you didn’t know the difference between your and you’re (and stay away from contractions in general). A good writing tip is to keep it simple. Trying to sound smart in an email generally comes off as arrogant. Do not type these emails on your phone (or replies). Trust me, the autocorrect errors are worse than anything you could come up with on your own. Another tip is to write your email and then wait a day and re-read it before sending it.

     2) Do do some research on the person prior to emailing them

    Several times I have received emails addressed to Mister when a simple Google or LinkedIn search would have prevented this very careless error since my picture is very clearly displayed all over the web. At a minimum, making a mistake like this shows me that you are just either mass emailing or careless. It’s an immediate put off. The other benefit is that researching allows you to connect with your subject in a very personal way. You may find an article they have written or a panel discussion they have sat on in your field. There is absolutely zero excuse to doing research on your contact.

    3) Do not immediately ask for a job or job help

    To the person you are emailing, you are a stranger. You are unproven. What you are asking them to do is use their political capital to get you an “in.” Capital is a resource and is limited. Don’t ask for a referral until the person knows you and is actually willing to vouch for you. Why should I use my political capital on a stranger? A better option is the informational interview. I may be willing to help you out after I have met you and have gotten to know you better. I still may not, but don’t badger me which leads into…

    4) Do not follow up incessantly

    I have read various articles and in some cases they recommend following up in as little as 2-3 days after sending an email. You shouldn’t follow up for a least 2 – 3 weeks. Again, you have no idea what the person is going through in their life right now. They might be in the midst of a wedding, childbirth, switching jobs, or anything. You should be respectful of their time. And at most, a second follow-up is all you get. I will not respect you for your persistence as several articles have suggested. I am busy and you want something from me.  Even for people I KNOW and want to reply to, it could easily be a month before I get through and reply. This was even more true when I was a consultant. I was managing my work inbox, a client inbox, my personal email and flying thousands of miles a month. Well, you get the picture.

    Remember that you are dealing with people in real life when you email. While it may seem like it’s not a big deal, you always want to have your best foot forward.

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