Transform your career...with help from the humble Creme Egg

I know what you’re thinking. 

What could a delicious fondant-filled chocolate egg possibly have to do with your career, and how can you use it to your advantage?

The answer is simple: standing out in a crowded job market is all about differentiation.  It’s about packaging up something a lot of other people also do, in a clear and compelling way that’s unique to you. 

Just like the way you eat a Crème Egg!

That famous “how do you eat yours?” ad campaign hit right on the fact that while millions of people eat Crème Eggs every year, they all approach it in a slightly different way. This type of individuality is exactly what you need to harness when you discuss your skills and experience.

I recently gave a talk to a class of school children, about how to choose a future career.  As part of their homework, their teacher had asked them to write about what they did after school the previous day.  

Yet only a few of them had completed the exercise, with the rest complaining that there was no point.  “We all did the same things,” moaned one, “we just went home, had dinner and watched TV, then went to bed.”

This is exactly how a lot of people approach CV writing.  They know they have to put something down, so they simply make a bland list of everything they’re responsible for at work.  Arranging meetings, giving presentations, working as part of an engaged and focused team, organising events, making tea…you get the idea.

(In my former life as an HR Manager, I often thought about taking a few CVs home to help me drift off to sleep, since they did such a fantastic job during the day).

If you really want to stand out, you’re going to have to do a lot better than that list.  You’re going to have to explain how you approach your work, and how you get things done.

Detail makes you interesting.

Take our example at the school.  Writing “went home, had dinner and watched TV” gives a reader some basic information about your evening.  

But drilling down a bit more into how you got home, what you prepared for dinner, and what you watched on TV shows individuality. It gives a reader more opportunity to picture the kind of person you are, and if they’re likely to get on – or be able to work – with you.

Crucially, it will also stop them from drifting off to sleep.

Spring is the perfect opportunity to give your skills and experience a refresh, and Easter is the perfect time for rebirth!  So if you’re on the hunt for something new, maybe it’s time to take a fresh look at your CV and give it the Crème Egg treatment. 

You can even eat one too, if you like – go crazy!  And if you’re in need of any egg-stra CV help, just give me a call.

(Thank you, I’m here all week).