Tag: career

  • It’s Been a Year

    It’s Been a Year

    I almost forgot the anniversary of my protest. The day I chose me, my sanity, and my self-respect. It feels now like it was a sabbatical more than a new path. The enthusiasm with which I journeyed into my new reality hasn’t faded, but it has changed shapes and forms many times over the last year. Walking away from a well-paid job seemed foolhardy to almost everyone around me. Most considered it yet another impulsive decision, but almost no-one tried to understand it for what it was; the same way they chose to judge before understanding so many other decisions that I’ve taken over the years. I can’t hold it against them. Stepping into someone else’s reality is ever more daunting when our own reality already roots us to the spot with impossible-to-articulate fears.

    I’ve learnt expensive lessons over the last year. Lessons that cost me financially, and reminded me of the nature of man. The world is so starved for hope that people quickly latch on to the promise of success without considering the commitment needed to see it through. Of these I have encountered many on my journey through life, but only fully experienced the desperation of such souls when faced up close and personal by their demons. Our demons subdue our conscience more often than the threat of poverty. Our demons threaten us with poverty to drive us towards despicable actions. I cannot count, and care not to count the number of people that drew strength from me in their darkness, but quickly disparaged me when they were reminded of their weakness after the sliver of light returned to their horizon.

    The sad reality is that most of us settle for the dawn because we don’t believe we’re worthy of the sunrise. Feeling our way in the dark makes the reprieve of the early light appear as relief, or success. Fixated on the fear that the darkness may never recede, the first hints of light promise safety from that torturous space, so we bolt and brace ourselves to the miserable hope that it offers, hope that feels like sublime joy in the face of the darkness that we just experienced, too afraid to push on to the sunrise and the beginning of a new day. The new day remains a dream meant for greater spirits than ourselves, and the slivers of light arrest the fears of succumbing to the darkness again. Half a loaf of bread is not always better than none.

    Wrenching myself away from people like that has been a difficult struggle and an unneeded distraction over the last year. Many sang my praises and celebrated me to the world in their moments of upliftment from the drudgery of their existence, but didn’t hesitate to shortchange me the moment the liberty returned to their tired souls. If trials prepare us for greatness, and the aid of the Almighty arrives when things seem most desperate, I have nothing to fear but settling for the dawn in the days ahead.

    To settle for comfort and mediocrity when excellence appeared possible was never a choice I considered worthy of pursuit. I am reminded so often of the bitter expressions of darkened spirits that found my language to be flowery, and my ambition to be unrealistic. Recalling it now beckons the aftertaste of betrayal, but the overwhelming sense of sadness that I felt for them when I saw them lash out at the world because they allowed their social structures to define their worthlessness.

    A year later, I still have a clear vision of what I wish to achieve, but I remain adrift in finding the correct course to take to achieve it. The pain and anguish of trying to reach beyond the confines of the environment that I am in makes the journey more onerous than it needs to be. Seeing what is wrong with your world and wanting to make it better only feels like a fulfilling endeavour when those who stand to benefit believe that there is something wrong as well. Complacency and fear combine to dull the vision of many. Sometimes it seems cruel to stir the sleeping dogs, yet at other times it feels obligatory if we hope to improve the state of this world before relinquishing our stake to the next generation.

    Hope remains firmly footed, but enthusiasm is fading. Purpose continues to drive me to stretch myself beyond the confines of my current reality, but neither purpose nor vision pays the bills. Finding the balance is always a challenge, but not having the comfort of a predictable income makes it somewhat more distracting. Will I find the inspiration, the audience, and the sweet spot before my resources run out, or will I have to yield to the drudgery of capitalism and commoditise myself yet again to remain a functional member of a deranged society? If the last year was interesting, I doubt an adjective exists to fully describe what the year ahead holds for me.

    That I have value to offer is not at all in question. I have tested this relentlessly over the years and confirmed it to be true. My challenge is to find a new audience, rather than the jaded ones that look for excellence as defined by the system of mediocrity that defines their lives. I am reminded of this quote:

    I must learn to love the fool in me–the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of my human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my Fool.


    Theodore Isaac Rubin

    That I am a fool to believe in more than life has proven to be possible thus far is unquestionable. But, like village idiots, fools are needed to bring hope to those that have given up on hope itself. The struggle continues…

  • To Tell Your Story

    To Tell Your Story

    After an insightful and engaging workshop that lasted all week, I found myself contemplating whether I have a story worth sharing. There are far more intriguing and gut wrenching stories than my own, and no shortage of them being from my own demographic as well. So I was forced to consider why mine is any different.

    To understand why I found reason to question this, you need to be aware of my aversion to writing for the sake of getting attention, or sharing stories to get sympathy. I think deliberate sensationalism is tantamount to selling your soul, and publishing a book so that you can get the accolade of being a published author is only tainting the profession more than self-publishing already has. This probably sounds hypocritical from someone that just self-published their own book. (By the way, it’s called The Egosystem and you can find more info about it from the link on my homepage).

    Cheekiness aside, accessibility to platforms like self-publishing is great for people that have a sense of pride in their work. People who don’t live their lives believing that everything they do is inspired, and everything they say is inspiring. It’s for people who have a healthy level of doubt and care enough to question the quality and value of what they’re putting out there. I’m not suggesting that they must have a perfected product before hitting publish! Not at all. But when I contrast that against the so-called writers that brag about the 42 or 50 books that they self-published just last year alone, I must question the quality and the seriousness with which they’re pursuing their craft.

    Self-publishing is a blessing for writers that don’t have the funds, resources, or connections to get a publisher to take on their project. It’s also great for someone that has something of value to share but doesn’t have the network of support or means to get professional services before releasing their publication. However, if you have the ability to self-publish, then you also have the ability to do research and fact-checking. You have the resources and skill to produce more than just a dreadful cover that looks like a 10-year old’s doodle in PowerPoint, and you definitely have the ability and tools to understand the basics of plagiarism.

    The problem with people that don’t take these basics seriously is that apart from destroying their credibility as writers, they fill up the online stores with such a huge load of absolute crap that the good stuff gets buried so deep that it is next to impossible to find. That means that any writer that takes their craft seriously will have to spend that much more on marketing and promos, and put in that much more effort just to find an audience. Contrary to common belief, word of mouth is not as viral or available as many world like to believe it is.

    Every indie author dreams of publishing their book and then getting friends, relatives, and acquaintances to buy it, read it and tell everyone that they know how amazing the book was, and in that way sell enough copies to get the attention of a major publishing house so that they stand a chance of hitting the big time. If that ever does happen, there is more fluke involved than there is a well thought out plan to make it happen. Like many other indie authors, I also got a rude awakening when I realised how expensive social media advertising is, and how unsustainable paid advertisements are for getting and keeping your audience’s attention for long enough for them to make a buying decision. Unless you have a small fortune (preferably a large one) to invest in promoting your book, there is a good chance that it will remain a well kept secret, all thanks to the flippant writers that think that being able to publish without restraint is a license to dump garbage on the Internet.

    Beyond the above challenges, the key challenge facing a new writer is finding the confidence to share their story because with the millions of books out there already, chances are good that a similar or better story has already been told. What I’ve realised this week is that it’s not just the story that matters. It’s so much more including the authenticity in your narration, your unique expression, and of course a little bit of luck and a thick skin that all come together to give you a fighting chance of producing a book that more than just a few people will be willing to pay to read.

    If you have enough self respect to care about putting your name against a piece of work intended for the enjoyment or benefit of others, and you believe in the value of the story that you want to share, then share it, but be authentic in your expression and don’t try to be someone else. And most importantly, show due respect to your intended readers by producing a quality piece of work and not something that resulted from a wet dream of fame and fortune because you hope to stumble upon the correct numbers for the lottery after publishing.

    (This probably sounds arrogant and condescending to many, but I don’t care because liberalism holds no promise for those wishing to master their craft, and offers no direction for those seeking a new path).

  • CV Writing – Part 2 of 2

    In the previous article we focused on what not to do in a CV, which in many ways should give you an idea as to what to do. However, to ensure that there are no incorrect assumptions around this, here’s my list of key points that should be noted when compiling or updating your CV.

    1. Cover Letter – While this is something that I generally despise, it is required by many recruitment agencies before they will even consider your application. So keep it brief but focused on your qualifications and experience relative to that specific position that you’re applying for. A generic cover letter will probably not do justice to your CV, so as painful or tedious as it may be, review your cover letter for each application to make sure that you draw their attention to those qualities of yours that you believe makes you the best candidate for the job.
    2. Chronology of Experience – Many people get this wrong by placing it in ascending order sorted by date from their first position to their current position. The preferred order should be for your latest position first, since that would be most relevant to the job being applied for, and then working backwards to the beginning of your career. This makes it easy for the recruiting manager to be exposed to your current level of expertise without losing interest after browsing through potentially irrelevant roles that you may have filled in the past.
    3. Summary of Employment – When you find that you’ve got quite a lengthy and colourful career behind you, you may want to reduce the earlier roles to just a summary table rather than going into detail about that cashier’s job you did when you were trying to get through university almost 15 or 20 years ago. Remember to keep it relevant, so not every part time role you filled needs to be explained in detail in your CV. This table would therefore include just the name of the company, your job title, start and end dates of employment, and possibly reasons for leaving, if that may add value. Otherwise leave it out and rather discuss it in the interview instead, if the need arises.
    4. Training History – Another area of pain, too many people include every internal training course that they attended. If that training is specifically relevant to the position being applied for, and that position is internal to the company you’re at, then include it. However, if it is an application for a position at another company that does not use those systems, then either remove it, or position it relative to the skills that were acquired that could be applied in your new role. I prefer to keep the training list limited to just industry recognised courses or certifications with a footnote summarising the type of additional training that may have been received over the years.
    5. Proficiency Table – Another useful but often abused piece of information is a table that indicates your level of proficiency in various standard business applications, platforms, or skills that may be relevant to your career path. This should ideally indicate the name of the application or skill, the amount of years of exposure, the level of expertise (e.g. Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Specialist, Expert, etc.), and when last used. Include the version of the application or tool if necessary. This table can be a combination of both skills and business systems or applications, but once again, relevant to the position being applied for. You don’t want to bother a recruiting manager for a professional role with your qualification as a hairdresser or dance instructor, if you know what I mean?
    6. Readability and Layout – This is something that I emphasised much in the previous article and I need to emphasise it again. When compiling your CV, remember that it is usually intended to be read by someone that does not know you, and that is probably wading through stacks of CV’s from people applying for the same job. A professionally written CV using business language and not slang or unnecessary techno jargon is what will appeal to a seasoned manager. Do not assume an overly familiar tone in your writing. Don’t try to be hip and cool. Keep it structured and relevant.
    7. Business versus Technical – One thing that works well for me, especially when applying for management level positions, is to separate the job outputs into Business Deliverables versus Technical Deliverables. If you get this right, it will demonstrate a clear understanding on your part relative to what the business value is of the role you’re fulfilling versus what the technical or commodity skill is that you’re bringing to the table.
    8. Title Page – Last but not least, ensure that your title page is professional and not corny. If you intend to include any graphics, please, for the love of all things sacred, do not use cheesy clip art from MS Office. It may seem cute to some, but you’re not trying to be cute. You’re trying to present a professional image of what you have to offer. So look at some of the standard Title Page templates in MS Word for ideas if you’re not creatively inclined. If you intend to use a photo, make sure it’s not a photo that belongs on a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter. Use one that looks professional but not creepy. So as a rule of thumb, if it looks like it belongs on Police Files, or in your passport, it’s a no-no as well. Consider how you want to be perceived, and then truthfully reflect that in a recent photo that represents that image. If you thought you looked really attractive in a photo that was taken 5 or 10 years ago, but it doesn’t quite reflect your current state, don’t use it. You’ll only set yourself up for internalised ridicule when you walk into the interview room looking nothing like the image that you portrayed in your CV, which will give the impression of dishonesty and being out of touch with reality.

    I hope that helps in your search for that ideal position that will bring out the best in you. And if it does help you to land that ideal job, remember us little folk when you make it big. Good luck!

  • Who am I?

    Ask me any question you’ve ever wondered about me. I’ll publish all answers (unless specifically requested not to). In my efforts to understand others, I sometimes fail to see myself clearly. It’s only through meaningful engagement with others, especially those that have no vested interest or natural bias in my life, that I am able to get a view of how I appear to others versus how I perceive myself.

    I’ve been contemplating a career change by becoming a life/career coach as an option. But in the back of my mind I’ve also been entertaining the idea of moving into the holistic health industry. Alternate healing methods have always fascinated me, and my research and personal experience in tracing back physical ailments to emotional triggers further cements my views that most modern medicine practitioners focus on symptoms rather than root causes. Worse still is that often enough they use a broad sword approach to remedies where the finesse of the scalpel is called for. 

    So go ahead. Entertain my pathetic attempt at crowd sourcing and tell me what you think of me, or ask me what you may have always wondered about me, my sanity, my dysfunction, or anything else. I’m morbidly curious to know what you think of me. What image does my blog conjure in your mind about its owner?

    P.S. This is honestly not a fishing expedition for compliments.