BACKGROUND
Dirk Spencer has a tech-savy reputation and is a no-nonsense recruiter. He is
listed as one of the experts to follow on Twitter. He is the creator of “Resume
Psychology - Get the Offer Not the Interview, the Science of Writing Resumes”.
He has presented at many events, too many events to name them all.

JAMES
I attended your Resume Psychology presentation June 26 in Ft. Worth and I got
the most information ever about how to write and work a resume. You seem to
have a reputation as a “mean spirited” speaker. Even though I didn’t get that
from you, why do you think it is so hard for some people to take your job
advice?

DIRK
As a former analyst - I prefer working with facts because any answer I give
would come off as speculation at best or self-serving at worst.

But why some do not “take the advice”???

I would love it if someone would interview those people who won’t adopt the
advice - source data is always better than speculation/self-serving statements.

My speculation

- people who do not adopt the information do not trust the material, don’t
understand the material, or don’t know how to apply the material to their
situation.

My rationalization (being self-serving)

- people are afraid to execute on the material and or it is easier to reject the
information as not being relevant to their situation or personality.

My event surveys and Linkedin recommendations tell me

- people want more specifics, more time, or individual coaching. Since I do not
feel right taking money from unemployed folks to do coaching that won’t happen.
I may have to adapt and offer something to the public at some point…. not
sure.

My experience

- people who do not do the strategies well can get hits and offers and that
positive momentum carries them to do more per the seminar instruction. Even done
badly – some people still get hits… so partial success carries them through to
the next level.

I am all about the offer – everything else is fluff.

JAMES

I think the main reason some people don’t take your advice is because of what
you said, that people are afraid to implement your ideas. When I was job-less,
I had no self-confidence. Loosing my job sent me the message that I didn’t
measure up and I wasn’t good enough. That caused low self-esteem and
depression. I felt that I was over-the-hill, out-of-touch and just generally
useless. How can your, “Resume Psychology” help people get their confidence
back?

DIRK
You mention depression. Depression requires professional help. True depression
is a medical condition I would not attempt to address in any form or fashion.

Confidence issues are very different.

Confidence can be developed like a muscle with the appropriate training program.

Resume Psychology in and of itself is not a confidence building tool. It is a
system designed to leverage what we know about the technology and human behavior
reviewing the written word. Some people gain confidence using Resume Psychology
while others are frustrated by it.

But confidence originates within ourselves and requires individuals to execute.
We cannot give people confidence.

Having developed presentations on human performance there is a formula to
consider: Execute, Fail - Fail fast - Fail big, Adapt – Repeat.

Nothing happens without execution.

Whether it is an invention or job search - we must take the first step.
Execution mastery takes practice. But it can be learned.

Learning to fail and doing it more efficiently (faster and bigger) each time
facilitates learning.

Being able to recognize and accept failure is essential because it teaches us
more than being perfect does. It takes a slight shift in how we interpret and
internalize failure but once we do – failure becomes our best friend. People
should learn to embrace failure.

Making the most of failing requires we adapt.

Playing to our strengths is all the rage – and sound advice given the outcomes
of professional athletes and high performing CEO’s.

However an often over-looked factor in playing to our strengths is mastering our
adaptations.

Each of us will face our weakness at some point.

Some people have labels which identify a “handicap” of some sort – real or
imagined.

Having an adaptation is what allows for forward progress.

The adaption allows things like blindness, deafness, ADD and dyslexia to be
gifts instead of labels which limit us or our society.

Finally – having the mindset and energy to repeat the cycle of execution is
where our mental muscle is strengthened the fastest.

With practice the process of repeating the execution-failure-adaptation-repeat
cycle builds confidence automatically and transcends resumes and interviews.

JAMES
Wow, you have hit the nail, Dirk. When you are knocked down by the loss of a
job, you just need to get back up again and keep trying. We should not be
afraid to try again and to try something different. You keep trying until you
find the right combination of things. But nobody, you, me, or anyone on earth
can give people the motivation to keep trying…nobody on earth, that is.

END

Need a job? The Watermark job support group meets every Tuesday morning, 8am on
3rd floor of the church tower building, 7540 LBJ at Park Central in Dallas.
Watch this: http://cbs11tv.com/survivein09/careers.in.motion.2.1504216.html

Sign-up and your resume will be circulated to potential employers in our group.
http://www.watermark.org/ministries/care and click on Jobs Ministry

July 10 Watermark’s Interview Workshop Plus: If you get an interview that means
you have the job. They like you on paper (resume), but now you need them like
you in person. This fast paced, interactive workshop, will ensure that you don’t
blow it. Sat, July 10 9:30am-11:30am, Watermark church, tower floor 3. It’s
free, but let us know if you’re coming. People that took the Myers Briggs on
June 19 should come at 8:00am to get their results.

Aug 28 Watermark’s Networking Workshop: If you want a job, networking is #1.
Are you too shy to network with others? Are you too shy to live out of a box on
the street? The job market is just horrible and you MUST network to survive,
like it or not. This workshop gives you real networking tools for the real
world. Sat, Aug 28 9:00am-11:00am, Watermark church, tower floor 3. It’s free,
but let us know if you’re coming.

Thanks
James 940-395-8757