As written and presented by Mary Whelchel

PROGRAM D-6035

We've talked about the discipline you need, the plan that must be put in place, and the importance of networking. This time of unemployment is a good time to assess your skills, your strengths, your job values, and think outside the box. You may have been limiting yourself to one particular kind of job when you could be qualified for other jobs, if you just knew how best to present your skills and accomplishments.

A resume is important, but you need to write your resume in such a way that it tells a story-your story of your experience and accomplishments. The STAR formula is a good way to do that. S: Describe the situation. T: Describe the tasks or obstacles you needed to accomplish or overcome. A: List the actions you did to resolve the situation or accomplish the task. R: Describe the results and success that happened because of your action.

Write it in story-telling form, not verbose, but readable and interesting. Be sure you don't have grammatical or careless typo mistakes. Get a friend who is good at this kind of writing to edit it for you and offer you suggestions. Or seek professional help, if need be.

Most importantly, pray and trust God. I know many highly qualified people who have been in a job search for a year or more, and your faith will be tested in this unemployment waiting room. But if you will see it as an opportunity for you to learn to trust God in new ways, to really get to know God better and become a stronger, more mature Christian, then you cannot lose.

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