Resume Building

Because I am starting a new brokerage, I need marketing collateral. That's a fancy way of saying, I need to print a few things out that say what I do and why everyone should choose me--especially because the ol'e Web site is still not completed.

When I sat down to work on this task, I did whatever one normally does when they have to describe their skills. I stared at a blank computer screen for a while and looked for other meaningful ways to become distracted. Finally, looking for some inspiration, I dusted off my resume. Surely that would give me a few writing prompts!

Or not.

Unfortunately, the last time I updated my resume was 2003.

In 2003:

I lived in a different house.
I had a 2 year old and a baby at home.
I owned one rental. (ONE!!!)
I wrote for a real estate magazine.

Life was simple. Very simple. Dang! I miss my 2003 resume.

However, it is now 15 years later and a lot has happened. And once I realized I hadn't updated my resume, I kind of felt compelled to spend a few minutes doing so.

In the past 15 years I have (not in any order):

Got a real estate license
Moved to my current home
Almost moved to Seattle
Opened an Accidental Business
Ran an Accidental Business
Owned a gazillion rental homes
Got a broker's license
Faced financial ruin (and for that matter, financial success)

Closed an Accidental Business

And on the personal front, in the past 15 years I have:

Raised my children.
Lost a sister-in-law, mother-in-law and bonus mother.
Gained a sister-in-law, two nephews and a niece.
Developed significant food allergies (from stress from running an Accidental Business)
And so, so, much more.

The personal stuff aside, how do I condense this? I remember when I first needed a resume I was told to be as specific as possible with nauseous prose such as, "experienced with joint ventures," which meant the company I worked for partnered with another company and we did something together. I think it was a trade show. Oh yea, in my 2003 resume, for some reason--probably at the advice of a recruiter--I mention all of the MS office products I am proficient in.

Fast forward fifteen years. I have no idea how to summarize running an accidental business into a paragraph. I have made high-level decisions (that sounds nice) that directly impact the profit and loss statement or some other such blather. Rhetoric aside, from what I can tell, my experience for the past fifteen years really comes down to making choices--think of it as a Choose Your Own Adventure book. If I do this, what will the outcome be? If I do that, how will that look? I challenge you: make that sound interesting on a resume. I double-dog dare you.

Fortunately, at this time, I really don't need a resume. But I did need some way to tell people I am qualified to sell their house. The resume is done (with a few more adjectives and action-oriented words that basically say, "Yea, I did that.") and hopefully I won't need to look at it again for another fifteen years.