This past week, I participated as a volunteer in the Heroes for Hire program held at Fenway Park. I was there to provide pro bono services to our veterans (going back as far as WWII, in one instance, up to the current timeframe: Vets returning from Iraq). The program was a joint collaboration between The Boston Globe ("Boston Works") and The New York Times and dubbed a career fair. Many top employers from the Greater Boston area were in attendance and I was privileged to be a part of a group of four professionals providing complimentary resume critique services to the men and women of our military.
I was incredibly rewarded for my time listening to the stories of accomplishment that are so important to a well-written resume. But set against a backdrop of having served our country in a myriad of ways–in many instances, these men and women had put themselves directly in harm’s way and some were still recovering from injuries incurred in the line of battle–these achievements were even more noteworthy.
The caliber of these dedicated, successful, and highly accomplished (and decorated) professionals was astounding. I was humbled in their presence and delighted to do my small part to help make their transition to the civilian world of employment a little easier.
My thought for today–and it relates to virtually every job-seeker: What have you done for someone else to help advance their career or job search? Sometimes it’s offering advice … or a contact phone number or e-mail … occasionally it is the tangible job lead … and often it’s the voice of encouragement and support that success is waiting right around the corner.
– Jan Melnik, MRW, CCM, CPRW, President, Absolute Advantage … Don’t forget to check out careerhub.typepad.com for the best in career search advice from the career industry’s top experts