The old cliché says you can't judge a book by its cover and like every cliché, it has more than a kernel of truth to it. And just like every cliché, we do it anyway. We judge people by their looks, resumes by their format or lack thereof and I'm told, women even judge men by their shoes although since I'm in Southern California it's hard to tell since a lot of people don't really wear shoes.

So it's enough to say that we shouldn't judge by appearance alone. Okay, that's enough then. But while we acknowledge that, shouldn't we as recruiters and/or candidates pay close attention to our packaging? I mean, after all when you look at Tiger Woods, who thinks male slut - okay now, but what about a year ago?

So since it's still early in the year and hopefully everyone is still on their resolutions, I would propose we not only look at making over our resumes but also ourselves. I know that most of the recruitment process happens over the phone but at some point we will have to meet people face to face either as candidates or recruitment consultants. And we shouldn't forget that candidates are also, or should be interviewing our companies and clients. So all around, I would suggest we take a good look at ourselves. Should we be hitting the gym? Eating a salad instead of a burger? Changing out those shirts from the 90's?

Personally, I'm in a bit better shape than I was a year ago but then again, I've been hitting the gym regularly and have tweaked my diet. I'm not saying it's a make or break situation but if you go back to an earlier blog (shameless plug here) it really is all about sales and you have to put your best foot forward.

And if there ever was a time to brush up your skill set it's now. If you don't want to spend money, perhaps there's a local interest group you can join, Meetup.com seems to be pretty good and a lot of them are free. Or maybe you should start your own group - it never hurts to expand your network.

I think the economy is forcing us all to become leaner if hopefully not too mean. So polish up your resume by all means but remember, a good book cover only goes so far.

Remember, your skills are your job security.

Best,
James Seetoo