Eight Ways to market your story for a book or a resume

A book and a resume both tell your story, but in very different ways. When an author sits down to write her true story for a book, she writes down her accomplishments and how she has made a difference in her family, work or the world. She thinks of challenges and conflicts and how she resolved them.
 
A job seeker lists accomplishments they are proud of and challenges they faced along the way to finding success. Then they give examples or paragraph stories about each accomplishment or challenge and then how they resolved it. Taking the time to write a short story or outline first will help the job seeker create their story in concise bullet points, with examples to fit the team they want to be a part of. Writing your resume as a story first will help you find the important nuggets and then answer the Tell Me About Yourself interview question––that is not really a question––but a heart stopper for some. 
 
Eight similarities between a book and a resume.
 

• A book and a resume each in their own way tell a story they want to get out to their audience.
• All stories need a lead or hook to grab the reader’s attention. In a book it might be the introduction or first sentence of a paragraph. In a resume it would be the Profile, Summary or Qualifications section.
• Resumes as well as books sent to large companies need key words, since they are often filtered through search engines.
• It takes an investment of time and money for authors and job seekers to create an author persona for interviews and social media.
• Your book or resume needs to be pleasant to look at and easy to digest. Appearance is important for the story, the resume, the author and the job seeker.
• Authors and job seekers need to know the audience they are writing for. Others may be interested, but your story will be focused toward your target audience.
• Authors just like job seekers need to network and engage with their audience whether through research, social media, conferences or casual connections.
• Marketing your book or resume needs to be tailored to your audience. Investigate through Google searches, business websites and media including LInkedin for job seekers and Amazon for writers. Amazon is the most popular search engine for books, although not the most effective.
• Strong content is important for books and resumes. Once you have attracted your audience you won’t keep them unless you have curated your content to fit their interests and needs.
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I list strong content last, not because it is least important, but because content is not seen without getting the reader’s interest first. It takes several steps to get the strong content to the eyes of a reader and the first reader may not be the one making the decision about using the content. 

The most important difference between a true story and a resume is the length. Your resume is a synopsis of your story. As with your story it is written for your target audience. 
 
Share more ways a book is like a resume.
 
See also 14 Strategies For Effective Job Search 
 
Author Nancy J. Miller, M.S. is a Career Counselor/Certified Life Coach at Creative LifeWork Design. She is author of the books, Fire Up Your Profile For LifeWork Success, Vegetable Kids in the Garden, The Vegetable Kids Cafeteria Club and Vegetable Personality Styles to promote healthy relationships, lifestyles and self-esteem. Nancy publishes professional articles on careers, business and health. She gives presentations on the Vegetable Personality Styles™ she developed based on the four basic vegetables colors and the way they grow. Nancy uses a holistic practical approach to coaching entrepreneurs, professionals, and writers to create business and career success in harmony with their strengths, values, and lifestyle.  
Connect with Nancy.
Email: success@nancyjmiller.solutions
Coaching website: www.nancyjmiller.com
Books: www.tealpublishing.com
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