Resumes.  Ah.  Now that’s a tricky one.

Why?

Because resumes label and most people can’t see past labels.  So if your label doesn’t precisely match the one the organization is searching for, then you’ll get dismissed, straight out-of-the-gate.

It takes an out-of-the-box thinker to see that what you’ve done or where you’ve studied doesn’t equate to who you are.  It takes an innovator to understand that a person’s past (or lack of one) does not mentor their future.

But the real hurdle is not the question of whether the resume handler has the chops to get past your past…it’s whether or not you do.

Can you see how your film school background makes you uniquely qualified to manage new media initiatives?  Or that those CPA initials don’t forever brand you as a non-creative?  Because if you can’t, it’s a certainty that no one else will.

Re-branding yourself is not simply about dusting off and polishing up an old resume.  It’s more than that:  It’s about reinvention.  And reinvention ain’t for sissies.  It takes courage.  The courage to shed the labels of your past and redefine yourself for the future.  The courage to stand steady under fire.  The courage to act with fearless determination no matter how many times you hear the word ‘no.’

So before you begin to sell yourself, make sure you believe in what you’re selling.  And remember, the only devil at the gate is you.