I need to find a job?

[LittleKG]

The more I try to complete my resume teh harder it gets..

[MadamGeneva]

CVs have always been a challenge for me. I once reorganised my entire house top to bottom to avoid writing one! (Sometimes having a task you really want to avoid can help other chores get done😅).

I think rejection sensitivity, imposter syndrome and perfectionism is at play for me. Do you recognise what’s at play for you?

The whole process makes me cringe. But I do get there in the end!

The best way I’ve managed (eventually), is to start just by making notes about strengths and experience. Don’t worry about how it reads at this point, they are just notes.

Then try and break the whole job down into parts.

- Deciding the sections to include (I.e. profile, skills, experience).

- Deciding a layout / design

Try and think of each one as separate tasks and just attempt to do one bit… any bit! It really doesn’t have to be linear, maybe just the bit that seems easiest to you.

I’m very visual, so the design is where I like to start. But I might flip to writing a section, like the profile, if I feel inspired. If you get stuck, just try a different area, it’s ok to evolve the drafts and pause /switch as needed.

If you really struggle to centre yourself, perhaps even try to think about the role itself and characteristics that would be beneficial, imagine you are writing the whole thing for a persona of someone who is the best in field. (Obviously draw the parallels to yourself and don’t include anything that isn’t true when you go back to edit).

Also, you can use AI to help a bit. I don’t recommend plugging the whole thing into ChatGPT, as you will get something that doesn’t sound quite right.

But you can use it to help with grammar checks, or if you’ve managed to write notes and want help forming sentences.

It’s also good for idea generation to help prompt your own notes. I often go completely blank when thinking about my skills, so I might just ask ChatGPT “what are some good characteristics of a ?” And then look at the points I resonate with.

Don’t worry about how your CV looks or sounds as it’s developing, getting info down in any way is good. Editing and perfecting can come later!

Good luck!

[CheeseIt]

Hello there.

I’m in the same situation you’re in. Unemployed and starting job hunting. I have just built on my existing resume instead of reinventing the wheel. There are tons of free resume templates available to help with formatting. If you’re starting from ground zero.

I’ve found the 15 min/30 min rotation really works for me when I have something I HAVE TO get done that I don’t want to do. 15 minutes on the task, 20-30 minutes break. Break time can be adjusted as you see fit. However, I don’t recommend going past the 30 minutes break time..,I usually just stop working on the task (lol). I also give myself a cut off time, since I’m home right now. I try and get my “chores” done, then at 5:30-6:00 I stop, make dinner and do my nighttime routines. Basically keep my work schedule so I’m not running in circles all day and it helps keep some semblance of structure in my life.

As I think most of here in this tribe we all struggle with things that other ppl don’t. I think a lot of us are trying to make sense of wtf adhd really means to the quality of lives, so in that sense, you’re not alone. So remember to BE KIND TO YOURSELF. It’s okay not to be okay, It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, down about the situation . It’s NOT okay to remain stuck in the negative mood/mindset though. The emotions should last about 15-20 minutes if you don’t hang onto them and let them pass. Feeling sorry for ourselves doesn’t help us, it hinders us. This is our reality, shrug. And sometimes things/life is just like this, shitty. However, you can’t have all bad without good. Life has a way of balancing itself out. During the dark days/times/moments, the key is to focus on the good that is happening then and has happened in the past.

This situation is temporary. You WILL find another job. Just breathe. You got this! (I got this!) 😉

[Ampersand1]

I saw some other thread somewhere say that a website called tealhq dot com was great for ADHD people but I haven't tried it yet. I read over the website tho and looks to be a worthwhile thing to try on the free plan they have.

[_Sarah_J]

Resumes are torture. It can be well worth it to hire someone to do one for you.

[STEM_Dad]

I had been updating the same resume Word doc for so long, I ran into formatting issues. (Originally written on Word 2007, I think.) I finally created a new file from scratch, and copied select text, but not the formatting.

So, I learned from that, sometimes it's best to start with a clean document. It made me rewrite a lot, to simply the wording and shorten the length.

~~~~~

Mainly focus on the last 10 years, and on the work, education, training and skills that are related to the jobs you are applying for.

Think of your resume in terms of bullet-points, or an outline for a biography. It doesn't need to be written in complete sentences, only clearly enough to get the point across.

~~~~~

Here's an idea to consider:

Pretend that you already have the job, and that you meet someone who asks you, "How did you get it? What made you the right person for the job?"

In the imaginary conversation, pretend that you're listing off for that person all the skills, experience and education you have that made you the right fit. "I am [this]. I've done [that]. I've learned [this other thing]."

Record or write down this imaginary conversation, freeform in any order that the thoughts come to mind.

Then, reorganize the points so that they are grouped by how they are related.

Then, remove all the "I am", I have", "I've done", and similar words... leaving just the bullet points.

~~~~~

If this is too much, just do it whatever way gets you to do the thing. It's the information about you that's important, not so much about the delivery. But we tend to think more like a conversation or a narrative.

(Maybe pretend you're speaking to a machine, and how you might leave out the added words we use when talking to other human beings.