COLUMN: Looking good on paper is overrated

When I was a senior in high school, I had an internship at Gannett, the company that owns USA Today. During this internship, there was a day when my boss had me look through a stack of 100 resumes and decide which 10 people she should interview for the open position in the human resources department.

Every single resume, save one, looked exactly the same as the last. If the person didn’t have an abundance of experience working in HR, they had a degree in HR management, or both a degree and experience.

It was impossible to distinguish who the best candidates were based on their resumes and cover letters. All of them seemed equally qualified to do the job. How was I to make the decision?

Do I choose the people who have been doing the same job for 20 years, or the people who have only been doing it for five? What about the recent graduates who need job experience, or the people who just changed careers?

I was about ready to throw them all in the air and give interviews to the first 10 I picked up when I finally found someone who stood out.
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She was an English major who had recently graduated and had no relevant job experience whatsoever. I gave her an interview, just because she stood out from the rest of the pile.

The reason I bring up this story is because I have become this girl.

I have been told by many people that I can’t follow certain career paths because I don’t have the right resume or major. I find this especially frustrating since I am about to graduate and have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life. I suspect there are many who can relate.

Sure, having a great resume is wonderful, but what happens when your resume is so good it becomes indistinguishable from the rest of the pile? If getting a “real job” comes down to chance, as my story suggests, isn’t it a good thing to stand out?

I am not one to believe that my undergraduate career will be the determining factor for the course of the rest of my life. I know plenty of people who majored in one thing as an undergrad and went on to become something completely different. It isn’t as important as people think.

Who is to say what a person can and can’t do with his or her life? If I want to become a lawyer or a journalist or a senator, and I’m willing to work hard for it, who cares what my undergraduate degree is in? If I am willing to face rejection and fight against impossible odds to achieve a goal, aren’t I already halfway toward accomplishing it?

And really, isn’t this what the “American Dream” is all about? Was this country not built on the idea that hard work will lead to success, no matter who you are or where you come from?

Don’t ever let another person tell you what you can and cannot do with your life or your career. If you’re willing to fight for it with everything you have, your struggle will eventually be rewarded.