Renaissance man: “a cultured man who was knowledgeable, educated, or proficient in a wide range of fields.”
I’ve been going over my resume lately and finding that there are far too many things that I try to include, yet none that I’m willing to cut out. Yes, in fact, I did receive my babysitter’s certification in 2008—hire me, I’m responsible and caring. I did make National Italian Honors Society in 2013—hire me, I’m cultured and intelligent. I did work as a barista, as a waitress, as a secretary, and now as a research assistant—hire me, I can do it all.
Through all of this self-promotion, I’ve come to realize that maybe I’m not actually a Renaissance man and am instead a “Master of None” (Thanks, Aziz Ansari). Each of these experiences has been fleeting and an effort to build up my resume for employers to be wowed by, but can I really call myself an expert in any of these fields? Probably not. Can I call myself passionate and devoted to any of these fields? Definitely not.
You can argue in my defense and say that everyone has to start somewhere (true), or that at my age and education level I can’t really be expected to have extreme experience in any field, or know what I’m passionate about yet (also true). However, do I need to keep all of these titles cluttering up my resume, in hopes of the off chance that one of my 3 month job stints strikes the fancy of a future employer? Absolutely not.
Like many of us, I got caught up in the ‘bigger is better’ mentality. But whatever happened to ‘less is more’? Going along with one of my previous articles, I’m going to spend my time from here on out trying to divert from the Renaissance man, overachieving motif. Instead I want to focus on my passions and build a resume that shows not just what I can do, but what I enjoy doing.
Sure it’s impressive to look at yourself on paper and see the pages of experiences past, but I’d rather start painting a picture of myself instead of handing in a lengthy list.
