183: Ask Holly

Holly Owens (00:00.6)

Hello everyone and welcome to another amazing episode of EdUp L &D. My name is Holly Owens and I'm your host. And today we're doing something little different. We have a brand new weekly segment here on EdUp L &D where we're gonna spend 15 minutes together, no BS, just straight to the point answers to your biggest questions about breaking into learning and development. It's called Ask Holly.

So every week I'm gonna tackle things I get asked all the time in my LinkedIn inbox or email, when I'm doing coffee chats or consultative meetings, things like that. Questions like, do I really need a portfolio? Should I go back to school and get another degree or a certification? Where do I even start? My goal is really simple with these 15 minute episodes. It's to cut through the noise and give you clear.

actionable advice you can actually use right away. And remember that these questions are coming straight from you. I'm taking them straight from you. You can drop yours in the comments out on LinkedIn, you can fill out the form on our webpage, you can email me the questions that you have, and if your question gets picked, this is the fun part, you'll also get some inclusive add up L &D swag.

So we're gonna give you something for submitting a question that we jumped into. All right. So that's how we're gonna roll here. Let's jump into this week's question. And this is one that I get constantly asked out on LinkedIn World in my inbox or when I'm having some one-on-one meetings, something that people are just, they wanna know how to do this.

They're so focused on how to do this and thinking about how to do this constantly when they're applying to jobs, especially in a market that is so competitive right now. And you you see out on LinkedIn or you hear things from companies where people are saying, you know what, like we had over a thousand applicants for this job or we had hundreds of applicants for this job. And people are really wondering about this question.

Holly Owens (02:23.022)

They're really thinking to themselves, what can I do to stand out? What can I do to stand out? As you're scrolling through the job postings, you're constantly updating your resume for the hundredth time, tailoring it to the job description and responsibilities. You're going and you're refreshing LinkedIn and you're hoping that something's going to happen where there's an answer spit out.

that's just going to solve all the problems. How do you stand out? Really what you're asking is how do I separate myself from the hundreds and sometimes like I said thousands at this point with some of these roles of people who are hitting apply at the exact same time you are. How do you stand out?

Think about it. I'm sure you've asked yourself this question as you're updating your professional resources and you're like, I've done this, I've done that. I've updated my, I've used AI to update my resume. I've talked to a coach, I've talked to a resume reviewer. But really, how do you stand out? All right, I'm not gonna BS you here. Spoiler alert, there isn't one magic trick. And I always say it's not.

just one thing that makes you stand out. Standing out isn't one size fits all. But the good news is there are patterns, there are strategies and there are things that make yourself stand out or be unforgettable in the best possible way. So in today's episode, I definitely want to give you a takeaway on how you can stand out. But today's episode isn't the deep dive.

That's coming soon in a full length conversation where I break it down with all the stories, the strategies, real talk, resources. So consider this 15 minute episode, your sneak peek into what that episode is going to be about. So when you ask me or you're in my LinkedIn inbox, how do I stand out? What you're really asking is how do I communicate my value? How do I show that I'm not just another resume in a pile?

Holly Owens (04:44.854)

of tons of resumes. How do I help someone see me as a solution to the issues that they're having as their company? They see my experiences as something that's going to be impactful in the places I want to work. So time to think about it this way. Standing out in a job application or in the process isn't about being flashy, like having all the bells and whistles and

all the different things and you know maybe there's confetti or things that pop up. It's about being clear. It's about being clear about who you are. And I think it's important that when you're trying to stand out you really think about who you are as a person, the whole person, not just the professional person. Because let me tell you something and I've said this in numerous webinars and numerous

conversations that I've had with people. Your resume is 100 % a static document. It is not something where people can look at the resume and understand who you really are. They're like, okay, Holly, I see that you have experience at Amazon in the corporate space. You host a podcast.

You've worked as an adjunct instructor. You've done a variety of different things, but as a person, how does this tell me who you are? What kind of value do you bring? I see you have all these technical expertise, like ice spraying or captivate or addy backwards design, but are you a good cultural fit? Are you gonna be somebody who's gonna be able to work in a group setting?

So the resume is just a static document that lists your professional stuff. It's kind of like a CV in academia. It doesn't really tell who you are as a person. And I think that's what's missing from the resume, if I'm being honest. When you're applying to jobs and the question at the bottom of the interview, the whole process before you get the interview and the application process is,

Holly Owens (07:11.726)

Is there anything else you would like us to know about you? Is there any additional information that you would want to share with us? And I think this is a part people skip. I think this is the part where people are like, they're going to see my resume and they're going to think I fit. And I know I fit and this is my dream role and it's going to happen. Okay, if you want to take a chance on that. But in that area, and or on your resume,

I think it's important to include one thing. Lots of people that I've worked with in the past or coaching through other things, they constantly ask me, how do I stand out? What's the one thing you can do to stand out? And what I will say to them is that you have a great resume. You have a vast amount of professional experience, whether you're coming from teaching.

Or if you're coming from the corporate sector to hire it or hire it, it's corporate or government contract, whatever that you're doing. But again, I come back to this piece, I don't know who you are as a person. So I ask people, I say, you know what? I think it would be include this, just this one thing. Include this one thing on your resume. You know what it is? You should include a video.

and or audio less than five minutes long probably preferably less than three minutes about who you are about I'm not saying tell them your life story I'm saying talk about your journey talk about your professional journey talk about your hobbies and how that relates to your professional journey or how that helps you like you know go further in the things that you do

One of the things that I do this podcast because it's an extension of talking to people and helping people and that's what I love doing. So do a video and put a link to that in your resume because when somebody clicks on that, they see you. That's human interaction. That's connection. And you know what? You may be saying like Holly, that's not going to work. It's not going to work. I just know it. It's not going to work. However, I've worked with several.

Holly Owens (09:30.862)

clients in the past who have done this and it landed them interviews because they had the video. So whether you're putting it in your resume, whether you're putting in your portfolio, whether you're filling it out as a part of that, any other information we should know, because they're going to literally take six seconds or less to read over your resume. But if you have an engaging video about who you are, there might spend a little bit more time on it.

and then they'll know more about you. When we talk, people get to know who we are and we get to talk about our experiences. Like I said, the resume is so static. It's so boring. It's so boring. It's like the resume is transactional, right? But if you have a video and something that really makes you stand out a little bit more than everybody else.

I would say that that's going to get your foot in the door for an interview. I would say that somebody's going to look at that and be like, wow, they took the time to explain who they were, like their experiences and why they've transitioned from corporate to higher education or what they're looking for. Or maybe you do a video that's like tailored to the company, like how they fit in with our strategic plan for learning and development or something like that. I mean, you can really take this a variety of different directions.

variety of different directions. So when people ask me what do I do to stand out that is one thing I 100 % recommend that people have done that I've worked with in the past and I think it's important also to gives you the opportunity to reflect on your experiences and see where you've been.

know, oftentimes we get this imposter syndrome as we're applying to jobs and we're like, I don't know if I'm fully capable of doing this or if I, you know, meet all the qualifications. But as you reflect, you can see a starting point to where you are now and you can see there's been progress. So it does do a couple of different things. But I think that's one of the things I would say that would make you stand out. And if you don't want to do a video, then do some sort of audio. Or if you want to do a video where you're not on the screen, use

Holly Owens (11:55.038)

Use AI, use something else, maybe use like, I don't know, Vyond or something to create an animated video with characters and stuff. People have done that in the past too and it's worked. But again, the resume is a static document. It's transactional. You need to liven it up. So one of the things that I recommend for how do you stand out is to record that video. Now.

I'm not sharing all the secrets in this 15 minutes. So the next episode is gonna be a full blown episode of what I think you need to do to stand out. And I have some more very important tips and something I came up with recently that I know is going to work. That I know is going to work because I'm using it in my own applications. So a little teaser.

You know, three small but mighty things that we're gonna talk about. Story beats list every time. I'll talk about more what that means. Consistency builds credibility. Niche is not a dirty word. If you're applying all over the place, that's a problem. Now, if you're really itchin' to dive into some of this stuff, I've developed two

Fabulous resources very cheap. I've been using gumroad. I love it The first one is unlock your L &D career the ultimate resource guide. I spent hours Probably days at this point curating Where all the resources are YouTube videos people to follow books to get? Academies all the different things the blueprints the templates all the different things that you need to be successful right there

It's $5. You get updates for life. It's so cheap. Then I also created recently the interview pocket guide. I had an old one. I took it. I updated it. I updated the content. Both of these resources are designed to give you the clarity, the confidence, the momentum you need right now as you're transitioning into an LOD career. The links are in the show notes, so please go grab them.

Holly Owens (14:25.985)

The ultimate resource guide is $5, the interview pocket guide is $2. And you get updates for life, like that's a deal. That's a deal. And I am constantly going back and updating these resources so when they update I send you emails and you get the most updated one. And you see what's been added.

Holly Owens (14:47.403)

What do I do to stand out? Create that video or that audio and look forward to an even bigger episode where I dive in more to these tips and tricks and also share something else that I've been doing that's been landing me role landing me interviews. All right. I hope that helps. So go check out those resources.

I look forward to seeing you on the next episode and if you want to ask me a question Go ahead and click on that button in the show notes. It says ask Holly Submit your question again, if it gets picked you get some add-up L &D swag, so We're just gonna keep showing up We're gonna keep learning and we're gonna remember that you already have what it takes to stand out We just need to figure out what the formula is so that the world sees it too. Okay

See you next time.