dirk spencer - the candy maker exercise

The Candy Maker Exercise

Systematically Create

Resume Content

With Dirk Spencer

Social Media Recruiter

Creator of Resume Psychology

©

Got Resume

Content?

Sara Elf Candy Maker

North Pole [email protected]

Professional Experience

Candy Master, Inc February 2000 to Present

Candy Maker Elf Village, NP

• Make Candy

• Sell Candy

Masters of Candy, LLC March 1935 to January 2000

Candy Maker Elf-In Way, NP

• Made Candy

• Sold Candy

Candies R US January 1881 to January 1935

Candy Maker Elf-In Way, NP

• Made Candy

• Sold Candy

Impressed?

What Do

You Know

About

The Candy

Maker?

Made Candy

Sold Candy

What

We

Don’t

Know?!

A Lot!

What kind of

Candy?

How was

the Candy

made?

How was the

Candy sold?

Where did

it happen?

How much

Candy

we talking

about?

The Technique

RECONSTRUCT YOUR

WORK VOCABULARY

WORD ASSOCIATION

…AND?

Make

a

List

Already

Re-Master

Job

Vocabulary

Off-Load

Short-Term

Memory

The

Benefit?

Reduce

Negative

Stress

What are

The Candy

Maker’s

3 Words?

Step 1

Create a List

By Keyword

Step 2

Discern the

Level of Granularity

What are you using:

High Level

– Eye in the sky concepts

Low Level

– Down in the weeds concepts

Which granularity

works best?

It

Depends

on 3 things…

…what is missing on the

Resume

…what the Job Requires

…Your level of

Effort

Manage These 5 Things:

Biases

Rationalizations

Assumptions

Ignorance

Hubris

List Making

101

Unpacking “Candy”

Two Words:

Hard and Soft

Hard and Soft varieties:

Mints

Suckers

Gums

Licorices

Jelly Beans

Jaw Breakers

Fish

What Kind of Candy?

• Lemon Drops

• Peppermint Sticks

• Chocolate Bars

• Fudge Bark

• Candied Almonds

• Candied Peanuts

• Chocolate Covered Fruit

• Marsh Mellow Chicks

• Holiday Candy

Which Holiday Candy?

• Valentine’s

• Christmas

• Easter

• Rosh Hashanah

• Hanukah

• Halloween

• Decorative Candy

What Decorative Candy?

Foil Wrapped

Velvet Boxes

Baskets and Bows

Bags and Ribbons

Heart Shaped Containers

Egg Shaped Containers

Tree Ornaments

Unpacking “Made”

Two Words:

Mix and Process

Mix and Process Concepts:

• Combine

• Swirl

• Separate

• Pack

• Cook

• Bake

• Pour

• Liquefy

• Chemical Reaction

• Pulling

• Stretching

Made: Tools of the Trade

• Spoons

• Forks

• Spatulas

• Marble Tops

• Rolling Pins

• Electric Mixers

• Copper Bowls

• Molds

• Forms

• Measuring

Made: Ingredients

• Sugar

• Spice

• Flavoring

• Flour

• Salt

• Baking Soda

• Fruit

• Cocoa

• Syrup

• Butter

Unpacking “Sold”

Two Words:

Retail versus Wholesale

Sold: Retail versus Wholesale

• Over the counter

• E-Commerce

• Mail Order

• Commercial Shipping

• Cash

• Check

• ATM

• Credit

• Accounts Receivable

Sold: Slice-n-Dice the Numbers

• Gross Sales

• Net Sales

• Net Costs

• Profits by Product

• Per Day Sales

• Per Week Sales

• Per Month Sales

• Per Quarter Sales

• Annual Sales

• Bulk Pricing

• Unit Pricing

• How Many

• Which Kind

Sold: What & Who

• Packages

• Baskets

• Boxes

• Bags

• Seasonal Sales

• Holiday Sales

• Catering Sales

• Special Occasions

• Weddings

• Graduations

Ask yourself…

…what is missing?

Step 3

Create a

“Thought” Template

Thought Template

Has Parts

You Must use

of the parts…

Concept Behind

Thought Template

• Efficient brain storming

• Simplify content collection

• Defeat unconscious competence

Thought Template Parts:

ACTION THING ENVIRONMENT QUANTITY

Thought Template Rules

• Always start with an Action Word

• Every thought starts with an Action

Word

• Back fill remaining columns

• Use at least 3 of the 4 columns

Thought Template Outcome

• Generate Complete “Thought”

• Off-load short-term memory

• Become reacquainted with your

expertise

Action Word Synonyms

• Allow the content to be presented

from multiple angles

What the Thought Template Is

NOT :

• Generating “Complete” Sentences

Step 3

Turn Thoughts

into

Sentences

This?

Mixed and measured ingredients

per company recipe for hard candy

selling 500 pounds per week

Or These???

• Mixed ingredients per company

recipe for holiday hard candy

• Sold 500 pounds of hard candy per

week

• Measured flavor compounds to

form hard candy slurry

Which is Easier to…

• Understand?

• Read?

• Believe?

• See?

This?

• Molded jelly beans and licorice

using marble top and roller pin

techniques to mold pieces and sold

$100 worth of product per day.

Or these?

• Molded jelly beans using marble

top and roller pin technique.

• Shaped licorice ties free-hand for

customized orders.

• Sold $100+ in soft candies per

day.


• Understand?

• Read?

• Believe?

• See?

This?

• Increased production by 200%

during Easter promotion by

scheduling vendor product

deliveries to coincide with staged

mixing methodologies.

Or these?

• Increased production by 200%

during Easter promotion.

• Scheduled vendor deliveries with

staged mixing methodologies.


• Understand?

• Read?

• Believe?

• See?

This?

• Used copper mixing bowls, steam

kettles and brass molds to produce

1,000 hard candies weekly

Or these?

• Used copper mixing bowls to

combine specialty hard candy

ingredients.

• Used steam kettles to melt hard

candy pieces.

• Used brass molds to produce

1,000 hard candies weekly.


• Understand?

• Read?

• Believe?

• See?

Step 4

Sentence Debrief

Be able talk about the same

event or project from different

angles

Getting to Sentences

Sentence Extrapolation

500 pounds a week can become: -

500lbs X 52 weeks = 26K lbs yearly

Tell a Specific Story Already

$100.00 a day can become: -

300 days X $100 =$30K annually…

Mention Specific

Methods / Tools / Recipes:

Notice how details about the

common behavior or techniques

does not generate questions about

the behavior?

It creates an impression of a

candidate who knows how to get

things done!

Money / Units Sold:

Notice how a subtle detail about

items sold does not generate a

question about the amounts?

It creates an unspoken confidence

the candidate knows the

importance of the business!

Dirk Spencer – Social Media Recruiter

• [email protected] - 214-295-8687 - @DirkInDallas

• http://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkindallas

• Slideshare.Net/Dirk Spencer

• Dirk is a former DOD Computer Specialist turned Recruiter and Social Media Tactician.

• He is the creator of "Resume Psychology – Get the Offer Not the Interview©.

Dirk Spencer – Social Media Recruiter

• Beyond resumes, Dirk’s expertise includes talent acquisition, deep-web sourcing, social media recruiting and linguistics.

• He has been an agency recruiting, contract recruiting and corporate recruiting.

• Dirk is regularly invited to speak to career groups, industry recruiters and professional organizations on resume strategies, network tactics, sourcing and communication strategies and professional branding using social media.

Dirk’s recruiting experience includes:

Information Technology

Telecomm

Semiconductor

Banking

Consumer Goods

Accounting

Finance

Project Management

Engineering

Executive Leadership

Networking

Aviation

Defense

Supply Chain

Software Development

Fast Moving Consumer Goods

International

Dirk has worked for these companies

Previous Recruiter Events / Speaker Mentions

• Dallas Fort Worth Texas Recruiter Network (DFWTRN)

• Executive Search Owners Association (ESOA)

• Inter-City Personnel Associates (IPA) Associates Food & Beverage

• Pikes Peak Recruiter Network (PPRN)

• Texas Regional Infrastructure Security Conference

• The Rick Gillis Radio Show in Houston, Texas ESPN Radio

• CareerRocketeer “The 150+ Experts on Twitter All Job Seekers Must Follow

• The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram

Previous Speaking Events - Professional Organizations:

• Colorado Association Healthcare Executives (CAHE) Annual Conference

• Meeting of the Minds Conference

• Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce Breakfast of Champions

• North Texas Small Business Summit

• TalentNet Live Social Recruiting Conference

• Frisco Connect Job Seeker Strategy Summit

• Texas Small Business Summit

• Texas Regional Infrastructure Security Conference

• American Society of Quality (ASQ)

• Texas Workforce Commission Veterans Support Group

• Intuit Women’s Network

• International Institute of Business Analyst (IIBA)

• National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).

Previous Speaking Events Ecumenical & Volunteer Organizations

• St. Jude Career Alliance a Chapter of the Catholic Career Development Community (CCDC) • Career Counseling Group (CCG) of DFW Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT) • Career Counseling Group (CCG) of DFW Islamic Center of Irving (ICI) • Crossroads Bible Church (CBC) Career Transition Workshop (CTW) • Jewish Family Service (JFS) • Career Jump Start - First United Methodist Church Richardson (FUMCR) • Carrollton Career Focus Group (CFG) • Carrollton City Job Hunt 101 • Custer Rd Church Job Net Plano • Fort Worth Career Search Network (FWCSN) • MacArthur Blvd Baptist Church (MBBC) Career Transition Network (CTN) • McKinney Trinity Presbyterian Church Career Transition Network (CTN) • McKinney Workforce Networking • Preston Trail Job Network (PTJN) • Saint Philip's Episcopal of Frisco Job Ministry • Southlake Focus Group (SFG) • St. Andrew UMC Sales Group with Dennis O’Hagan