Good morning everyone and welcome back to the Breakroom! This has really been a whirlwind week; we officially have a logo courtesy of the incomparable Amy Ugstad with OneUP Creative (https://oneupcreative.net/) as well as Breakroom Breakdown is officially a sponsor of the 2024 Teeb Con (https://mnswca.org/teeb-con-2024) which I cannot tell you how excited I am to not only get to support this event, but partake in the festivities. In our careers, we will routinely come across both ups and downs. For every moment where we get a kudos at work or get that coveted promotion, there are those times we might feel stuck in a job with no advancement or perhaps surrounded by colleagues that do nothing but urge us to slam our heads into a wall. It is so important to try to see each of these as an opportunity for growth and a challenge to overcome. I know this is easier said than done as there are times I feel like a failure for not being where I saw myself 5 years ago. Even worse is when you try to figure out where you would like to see yourself in 5 years, and you honestly don’t know. We put so much pressure on ourselves to see our jobs as our identity, and while some people live for that sense of who they are, some of us see ourselves as just having a job and that it doesn’t define who we are. But which one is the right point of view? Or, is there really no right or wrong answer and rather it comes down to the individual?
For when you feel you are the only one going through those feelings, let us not forget that Dwight Schrute recently left Dunder Mifflin. His plan was to stay with the company forever and he cannot be more upset that he had to leave. But did he just give up because life was too hard? No, he kept on going and he has gone to interview after interview. If you have ever never seen Dwight perform a job interview, I can assure you that he is the epidemy of moxie. First of all, he has three full resumes that he brings with him; and they are not simple one page documents but multiple pages in presentation folders just like these. I will admit, I am big fan of a good presentation (and a good folder or binder) but crafting one for a resume when you do not have some sort of portfolio is a bit much. Plus he does these for each resume, these are: professional, athletic and special skills, and Dwight Schrute trivia. I am not a recruiter, but I have been a hiring leader previously, and I will say that this is all excessive. I would love to do a story designated just to resumes, but my personal resume is very basic in comparison. I have mine condensed down to one page, which I have always been told it should be two pages at most but if you are going into the next page you should make sure the information is worth it. My font is the very basic Times New Roman size 12 that we were taught to use in school (one of the few things that has carried with me). As for my information I have tried to keep it has informational as I can, although I suppose I could take the time to rewrite pieces of it. Some of the key aspects you want to do besides just your past jobs and education is to focus on special skills. If you have experience with specific computer programs (whether it be Workday or even Microsoft Excel, list it) and also try to lean into your soft skills. If this job might require a high degree of customer service or perhaps educating others, trying to include key words highlighting how you have done these things. One tip I was given before is if there is a job you are applying for that you really want to shine, review the job description for what you might consider some important keywords crucial to the position. Some of the algorithms (depending on the company) will try to scan those specific words and highlight you as an exceptional candidate, so it’s good to try to figure out those words so you can include them in your resume. You might be wondering, is it ever okay to go above and beyond as Dwight is with his resumes? I would argue that on average, no it is not, but that is not to say that every so often there is a Michael Scott out there who would actually be impressed. Due to the likelihood of this happening, I would still say refrain from providing three resumes. Perhaps the only thing better than that is when Dwight is asked to describe himself, and he is able to sum it up in three words: hardworking, alpha male, jackhammer, merciless, insatiable. Well, this is more than three words so if you promise a set number of words you should adhere to it. And while it is good to try to stand out and come up with a word less generic than “hardworking” I am not sure how well “alpha male” or “insatiable” comes off. I do like jackhammer, though, depending on how he would expand upon that. Question for you, how would you describe yourself in three words as part of a job interview? I think I would go with: supportive, informative, strategic. Feel free to include your own in the comments below!
When everything is said and done with, Dwight is able to land on his feet with a new job at Staples. That’s right, he has decided to go to join forces with one of our major competitors in the area. I saw him there, as I do love a good office supply store, and I feel like his talents are being wasted there. Most people are not looking for the type of hands on assistance that Dwight can offer when they go to a brick and mortar like Staples. But he is still doing well and is on the fast track to becoming a leader at that branch.
Back at Dunder Mifflin, we have a bit of office changes going on. On the brightside, Oscar has returned from his time off. In case you forgot, the company gave him a paid vacation (and company vehicle) in exchange for him agreeing not to sue after the incident with Michael outing him to the office and then kissing him. Michael is so excited he decided that we are going to throw a Welcome Back party for him; a party that is currently still being planned so I think Michael only just thought of this. Everyone was excited to see him return, and even Angela took the time to try to make amends to how they left things and invited him to join the Party Planning Committee. Nothing says “I’m sorry” then asking you to plan your own Welcome Back party. Thankfully, Michael has grown in the past weeks and does not see Oscar’s homosexuality as his personality. His Mexican heritage is what should define him, so he gets to have a Mexican theme party. What does this include? Various decorations, frozen chimichangas, pinatas, and some “traditional” music playing. In the party actually comes together pretty well, to which Oscar likens it to The Three Amigos with Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short. Not entirely sure if Oscar meant this as a compliment, but Michael took it as a true honor.
While this is all going on today, Andy Bernard has done his best to fill the vacuum left by Dwight’s exit as Michael’s closest confidant. It is pretty apparent that Michael has begun to catch on to Andy’s true motives. He can be very annoying, hard to tell if he says anything sincere, and is a perpetual “yes man” trying to win Michael over at all costs. Now, Andy really could have done this successfully but he just came on much too strong and was actually pretty sloppy about it. He isn’t the only to get sick of him, I caught Jim and Pam pulling one of their classic pranks on Andy (finally, they are using their powers for good). They actually stole Andy’s phone (how could you not notice your phone was gone?) and hid it in the ceiling tile and proceeded to call it continuously so Andy spent all day trying to find where it ended up at in the office. You could argue they took it a bit too far because Andy gets fed up, especially when Michael tells him he needs to leave him alone too, and actually punches his fist through a wall. This should be a reality check to anyone out there, if you can get so wrapped up with your job that you consider doing this, then you need to take stock in perhaps that job is not right for you. In this case, I think it might have more to do with Andy’s personality and anger issues but I will still say this job is not meant for him.
Right after this happens (our party quickly started up again) Michael actually disappeared, running out of the office with a sense of urgency after Angela in accounting had pulled him aside. He ultimately shows back up with Dwight, announcing to us all that he has returned back to Dunder Mifflin. Turns out, his whole reason for going to corporate was he had driven to New York to turn in the quarterly tax forms for Angela but he didn’t want to give the wrong impression for why he did it. I mean, if there was anyone in the office willing to go above and beyond for the company, it would be Dwight. Even if he didn’t like you as a person, he would still help you out if it was for the betterment of the job. With all said and done, Dwight Schrute has officially returned to the office! Certainly a good thing given that people were having issues trying to get into his client list. He coded all his files with a different mythological creature and not everyone has an extensive list of myths and lore as some of us do. For those of you in need of tutorial, you might want to consider this book. Better yet, you can consider Dungeons and Dragons which could include the set of the three core books or even this starter set to dip your toe in before committing. But for those really interested but don’t have anyone to play with, most local game shops might have intro nights where they can help get you started. I know that the 2024 Teeb Con will have some campaigns going on if that is your interest!
But otherwise, that is what happened today at the office. We got interesting ideas on how to approach finding a job, but Dwight has formally returned to Dunder Mifflin. Besides trying to polish up your resume and how to describe yourself in an interview, I do hope everyone will take the time to remember that when life is just not working out the way they want, that really is the case for all of us. Sometimes there is something you can do, sometimes it truly is trying to get through it until things work out on their own. Please let me, and all of your fellow readers, know what you do to stay positive during these times. And as always, I look forward to seeing you again around the Breakroom.
