I just finished developing a resume for one of my clients. Interesting thing is that she is 57-year-old, has Grade 10 education from her village in Punjab, has never held a single job title ever in her life and has been uprooted from her country to Canada, where she needs to work to sustain herself financially.
We met as she was pursuing her Level 4 LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) classes from the place where I work, and being the facilitator for immigrant women, she was directed to me. Age and stress clearly showed on her face and her 'gaspy' breaths. I welcomed her to my office and asked her what she was looking for. She replied that she was looking for employment as a packager or warehouse worker. I asked my standard list of questions to see where I can help her and found that there was “nothing” that I could use to create a platform for her to find employment.
Thankfully, before I opened my mouth to tell her that I could do “nothing” to help her, the voice within me spoke with wisdom. I told her about the job-fairs that were taking place around the city and offered her to prepare a resume. Her face changed expressions from stress to a smile. I asked about things she normally does in a day. With that question, I felt I opened a Pandora-box of answers. She gave me an in-depth response of how she manages the house, cares for her family, dotes her granddaughter and takes time out for LINC classes. It was enough and more information that helped me create a simple resume for her. I gave her a couple of copies and explained to her how I had listed her skills. Her eyes shone, and she looked mildly surprised to see her skills listed in a formal resume. She told me that it was her life’s first resume. I smiled at her and told her it was one of the many she would have as she started building her experience.
As she left, a sense of grace dawned on me too. I thanked my inner voice for helping me be the bearer of hope for the lady instead of despair. I thanked the universe for bringing her in my life and blessing me with the opportunity of creating a ‘first-moment’ in her life. Another thought entered my consciousness – Everything in this world was created from “nothing”. I created something today from an apparent “nothing”. Is there really nothing or is everything that is considered nothing a potential for everything? Creation indeed is in the eye of the creator. In the words of the famous and legendary Michelangelo, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
PS: Below is her resume. Of course, her details are hidden. Can you see the potential?
