About a year ago, Michael Anderson posted a case-study in using infographics in a résumé. His concept was popular, but has become increasingly relevant in light of the state of unemployment. I’ve also become a little more passionate about this after looking at dozens of résumés the last few days, all of which are largely identical, save for the name at the top.

What’s important to learn about Anderson’s approach is not that it’s colorful (or all that accurate for that matter) but that it actually goes a few steps further in measuring things that matter. Listing software isn’t as effective as showing which software you use how often. Naming projects doesn’t explain how deeply one is involved or what type of impact it had.

I’m tired of trying to interpolate the quality of a person’s work based upon their longevity at a mediocre organization. I can tell who uses the Word Résumé templates and who follows the Monster.com Résumé Tips and Tricks. While these are de facto steps for the average applicant, that is precisely what they tell me as a prospective employer: how average the applicant is.

My current call-for-résumés has produced only 1 applicant who took a step outside the norm, though perhaps out of necessity. This particular applicant only had one job in their arsenal, so chose to list interesting books they’ve read. Whether they knew it or not, the applicant gave me more insight in five lines of text than others gave in two pages of fluff.

Fortunately, the total disregard for what is being communicated in a résumé (by “communications” professionals, no less) makes it rather easy to separate the wheat from the chaff in hiring.

After another week on the road speaking, I had the chance to pitch in with the I6 on some ideas for how to take care of people like me. Below are a few of my favorites.

What I deserve:

• Stop asking me for my slides so you can copy and distribute – you are only perpetuating ‘death by powerpoint’ – ask for handouts (in fact, insist on actual handouts)
• Ask me how I’m attending to adult learning principles, yes I should know some of those…
• Give me context, it might be fun to watch me walk into ideological chopper-blades in front an audience, but trust me – It’s only a short term thrill.
• I am not a superhero – one hour (or even one day) of my wisdom will not resolve all of your internal conflicts, solve world hunger, or re-imagine your industry.  Stop asking — or pay more.
• Evaluate me – I want to get better, make sure I get feedback.

What you deserve:

• Sure, I’m a great writer, a ton of fun to speak with on the phone, or perhaps you’ve seen me on TV, double check that I can actually speak (it’s different).
• Good speakers are an investment.  If I am giving the speech for free – you might get what you pay for.  If you are paying me, I’d better deliver.
• Having me at an event should elevate both of us.  I should feel enriched for having met your group, and you should feel like I respected your audience, your mission and work.

For the whole list, visit the clever folks at The Impossible 6.

The rapid growth of social networking sites has led to an explosion in two things that are increasingly frustrating (particularly as they continue their rise in prominence):

• Consultants who call themselves social media experts
• (Ab)use of the term branding

The former can be explained by the lack of understanding the latter. That is, the more we allow branding to be the panacea for differentiating oneself, the more we see a rush to those hawking this fancy solution–social media experts.

These solutions are tantamount to hollywood diet fads. They each have an ounce of truth, but both offer an ineffective shortcut around the hard work that must be done. To lose weight, that means eating better and increasing exercise. To differentiate, nothing is as effective as excellence. If you have already accomplished that, by all means, hire a social media expert to work on your branding. Otherwise, I think resources and energy are better spent becoming something worthy of an incredible brand.

Here’s a great video of kids singing, but it’s also a fantastic illustrator for what happens when you get a bunch of people who show up, do a decent job and have a few stars among them. Jared (the soloist) is clearly a talented young singer, as are a number of kids in the group. Not all of them are going to have music careers, in fact some of them are probably better at math or kickball than they are at singing. Still, they show up, sing their parts with enthusiasm and produce a video that’s had 300,000 views in 6 days.

Sometimes I work with groups who are absolutely capable of this type of virality, but can’t achieve it because one or two or twenty people refuse to show up, do their part with enthusiasm and change the world. Those groups are often the first to suggest that if they only had some rising stars or viral ideas or more funding, THEN they’d change the world. I think it would be easier to find a guitar and ask them to sing.

On a personal note, it helps that it’s one of the best songs of all time!

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could sit down, drink a cup of coffee and change the world? Well, you can in a tiny way a few times a week.

Most people don’t donate to their favorite charities because they don’t have money set aside for that purpose. Here are two easy ways to dedicate money to changing the world.

Plan A:
Visit your local coffee shop, order up your favorite beverage and when you pay for your order, pay the same amount into a little “charity savings” envelope. Consider this buying a mocha for the masses. At the end of the week, tuck the money away where it will be safe from any alternative uses you might have for it. In a month or two, you should have enough cash to plop down a nice (tax-deductible) donation.

Plan B:
Why bother with the coffee shop at all? Everytime you make yourself a cup of caffeine at home, drop a buck or two into the “charity savings.” Sit back, think of how to change the world and watch your donations grow.

Other ideas:
Don’t drink coffee? Treat your chosen cause to:

• A beer
• A movie
• Dinner
• A car payment (whoa, that’s love)
• A concert
• A round trip ticket to South America (ok, if you consider this one, just email me and I’ll go with you)

The Most Badass Epitaph Ever

Even Wyatt Earp lied to avoid a real confrontation with Allison.

1. Slap the client in face.
2. Tell the client your hourly rate.

If the person looked more shocked, horrified, offended, hurt, saddened, or wounded by the slap in the face, then you are still pricing yourself too low.

Pay By The Hour – Anil Dash

Taxes for dummies: NEW MATH by Craig Damrauer

Under other circumstances, I’d feel geeky for loving the fact that kids are seeing this stuff now, but if Merlin Mann likes it, ’nuff said.