How to Write a Resume

Here is a link to the slide deck from a seminar I did at the University of Arizona for grad students transitioning to positions in industry. In particular, it addresses the process of creating a good industry-focused resume. -Jim

Tips for Picking the Right Opportunity

1. You and your team are passionate and persistent ...
2. Your team has or can learn the skills needed ...
3. Your team can collaborate and cooperate ...
4. The problem is clear ...
5. The customers are readily identified ...
6. The market is significant ...
7. You have a feasible solution ...
8. The competition is identifiable ...
9. Your solution has better and sustainable benefits ...
10. Your solution can generate a sustainable profit ...
11. Your venture is timely, important, legal ...
12. Your venture can build barriers to entry ...
13. Your concept is scalable ...
14. You'll invest less time, money, and effort in the venture than it will be worth in a couple of years ...
15. If the opportunity turns out to be less than favorable, you can exit with minor losses ...
16. Risks can be mitigated ...
17. The upside potential is significant and timely ...
18. Your team has a clear plan for success ...
19. Your team can find the resources needed ...
20. You and your team are committed to success ...
21. The opportunity has a potential for long-term success ...

Competitive Creativity Mindmap

For 20+ years, I taught in a University of Arizona entrepreneurship program.  This Innovation Impact Mindmap started on the whiteboard in my office, a graphic schematic of the course syllabus.  

A syllabus is sequential, but innovation and entrepreneurship usually is not.  They bounce around a bit, from here to there and round again. 

The whiteboard version was fairly simple, but useful.  Students and colleagues took pictures of it for reference.  So, I thought, why not elaborate it just a little bit?  

[OK, OK, so maybe a little bit more than just a little bit!]  

I've added elements that I thought would be most useful, but certainly not all apply to every new venture! The "main highway" is the mission statement, highlighted in yellow.

Think of this Mindmap as a checklist of the elements you might want to visit as you travel around on your new venture adventure! 

High resolution versions are available HERE.

--Jim

Technology Readiness Levels

Thanks to NASA and the European Commission for this succinct guide to the readiness of technology ideas and concepts for commercial application.

 

The Entrepreneur's Creed

1. Do what gives you energy ... have fun!
2. Figure out what can go right and make it happen.
3. Say "can do" rather than "cannot" or "maybe."
4. Illegitimi non carforundum: tenacity and creativity will triumph.
5. Anything is possible if you believe you can do it.
6. If you don't know it can't be done, then you'll go ahead and do it.
7. The cup is half-full, not half-empty.
8. Be dissatisfied with the way things are, and look for improvement.
9. Do things differently.
10. Don't take a risk if you don't have to ... but take a calculated risk if it's the right opportunity for you.

[Thank you, Jeffry A. Timmons and Stephan Spinelli]