racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

My mom says I’m abnormal. To make things worse, she called me a psycho!

Angelo—once a psychiatric case

Angelo, at 26, is the eldest. Naturally, being the unico hijo, our world revolved around him, ever over protective, as they say, guarding him every single second, no mosquito was allowed to be within reach. At one point in time, there were 5 helpers in the house, two dedicated to him alone, and even while asleep, he should not be left alone. We didn’t realize it, but he has became boss in the household, every single word was a command. He was pampered. And through the years, he has developed these peculiarities, like, when wearing shirts, right hand first before left; when wearing shoes, right foot first before left; shorts should be with pockets; shirts with collars; shoes should be rubber shoes (leather shoes are no no – he even was ring bearer for my brother’s wedding, all in his formal clothes and tie, wearing his red Mickey Mouse pair of shoes!).

One time, he hurt his small finger. Since then, for many weeks, no one was allowed to take off the band aid. If ever it was taken out while he was sleeping, it had to be replaced. After several weeks, we were aghast, the finger has wrinkled, the nail gangling – it was an ugly sight, so ugly that he could not look at it.

At age 2, he was already playing the piano; at age 4, he was discussing physics in school, as indicated in his progress report card. And he was the most stubborn, most angry, most spoiled brat that I knew of, and I became paranoid. I asked myself – where did I go wrong? What was I lacking at?

Check it out here on her blog.

This is probably such a striking statement that it deserves the controversy that made me post about it in the first place.

Résumés or Curricula Vitae (plural of Curriculum Vitae, of course) may indeed serve as indications of potential to help job seekers to introduce themselves to prospective employers. Or for distinguished professionals, CVs may serve as records of accomplishment. However, Chris Pearson points out that there is only one thing that will matter to a smart person, and it’s not on your résumé!

Intelligent people really don’t care what’s on your resume. In fact, intelligent people don’t really give a damn about formal interviews, resumes, or anything of that sort. Sure, your portfolio matters, but even that’s secondary to the number one, be all, end all factor. It’s the one thing that matters above all else to any truly smart person with whom you’ll ever do business. What is it?

It’s you.

I agree (surprise!). In this day and age, you cannot really put your accomplishments (or potential) on paper, and expect the written word to adequately relay what it’s supposed to represent. Accomplishments are seen and felt, and usually when one gets to know another individual on a personal basis (or sometimes even in the virtual world).

But still, in many cases, it’s not the accomplishments that matter, but the potential. Usually, you’d have to meet a person face-to-face, or talk a meaningful conversation with them, and you will just know whether that person has what it takes to succeed, and whether his/her potential matches the field of expertise you expect that person to succeed in. And in most instances, you cannot just rely on your rational facilities to know, but rather your gut intuition.

In a way, this is how I work these days. I’ve done away with formalities and have instead actively sought out people whom I know have what it takes to make the grade. And I do not base it from their undergrad GPA or whether they have MBAs or PhDs in quantum physics or molecular biotechnology. I base it on who they are. (And yes, in a way this is also why I shun the intricacies of the corporate world.)

Résumés can still be a good starting point, though–perhaps just to give a cursory introduction of oneself–but not the end-all, be-all of things.

At times it’s still trial and error, but this is how I’ll learn, isn’t it?

I’m taking a short break from blogging momentarily (and yes, I’ll be offline). A blogger can have writer’s (or blogger’s?) block, too, you know. And I need to catch up on my ZZZs. You may be wondering about the title, as this post’s dated Tuesday, the 16th. Well, let’s just say it’s not the 16th in all parts of the world yet–and my days usually extend well into after midnight, and my body and mind’s clock usually gets confused with this more-than-24-hour day setting (for instance, Sunday was an all-nighter–extending well into Monday).

In the meantime, let me direct you to a few blogs/writeups I find interesting (okay, some of which I’ve written):

* On bTelevisions, I write on my kid, the TV addict.
* Yuga has thoughts on disabling right-clicking (I agree–don’t!).
* Mon talks on social engineering (don’t fall victim to scams!).
* Mikey needs a health check.
* RM talks on the sustainability of regulation.
* Kira muses on beauty and fashion.
* Corsarius is in a void.
* Here’s Ia’s interesting site on, umm, interesting Web 2.0 names.

That’s about it for now. I’m signing off. Hope to see you in a few hours (of course, by the time you read this, I’ll probably be back already).