LETTER FROM THE CHAIR | Feb 2020

I recently celebrated a milestone anniversary at UCLA.  This took me back to my first month at UCLA when my MSO gave me some advice.  “Always keep your resume updated and always read the job bulletin.”  After hearing it, I thought she was crazy, burned out, and ready to retire.  What’s funny is that, over the years, more and more I realize the acuity in her advice.  Keep your resume updated?  For one, it’s good in case an opportunity arises or someone asks for a copy.  But, more importantly, reviewing your resume on a regular basis causes you to regularly think about what you’re doing, what you see as the highlights in your career, and how you brand yourself.  Always read the job bulletin?  This can be looked at as good advice but from a different prism:  to look at interesting positions and see where your skill gaps are.  This helps review what you may need to work on while considering professional growth.  Put together, the two pieces (resume and job bulletin) encourage you to think about your career and how to prepare to advance yourself.  A resume should be a living document.  And, the UCLA career sites offer a glimpse into your future.  Perhaps my MSO wasn’t as crazy as I thought.  Or, maybe now that time has helped me become her, I realize the good advice she was trying to share.

Mahalo, Mark