My anti-cv

If you have read my curriculum vitae, it’s time to talk to you about the anti-curriculum.

What is that?

The anti-cv summarises the professional life of the person, without hiding the failures and situations in which fate had a decisive role (in one way or another): in short, what you would never write in an official cv, rigorously designed to represent you as a professional without spot or fear.

Why is anti-cv becoming more and more important?

Headhunters, Human Resources people and interviewers have realised that the profiles available on LinkedIn give them only a general view of the person.

They can present some drawbacks:

roles and responsibilities described generously;
successes or decisions induced by luck or chance reported as courageous personal choices;
failures are carefully hidden under the carpet.

The value of the anti-curriculum is evident; preparing your anti-curriculum will help you to become aware of yourself and be better prepared for the future, not only for the selection process.

Want an example?

I will present the significant steps of my professional life, in which luck played an important role, or I did not achieve the results I expected: you can use my curriculum vitae as a reference.

Here is my anti-curriculum.

1975

Since I come from a working-class family, I decided to study chemical engineering because I wanted to avoid the torments of the unemployment that hit my father.
Instead, I discover a new and varied discipline, suitable to accompany my curiosity and the need to tackle new and different topics ever.

1986

Several circumstances favoured my job at Reuters Italy.
The job advertisement requires personnel in Milan with substantial experience in the sale of economic and financial information: I have just a basic knowledge of the financial markets developed for personal interests and, moreover, I live in Rome.
The difficulty in finding personnel with adequate skills/knowledge and the desire of the Country Manager to place a “terrone” salesman (like him …) among excellent northern sales professionals do the rest.

1987

In Reuters Italy, I discover that I have a talent in sales.
Talent still made shining by the fact that my colleagues do not want to cover the North-East of Italy, extensive and challenging to cover but also in healthy economic growth; in the North-East the demand for economic-financial information is sustained.
In short, sales “rain” and I “just need to push” to bring home excellent results.

1995

The difficulties that the headhunting company responsible for selecting the sales director of Ansa News Agency are the occasion for a jump in my career.
After contacting many of my colleagues (everyone talks about this opportunity at the coffee machine!), they come to me: perhaps technically prepared, my management style was certainly not suitable for Ansa in those years.
The experience ends after less than three years, in a climate that I would hardly define relaxed.

2001

After Zivago.com (the e-commerce site I managed) close down, I started looking for a job.
In July I have several and exciting possibilities; in September the attack on the New York twin towers takes thousands of lives away: and my opportunities too.
I begin to work as a consultant waiting for better times; a colleague invites me to write a paper oo Intellectual Capital (a topic unknown to me at the time): this topic will shortly become the guiding star of my second professional life (this is the book I wrote on the subject ).

2002

I decide not to accept an undoubtedly dangerous proposal as the managing director of a start-up and to choose to work as a business consultant.

2004

I consider myself poorly prepared to manage an audience and resist the requests to work as a trainer and bring my experience into the classroom; in the end, I am forced to accept, and the result is, for me surprisingly, outstanding.

2008

My friend Federico Silvestri insists that I publish my experiences in a blog: soon I end up giving in.

I think it’s all relevant that can report on my anti-curriculum, which complements my official cv.

Want to try writing your anti-cv now?