Steve Jobs walked so that my team could lie down

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Hi! I’m Peter, CEO of Kickresume, and these career-related stories caught my attention this month — and might catch yours too.

I get angry sometimes. Not in a punch-a-hole-in-the-wall type of way, but in a vent-like-a-normal-person-and-move-on kind of way. Sue me. (Please don't).

The other day at work, I was frustrated and needed to blow off some steam. So, I wandered over to my colleagues to, well, vent a bit.

Midway through my rant, Klara (our Content Manager) picked up her knitting and started working on a scarf like it was the most normal thing in the world.

For a second, I wasn’t sure what was happening. Should I keep talking? Should I just stop? Or should I take it personally? Was this some kind of power move, or am I just that boring? Honestly, it was kind of hilarious.

But instead of getting more annoyed, something strange happened.

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It's all fun and games until someone loses a drumstick

As I kept talking, I realized I'm getting more and more focused on the movement of the sticks (not sure this is the right terminology), and somehow, my frustration just... eased up?

I asked if I could watch how she does it, and we ended up chatting about knitting. Turns out, it’s her thing—it helps her think when she’s stuck on something at work. 

And now that I think about it, a lot of people in the office seem to have their own version of this. 

Dag’s always tossing around this pink rubber ball. And when he’s not, he’s finger-drumming on his desk. 

The developers sometimes sneak in a quick Diablo session. 

And Paulina will, sometimes, simply lay on the floor. Which I still find weird, but hey, each to their own.  

And yet, these people deliver on their tasks, hit their deadlines, and generally crush it.

So, maybe these habits that seem like distractions to me are actually quite the opposite… tractions?

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Ha! That ad above reminded me that even Christian Bale in "The Big Short" played drums like a madman in his office, and he did pretty good for himself.

But let’s see some actual facts.

Turns out, fidgeting—like Dag’s ball bouncing, finger-drumming, or Klara’s knitting—might be doing more than I thought.

In one study, researchers found that people who fidgeted more during lectures were better at paying attention and retaining information. 

Other research suggests that fidgeting could provide physiological stimulation to bring our attention and energy to a level that allows our minds to better focus on the task at hand.

And, fidgeting has even been proven to be particularly beneficial for people with ADHD! 

Okay, but what about playing Diablo or Paulina laying on the floor? Well, turns out all of them have been onto something, too. 

A review study published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology found that taking breaks within work hours not only does not detract from performance, but can help boost it.

Plus, taking breaks at work even leads to improved creativity.

And as it turns out, I’ve been kinda late to the party on this one. 

Steve Jobs loved taking walking breaks to stimulate his innovative thinking. He even held walking meetings at Apple!

I’ve known more than a few CEOs who said that their office is filled with footballs, golf balls, softballs, chess boards, and Legos. For instance, this one CEO, Dan Hogan, says, “Whenever I’m stuck on an idea, I build a Lego house to give my brain a breather.”

I might need to lie down on the floor to figure this out.

In my last newsletter I joked about finding eight of my employees debating a Kanye West lyric for an hour and thinking it was a waste of time.

One of the readers responded that it’s not possible for people to work 8 hours straight, and that I should cut them some slack.

And while I wasn’t being dead serious about the waste of time, as it turns out, the reader was right about something.

Work is more than just the “work” that you perform. If doing non-work related things helps you be more creative or come up with solutions down the road, more power to you. And even if not, it’s okay to take breaks.

And as for myself, I'm not sure what microhobby I'm gonna pick up. Maybe I’ll play Gran Turismo in between meetings? Or maybe I’ll buy a fidget toy fit for CEOs (yes, it actually exists). 

I might need to toss around a tennis ball for a while to help me decide.

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Random piece of career advice

How to make a resume ATS friendly? 

Each software has unique features and properties, but they all follow the same basic principles.

Here’s how to make your resume more ATS friendly in 7 steps:

1. Identify relevant keywords. To find out which keywords to use, go over the job posting and highlight those that keep repeating.  

2. Keep your resume formatting ATS friendly. Avoid using these graphic elements: photos, unusual fonts, alternative section titles, graphs, two-column structures.

3. Don't place your personal information in the resume header. The ATS may not be able to read information embedded in the header.

4. Include the title of the position you're applying for in your resume summary.
   This will make the parsing process easier for the Applicant Tracking System.

5. Incorporate keywords into your work experience section. When writing down your work experience entries, make sure to use keywords in the exact form they appear in the job posting. 

6. Expand your keyword count in the skills section. Don't use infographics to mark down the level of proficiency of your skills, instead, use words to describe your proficiency. 

7. Save your resume in the right format. Nearly all ATS programmes can read non-image PDF and .doc files. Always follow the instructions in your job posting though!

You can find more about keyword optimization (including how to find keywords and where to place them) along with some ATS friendly templates to get you started on our blog.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end. 

Since no great scroller should go unrewarded, here’s a 20% discount code for Kickresume Premium. 

Catch you later!

Peter