Rory and I met in 1982 when I was providing outplacement to Schlumberger, and were close friends for 37 years until his death in 2019.

As Information Technology Manager for the $1.5B North America Oilfield Services division at Schlumberger, Rory felt restless and told me point blank: “I need to get out of here.” We put together a confidential transition plan, and he took a promotion and moved to his next employer, Keystone International. We worked together twice more as Rory moved up, finally becoming Vice President of Information Technology for Fischer Scientific, a Fortune 350 company.

He and I got to know each other famously and in fact, became brothers. He sent me the hefty Louisiana cookbook, “Hooks, Lies, and Alibis,” and it’s still a favorite. After leaving Fischer Scientific, we partnered again, and Rory became a “Global Program Director” for CapGemini in Paris, France. He was consulting on a big stage, and I cherish his photo in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Let’s talk about Rory’s resume. It breaks some rules, but don’t all good masterpieces? For one thing, it’s three pages, yet it works because nothing if frivolous. Every sentence matters. Sure, one could cut it to two pages, and we often do that, but I like it as is. For one thing it shows how to format several job titles in the same organization (Schlumberger).

Normally, I don’t use a summary paragraph. Too often they sound like a script by Jerry Seigel: “Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound—look, up there in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman!”

But in Rory’s case, he was recognized by Information Week as one of America’s top 500 information technology innovators in three consecutive years. That’s worth mentioning at the top.

His eight core competencies are shown in a table at the top of the page, and some people don’t like the table. For one thing, recruiting software might not read it. They prefer a bulleted list of competencies. So take your choice; go with your preference.

I will say this: all my candidates have been hired using Rory’s table format.

Oh, hey, one last innovation is the brand statement at the top: “Success is a team sport.” ®
Rory was a great collaborator and team player. He invented the phrase and trademarked it.
And he and I talked repeatedly about how we’re all better and stronger together.

If you have a pet phrase that characterizes your philosophy or approach to work, or even a quote you live by, you can put it where Rory reminded us: “Success is a team sport.” ®

I just redid my resume for this website and added: “Elements of My Style: I Care. I Listen. I Ask Questions.” Here are a few other innovative ideas:

Portfolio Manager & Investment Analyst
“Fundamental, bottom-up, results-driven investment analysis.”

Retail District Manager, Fortune 500
“Results First, People Always.”

U.S. Account Executive of the Year, Dell Corporation
“Inspirational Business Development Leader.”

Assets Protection, Loss Prevention, and Safety Executive, Fortune 500
“Building great teams to deliver a safe, secure, and profitable business.”

If you’re ready to have fun, let’s see the sample resume. :: Return to the index of articles.