When a top manager or an employee who has achieved some success writes his resume, he probably focuses on the experience of «successful professionals» in his field. A sales manager looks at his sales director’s resume, a sales director looks at his CEO’s resume, and a CEO looks at Jack Welch’s resume for inspiration.
We decided to take the bar higher. And so we publish a resume of one of the most successful professionals and great people in world history — Leonardo da Vinci. Yes, yes, Leonardo also wrote a resume, and was even looking for a job.
In 1480, the 30-year-old Florentine master wrote a letter to the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Moro (Moor) from the Sforza dynasty. Since there was no Internet recruitment or standard methods for finding a job then, this “resume” was also a “letter to the employer.” We publish it in full, and also try, like modern recruiters, to “analyze and learn from” a great man’s resume.
Summary
The most venerable sir, having seen enough of the creations of the hands of those insufferable upstarts who imagine themselves to be true masters and inventors of weapons of war, and finally convinced that the device and use of these tools does not differ in any respect from those that are universally used on the battlefields, I took the liberty, without the slightest prejudice to third parties, to offer Your Highness my services in order to acquaint you with my secrets; after which I could, at any moment convenient for you, completely put myself at your gracious disposal and demonstrate to you all those devices that I briefly list here.
1. I have ready-made drawings of bridges, very light and strong, moreover, their construction will not require much effort.
2. In the event of a siege of a town, I know exactly how to pump water out of the fortress ditches and how to build countless assault ladders and other useful tools.
3. If, however, because of the height of the ramparts and the fortification of the city, or because of its especially advantageous location, it has not been possible to crush it with a throwing of cannonballs, I know the right methods for destroying any citadel or fortress, even if it stands on a rock.
4. I have drawings for the manufacture of an artillery gun, very convenient and easy to transport, with the help of which you can throw a hail of small stones at the enemy.
5. In case of a naval battle, I have plans for the construction of all kinds of ingenious devices that are best suited for both attack and defense, as well as ships that are able to withstand the fire of the most powerful guns, because they are not afraid of either gunpowder or smoke.
6. In addition, I know how to go with the army to any place where Your Highness would like to go, making his way through caves and intricately winding underground passages, which are dug in such a way that no one will hear the slightest noise, even if it was necessary to do so. to dig under the river.
7. In addition, I know how to make wagons covered with iron, safe, reliable and impregnable; equipped with cannons, they crash into the serried ranks of the enemy with a whirlwind, and no army, no matter how well armed, could resist them. And the infantry coming behind them will be able to move forward without the slightest damage to themselves, without encountering any resistance on their way.
8. And also, if the need arises, I can make cannons, mortars and light artillery pieces, of a very handsome and refined appearance, and besides — very easy to handle and quite different from those that are used everywhere.
9. Where it is impossible to use artillery, I can supply the troops with ballistas, catapults, ladders, and other wonderfully effective devices that none of our enemies have. In short, whatever the circumstances, I can put at your disposal any number of all kinds of offensive and defensive weapons.
10. In peacetime, I, it seems to me, is no worse than anyone else able to fully satisfy any of your requests in terms of architecture and construction of buildings — both for public and private needs, and in the construction of water pipes from one place to another .
11. In addition, I can sculpt marble, bronze and clay sculptures; I am also subject to painting, in which my works are able to withstand comparison with the creations of any other master, whoever he may be.
12. Moreover, I am ready to take up the work of casting a bronze horse, which should perpetuate the blessed memory of your august father and sing in the offspring the imperishable glory of the great Sforza family.
And if any of the aforementioned things seem impracticable or impossible to anyone, I suggest that you test me in your hunting grounds or in any other place that will please Your Highness, to whom I henceforth with all possible humility offer my humble services.
Now let’s try to figure it out. How is Leonardo’s resume different from ours? Well, of course, except for his now known genius. The first thing that catches your eye is that the resume says nothing about the past achievements of the Florentine «station wagon». Leonardo probably assumed that if the duke was interested, then he could find out from knowledgeable people what his reputation was, or, if he wanted, he could test him in business — in «your highness’s hunting grounds.»
Perhaps someone will say that at that age, Leonardo did not yet have any special achievements. Not true. By that time, he had already painted the chapel of St. Bernard in the Senoria’s palace in Florence. And from the descriptions of guns and bombs made by him, he could make a «footcloth» no less long than today’s summaries. But instead, Leonardo writes only about what the duke himself needs. Light bridges, fortress walls, cannons and mortars — all this must have been constantly spinning in the head of the son of the condottiere (mercenary warrior) Ludovico Sforza, who fought almost all his life and died in French captivity. That’s really who was not up to reading long «talk» about personal qualities and someone’s resistance to stress! «Throwing the enemy with a hail of small stones» — that’s what he needed. “Wagons covered with iron and equipped with cannons” (the prototype of tanks) — this is what probably shocked him to the core.
The only conclusion from this: before writing a resume, it is worth considering how you can participate in the “projects” of your potential employer? And write about what he needs, about what this employer must be thinking about at night, tossing and turning in his restless ducal bed. And certainly not about what you did when you graduated with honors from high school.
Yes, by the way, Leonardo’s resume fulfilled its role — the duke accepted him into the staff. Ludovico Sforza went down in history as the patron of the great master, and we remember him as the same duke who had the honor of being the «employer» of Leonardo da Vinci.