Saturday, June 19, 2010

Ten Things I Like about Me!


I write resumes for nearly everyone, from top executives and business owners to students just starting out. Without a doubt, the biggest omission on my client's "before" resumes is accomplishments. Often, it’s a painful process trying to remember accomplishments from ten years ago, but it’s important to portray oneself as a consistent achiever. My goal is to take the pain out of resume writing, so I recommend that everyone take the following steps – whether you decide to write the resume yourself or hire someone to take care of it for you.

Every time you receive a compliment, win an award or finish a project, email yourself a note about it. Set the stage (what was going on at the time, why did they need you to do the project), write about what you did, then talk about the outcome – how much did it help and what did your boss/client have to say about it. Be as specific as possible. If you streamlined a process and now it took 25% less time, calculate how many dollars that amounted to in labor savings.

Then, include a unique code in your email, XQ$, for example, and send the note to your personal email address. When you’re ready for a resume update (or to negotiate a raise), do an email search for XQ$ and voila!

No comments: