Present what you have to offer in terms of accomplishments. Tell your "story" in a way that will provoke interest in you and let the "reader" know what you are really like. Accomplishment statements are short, measurable, and results oriented. We each handle the situations in our work lives in different ways. What problems have you faced at work? How did you handle them? What was the effect on the organization?
Some of us are project oriented and others are process oriented. If you are project oriented, you will tend to take whatever is assigned to you, break it into "projects" in your mind, and then get those projects done. You like to solve problems, and you get bored when there are none. Your accomplishments will state the problems you faced, how you solved them, and the impact you had on the organization.
On the other hand, if you are process oriented, you like to run the day to day shop. You can be trusted to keep an existing situation running smoothly, and your accomplishments will reflect that. You like stable situations and systems that work. You will state that you ran a department of so many people for so many years.
Work on this exercise now. Write down your current or most recent position. State your title, your company name, and list your accomplishments in that position. Do not worry right now if you do not like your job title, or don't even like your job. Later on, we will change your title to make it reflect what you were actually doing, and we can emphasize or deemphasize jobs and responsibilities as you see fit. Right now, get down on paper all of your accomplishments. Then we will have something to work with.
A project oriented accomplishment could look like this:
- Designed and directed a comprehensive and cost effective advertising and sales promotion program that established the company as a major competitor in the market.
A process oriented accomplishment could look like this:
- Reviewed ongoing market performance of investor owned utility securities. Used multiple equity valuation techniques. Recommended redirection of portfolio mix to more profitable and higher quality securities.
After you have completed your accomplishment statements for your present or most recent position, examine the job before that one. State your title, your company name, and list your accomplishments.
Work on as many accomplishments as make sense to you. Some people cover in depth the past ten years. If you can, cover your entire career, because you never know what may occur to you, and you never know what may help you later. In doing this exercise, you may remember jobs you had completely forgotten about and pleasant and satisfying accomplishments. Ask yourself what it was about that job that was so satisfying. Perhaps it is another clue about what you might do in the future.
Do not wish to go back to your youth. What was challenging then will probably not satisfy you today. Look for the elements of those early jobs that satisfied you. These elements should be compared with your list of motivated skills to determine lifelong interests.
You will feel better after you have completed this exercise. You will see on paper all that you have to offer. And your accomplishments will be stated in a way that will make you proud. Discipline yourself to do this exercise now, and you will not have to do it again.
After you have listed your work experiences, list accomplishments outside work. These, too, should be short, measurable, and results oriented. These outside experiences can help you move into a new field. In fact, that's how I and many others have made career transitions. By volunteering to do advertising and public relations work at night, I developed a list of accomplishments that helped me move from computers to advertising. In those days, my outside experience went like this:
- Walnut Street Theatre Gallery
Planned, organized, and promoted month long holography exhibition. Attendance increased from less than one hundred visitors per month to over three thousand visitors during the month of this exhibition.
- YMCA
Handled all publicity for fund raising campaign. Consulted with fund raising committee on best techniques for them to use. Received plaque in recognition.
- United Way
Received four United Way awards for editorial work in 1979; two awards the prior year. Spoke at the United Way's Editor's Conference.
- Network for Women in Computer Technology Chair of the Program Committee
Later, career counseling became my volunteer work, and that eventually helped me move into the field I am now in. In the early days, my outside experience was stated like this:
- Organized and ran The Five O'clock Club
Conducted weekly groups as well as individual counseling. Trained people in career decisions, marketing techniques, and practice interviewing. Brought in outside lecturers.
I also listed the organizations for which I had done job hunting seminars, and stated my relevant work experience such as when I was a training manager.
