If you think that writing your resume is the toughest thing you have to do associate with your job search, think again. After you complete this self-inventory, writing your resume will be a piece of cake. This is where the rubber meets the road. If you think that you can skip over or pay little regard to these exercises, don't even bother looking for a new position.
After nearly 15 years as an outplacement consultant and author I have arrived at one definite conclusion: people with low self-esteem or self-worth make terrible job seekers. When I meet candidates for the first time there is one thing I immediately look for: how do they feel about their value to an employer?
I don't care if they are ticked off at the employer for letting them go. (Actually, I do care, but that's beside the point I wish to make here.) If I discover the candidates do not feel good about what they have to offer lucky employers, I know the road ahead will be long and rocky.
That is precisely why I have worked so hard to develop an exhaustive series of self-inventory exercises-to show you that you do have some good "stuff" to offer an employer. In all likelihood, you have forgotten nearly all of the wonderful things you have done for past employers. You need the thoroughness of these exercises to bring all of these important personal assets and experiences back to mind. Most of us are too busy working to recall all of the things we have done in the past.
Once you begin to discover how much you're really worth, you'll actually look forward to writing your resume, creating great cover letters, and landing and having great interviews. Once you believe in yourself, it's a whole lot easier to get others to believe in you also.
Personal Attributes Inventory
Everyone knows that employers are looking for experience, skills, and accomplishments. Few job seekers stop to think how important their personal work habits or attributes are. Because most of your competition will fail to sell themselves in this area, you should make it a point to do so.
Think about it; if you were hiring someone and you had two candidates with equal experience and skills, which one would you choose? Probably the one you think would be the best to work with day in and day out, the one displaying the most positive personal attributes-enthusiasm, dependability, adaptability, initiative, and so on.
This personal attributes inventory should be completed in three steps:
- Go through the lists placing a check mark next to those attributes you feel you possess.
- Go back to the first of the words you have checked off. Ask yourself, if I were doing the hiring, which of the attributes I just checked off would impress me the most? Place a second check mark next to these.
- Move on to the attribute and validation portion of this exercise. Under the attribute column, record each of the double-checked words. Under the validation column, alongside each attribute, write a validating statement-a specific statement that proves that what you claim to be, you are.
Whatever personal attribute you claim, it is imperative that you immediately make a validating statement showing you are not just exaggerating your own merits. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, your competition will almost always neglect to sell themselves in this area. The few who do will likely fail to immediately offer a specific statement proving that what they claim is true. Here then, is a great way to gain an immediate competitive edge.
Skills, Action Words, Duties and Responsibilities
Skills, action words, duties, and responsibilities-these are the words that gain attention, denote action, and invigorate statements. The following words can propel you to the head of the job-hunting pack:
Too many job seekers use the same three or four words or phrases over and over again, "I supervised this... I supervised that... I supervised this other thing." Personal pronouns have no place in a resume. A resume is a business document, not an autobiography. Phrases such as those just cited should thus become "Supervised this... supervised that... supervised this other thing."
The repeated use of the same word, such as "supervised," can, however, quickly induce boredom. For this reason you must look for appropriate synonyms. For example: "Supervised this... directed that... managed this other thing."
There are a number of ways to assemble an inventory of all of your saleable assets. One way is to simply recall the things that you did in past positions. Another better method is to review each position men tally as to what you did in a normal day's work. First you did this, then you did that, and so on. In doing so, you should try to recall the people you worked with and for, the results of these alliances, and the things, processes, tools, and equipment with which you are familiar.
There is yet another and more thorough way to approach this all important self-inventory. That is to break your work history into three areas: People, Things, and Data,
Most of us have more experience in one of these three areas than in the other two. You should begin your inventory in the area where you have the greatest amount of experience. Then, after having thoroughly exhausted this area, turn to the next and finally to the last. Although the bulk of your experience will probably lie in one area, you undoubtedly have had some excellent experiences in the other two areas as well.
In order to maximize the results of this inventory, I have included just about every action word or duty and responsibility possible. You will soon see that the great majority of these words have little to do with your background. You will also discover the same word or words often appear under more than one category. Don't let this put you off. Keep plugging away at it until you reach the end.
Be forewarned: this is not an exercise you can do between dinner and the evening news. You should expect to spend as many as two or three hours completing it. You might even like to do it in two or three sessions in order to maintain your mental alertness. So be it. Just be certain you don't skimp, give it short shrift, or try to avoid it altogether.
Accomplishments and Achievements
Employers love accomplishments and achievements. The more you can tell them about and prove the more they will like you. If your background provided you with the opportunity to do something extra, to rise above the crowd, to perform with excellence now is the time to get it in writing.
This exercise is designed to make it as painless as possible to recall and record your on-the-job achievements. Use it as a memory activator. It is not meant to be all-inclusive. You might very well have achieved some things not included in this list. Completing this inventory will help you remember some of those things.
Directions: Check off those areas in which you have accomplishments. Then, next to each accomplishment, write a brief statement telling about it.
Take your time. Be thorough. Use more paper if necessary. How much time you devote to this inventory will directly affect how much time it will take you to win (or not win) a job you qualify for and want.
Be certain to use quantifiers (dollars, numbers, and percentages) whenever possible. If you have to guesstimate, do so, but be certain to stay on the conservative side of the ledger. If you saved $5 an hour that's $40 in an eight hour day, times five days in a week = $200 per week, times 52 weeks in a year = $10,400 per year!
Stating dollars, numbers, and percentages always acts to validate and quantify your statements. If you can figure out a way to include these, by all means do so. This is especially true if you are in a field or area within which numbers are commonly used.
