Effective Action Leads to Winning Resume

Many are the articles, books, and courses that coach you in writing an effective resume. But, what leads to having something to write about in your resume? Do not think you can get away with lies or “expanding on the truth”. That sort of thing catches up to you eventually and you will become utterly unemployable. The reputations of people who blow smoke instead of having something worthwhile to write about become so well known that no company of note will touch them. Instead of the low road, take the high road. Engage yourself in activities that enhance your value and your reputation.

What guide can you use to ensure your activities are notable? What roadmap should you follow? Think of a three-bullet outline that covers the following: what was done, how it was done, why it mattered. If the activity does not result in something that matters, in measurable terms, then choose another activity. Your resume has to show that you are effectively engaged in activities that matter to the company in terms they can appreciate. So, plan your resume by choosing and engaging in activities that matter.

Debra Wheatman (The Epoch Times, 18-24 March 2010, p B8, http://www.ResumesDoneWrite.blogspot.com) says it another way. She uses: situation, action, result. What was the problem? What did you do about it? What was the impact? Again, all has to be written in measurable terms that matter to your company. Ms. Wheatman goes on to add that action verbs are important in your presentation. You want to come across as pro-active, someone who makes good things happen, so begin your first sentence with a verb.

With either approach, do not just talk about what you were responsible for. That just says you should have been doing something. Did you actually do anything? Talk about what you accomplished and what difference it made to the company. Besides resumes, this is an excellent approach to providing input to your performance report.

There is a huge difference between bragging and not hiding your light under a bushel basket. Be sure to let people know what you are getting done. Plan your activities and their intended results ahead of time. As your career proceeds, this will yield bigger accomplishments of greater measurable impact that will feed your resume and your performance report. Your success over the years will grow accordingly.