It’s National Update Your Resume Month here in Canada. A pretty terrific month, if you ask us. Why? Because updating your resume can be such a tremendously positive experience that even if you aren’t on the market looking for a new position, we think you should still do it. And we’ve got just the thing to get you started.
Your resume is more than just a list of tasks and duties you’ve done over the years. It’s your story; it’s your opportunity to tell others just how well you do what you do and back it up with clear evidence. If you start to look at your resume as a marketing campaign you’ll start to understand why we say things like “Who is your target audience?”, “What’s your unique selling position?” and “Show us the ROI,”.
These are all questions and comments you would expect to hear about a product or service, not yourself. But when you consider that your resume is used to essentially sell your skill set to an employer, it totally fits. How do you start to get the answers you need to sell yourself? Ask yourself these three critical questions (check out this article for some great tips on integrating some regular self-recognition in your weekly routine).
What Have I Learned?
No matter how prepared you are to ‘hit the ground running’ in a role, there is always room for growth and learning. When it comes to learning, you can focus on big and small. Perhaps you learned a new software program that helps your company solve a particular problem, or perhaps you attended a week-long training program on how to better manage client relationships. Acknowledge what you have learned and be proud of it. When it comes to transferring it onto your resume, focus on what you learned and what the benefit of it was.
What Have I Accomplished?
This is a big one and it’s pretty broad. The word ‘accomplish’ has a tendency to scare people off a little bit, but stand tall and pat yourself on the back. Think of this in terms of what you have completed, what targets you have hit, what sales you have made, what problems you have solved, etc, all in context of your job. They can be big or small, but just like the learning one, shed some light on what the benefit of what you accomplished was. For example, someone who helped a financial client reach a specific investment goal resulted in that client investing 10% more with them for the following year. That sounds more impressive than just saying that you helped a client reach a goal.
What Have I Improved?
How many times have you been at work and totally frustrated by some inefficient process and you came up with a better way to do it? Guess what? That makes you pretty awesome. Think back on what you have improved in the workplace: from office morale all the way to the filing system, it all counts!
Get It All On Your Resume
Take your responses to each question and see where they fit in your resume. Showcasing these three areas – learnings, accomplishments, and improvements – are much more impressive than just listing off duties you were responsible for. On top of helping you write a stellar resume, it can help you to come up with some pretty awesome examples when it comes to updating your resume, pitching yourself for a promotion, or talking about yourself when interviewing or networking.
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Want to amp up your resume even more? Check out our Resume Revival Strategy + Design Kit. It’s been created with you in mind to help you do more than just write a resume, but to write an awesome one that demonstrated your value.
