As you launch your job search, it is highly important that you learn to emphasize your accomplishments. After all, if you don't do it, who will? You yourself are in the best position to inform a prospective employer about your achievements. However, you might be wondering about the best method for accomplishing that feat.
Importance of your resume
Your resume should do more than just list your dates and places of employment. It should also serve as a reference for your list of accomplishments. Resist the urge to simply list your various positions. Underneath each position heading, write about your accomplishments as well as your duties. For instance, you might have been named employee of the month, or salesman of the year. These accomplishments say a great deal about your ability and your skills. In the educational section of your resume, be sure to include your academic honors, such as graduating summa cum laude. You can even include a special section indicating the awards you have received during your career. You should consider your resume to be the most authoritative record of your accomplishments to date.
The crucial cover letter
Your cover letter should also give some indication of your accomplishments. Highlight some key milestones in your career in your letter. This could help to prompt the reader to study your resume in detail. An employer may receive hundreds of cover letters requesting consideration for a particular position you can easily set yours apart by providing information about your achievements.
The all-important interview
It is also important for you to emphasize your accomplishments during your job interview. Remember, a number of interview questions could lead to a discussion of shining examples of your dedication to excellence. For instance, if you are asked about your strengths, you can indicate how some of your accomplishments demonstrate your various strengths. If you are questioned about your favorite aspects of your current job, you can mention opportunities that led to specific achievements.
Overcoming shyness
Some job applicants are reluctant to discuss their accomplishments. They fear that they might sound as if they are arrogant, or as if they are bragging. This is certainly a valid concern. You don't want to appear as if you are eager to talk about how wonderful you are. However, there is nothing wrong with telling a prospective employer what you have achieved in the past. Such achievements are actually the best evidence for predicting how you will perform on the job in the future. If necessary, you might want to practice talking about your accomplishments by recording yourself on audiotape or videotape. Pay close attention to your voice and body language. Do you tense up as you discuss your achievements? Do you look down, as if you are afraid to look the interviewer in the eye? Does your voice become soft as if you are trying not to call attention to your accomplishments? Studying an audiotape or videotape of your practice interview session could help you to perfect the art of discussing your achievements. You might be amazed at how a little bit of practice can boost your self-confidence.
Making Your Experience Count
When searching for a job, you may find that you do not have the necessary experience to meet many of the qualifications. Alternatively, you may find that no matter what your experience, employers are still not hiring you. Whatever your experience level, it is vital that you present your skills in a way that will demonstrate to the potential employer that you have what it takes to do the job. So how do you take your experience and put in on paper or talk it up so that it really counts?
Focus on Your Skills
This is especially true if you feel that you do not have much experience. You would be surprised at what you have learned in areas outside of the work place. Think about volunteer opportunities, family work, hobbies, school, and even jobs that seem to have no bearing on your current field. The skills you learned in all areas of your life are transferable to other areas. For instance, you may have been the accountant for a parenting organization or fundraiser. These accounting skills are transferable to the workplace. So, make a list of your skills. Some examples might be:
Writing
Editing
Accounting
Bookkeeping
Multi-line phone
Event planning
Marketing strategy
Sales
Customer Service
Along with this list, make a list of your personal qualities. For example, if you are good at customer service, then you are patient, dependable, and professional. After you have prepared your lists, see how you can incorporate these into your resume. If you have very little experience, try writing a functional resume rather than a chronological one. This will emphasize your skills rather than your job history. Become familiar with these attributes and emphasize them at your interview.
Demonstrate Your Abilities
Ask your potential employer for an opportunity to demonstrate your skills. If you have very little experience, ask for a working interview or an audition where you can prove to your interviewer that your skills are transferable.
Play to Your Strengths
If you have plenty of experience but it is in the wrong field or it doesn't seem to be getting the attention you think it deserves, draw out the skills you learned in each setting and emphasize those rather than the previous jobs. By creating a picture of yourself as a candidate with all the necessary skills, your experience will work for you instead of against you.
Importance of your resume
Your resume should do more than just list your dates and places of employment. It should also serve as a reference for your list of accomplishments. Resist the urge to simply list your various positions. Underneath each position heading, write about your accomplishments as well as your duties. For instance, you might have been named employee of the month, or salesman of the year. These accomplishments say a great deal about your ability and your skills. In the educational section of your resume, be sure to include your academic honors, such as graduating summa cum laude. You can even include a special section indicating the awards you have received during your career. You should consider your resume to be the most authoritative record of your accomplishments to date.
The crucial cover letter
Your cover letter should also give some indication of your accomplishments. Highlight some key milestones in your career in your letter. This could help to prompt the reader to study your resume in detail. An employer may receive hundreds of cover letters requesting consideration for a particular position you can easily set yours apart by providing information about your achievements.
The all-important interview
It is also important for you to emphasize your accomplishments during your job interview. Remember, a number of interview questions could lead to a discussion of shining examples of your dedication to excellence. For instance, if you are asked about your strengths, you can indicate how some of your accomplishments demonstrate your various strengths. If you are questioned about your favorite aspects of your current job, you can mention opportunities that led to specific achievements.
Overcoming shyness
Some job applicants are reluctant to discuss their accomplishments. They fear that they might sound as if they are arrogant, or as if they are bragging. This is certainly a valid concern. You don't want to appear as if you are eager to talk about how wonderful you are. However, there is nothing wrong with telling a prospective employer what you have achieved in the past. Such achievements are actually the best evidence for predicting how you will perform on the job in the future. If necessary, you might want to practice talking about your accomplishments by recording yourself on audiotape or videotape. Pay close attention to your voice and body language. Do you tense up as you discuss your achievements? Do you look down, as if you are afraid to look the interviewer in the eye? Does your voice become soft as if you are trying not to call attention to your accomplishments? Studying an audiotape or videotape of your practice interview session could help you to perfect the art of discussing your achievements. You might be amazed at how a little bit of practice can boost your self-confidence.
Making Your Experience Count
When searching for a job, you may find that you do not have the necessary experience to meet many of the qualifications. Alternatively, you may find that no matter what your experience, employers are still not hiring you. Whatever your experience level, it is vital that you present your skills in a way that will demonstrate to the potential employer that you have what it takes to do the job. So how do you take your experience and put in on paper or talk it up so that it really counts?
Focus on Your Skills
This is especially true if you feel that you do not have much experience. You would be surprised at what you have learned in areas outside of the work place. Think about volunteer opportunities, family work, hobbies, school, and even jobs that seem to have no bearing on your current field. The skills you learned in all areas of your life are transferable to other areas. For instance, you may have been the accountant for a parenting organization or fundraiser. These accounting skills are transferable to the workplace. So, make a list of your skills. Some examples might be:
Writing
Editing
Accounting
Bookkeeping
Multi-line phone
Event planning
Marketing strategy
Sales
Customer Service
Along with this list, make a list of your personal qualities. For example, if you are good at customer service, then you are patient, dependable, and professional. After you have prepared your lists, see how you can incorporate these into your resume. If you have very little experience, try writing a functional resume rather than a chronological one. This will emphasize your skills rather than your job history. Become familiar with these attributes and emphasize them at your interview.
Demonstrate Your Abilities
Ask your potential employer for an opportunity to demonstrate your skills. If you have very little experience, ask for a working interview or an audition where you can prove to your interviewer that your skills are transferable.
Play to Your Strengths
If you have plenty of experience but it is in the wrong field or it doesn't seem to be getting the attention you think it deserves, draw out the skills you learned in each setting and emphasize those rather than the previous jobs. By creating a picture of yourself as a candidate with all the necessary skills, your experience will work for you instead of against you.
No comments:
Post a Comment