Dear JobsBlog: I’m involved about methods to concentrate my resume. For instance, when listing my expert expertise, should certainly I only list previous accomplishments that relate towards the position I’m applying for? Or checklist all my huge accomplishments?
- Over-Accomplished
Dear Achieved: When it comes to accomplishments, you will need to list a little of both your job-related accomplishments and your important accomplishments. And good for you for knowing that “accomplishments” are the key here, not just a listing of prior job responsibilities. I suggest starting with a general, one-size-fits-all resume that will serve as your "template." On this resume, list all the educational, expert, extracurricular, etc, accomplishments that you might want to mention if you were applying for a new position,
Microsoft Office 2007, regardless of what that job actually is. Personally, I update this master document about every 3 months to make sure I’m recording new accomplishments – and even dropping ones that just don’t measure up any longer. Once you have your master resume, you are able to use this document to craft specialized resumes for a specific position, a discipline, an industry, or a company. This might mean trimming or deleting some accomplishments that don’t relate at all or don’t help your cause. It will also probably mean re-ordering some accomplishments to put the most relevant ones first or second under prior roles. Finally, be sure to include a summary statement to the beginning of your resume where you possibly can highlight the most relevant, important, and impressive info correct up front. Head on more than to one of my former blogs to watch a screencast that Zoe (the other co-founder of JobsBlog) and I produced a couple years ago to talk about accomplishments on a resume... and the major What, How, and Why. Part 1 and Part 2. (I’m a geek; I know.) Gretchen