by Emily Kapit, M.S., MRW, ACRW, CPRW
Triple Certified Master Resume Writer & Lead Career Strategist
ReFresh Your Step, LLC–Career Advisory & Strategy
Have you ever considered your career accomplishments? Thought back on what you have done, how you have done it, and what the outcome has been? When was the last time you tracked this info, noting the ways in which you have been effective, either as a leader or key member of a team?
Taking the time to periodically note this info boils down to one word: empowerment.
EMPOWERMENT.
Knowing what you have done and the impact – regardless of age, level, sector, or even obstacles in your way – provides you with the very information you need to amplify your career or even make a change to the path you’re on. What’s more, having this key accomplishments and measureables info in your arsenal is truly connected to every part of your job search and ensures that all of these pieces together.
For example, if you note specific examples of your success in project management as well as team oversight, relationship cultivation, and cross-functional collaboration, you can then speak to all of these in all of the key career spots: your resume/cover letter, LinkedIn profile, networking conversations, interviews, and negotiations. Every piece of your job search will then be directly connected to clear examples indicating your ongoing Pattern of Excellence.
It should be noted that in regards to the resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn content, these documents are meant to work together but not include identical content.
All of that said, the career empowerment does not stop there. In fact, once you gather that key info and before you actually go about updating your professional documents and focusing on networking and applying for roles, I encourage you to step back and…reflect. Look at your list of accomplishments and measureables from throughout your career history and ask yourself the following big question:
“Of all the great work I’ve done, what do I enjoy doing and want to do more of?”
Like I said, it is a big question…and one with the potential for not just big responses but ones that can shift your entire job search and career path.
Let’s return to the aforementioned scenario where you see that you have a range of accomplishments across project management, team oversight, relationship cultivation, and cross-functional collaboration. Great – you can still craft highly impactful professional documents and lead an effective job search with this information…BUT.
But what if you take that step back and ask yourself that big question? What if the response you get back is that while you clearly have a pattern of excellence across all of these areas, what you actually enjoy doing most is the team oversight and project management work? What then? What changes?
Everything. Everything changes.
With that info, you know two key things:
1) That you have preferences for what you wish to do more of going forward.
2) That you have at least a few achievement-oriented examples connected to those preferences already in the bank.
What do you then do with that info? Simple: Reframe the main aspects of your career path around those points, keeping the additional track record of excellence as part of the narrative. Why? To further demonstrate just how amazing you are across the board.
Make sure that branding on the master versions of your resume and cover letter as well as any updates to your LinkedIn profile are aligned with the areas in which you wish to focus on more going forward; additionally, tweak your elevator pitch to reflect those areas and, when necessary, prepare for informational conversations and interviews in such a way that you can easily speak to these key achievements – in addition to other relevant wins that may pop up along the way.
Does this process take some time on the front-end? 100%
Does it also empower you to make better decisions about your career path and provide you foundation needed to actually get to a more fulfilling place? Again, 100%.
Start with identifying your accomplishments and measures, reflect on those and ask yourself what you want to do more of going forward, and then ensure those responses play a key role in how you prepare yourself for the job search ahead.
If nothing else, remember this: “Do more of what makes you happy” – what we’re laying out for you is a strategic process to get you to that place. Good luck!
Do More of What Makes You Happy—Strategically Speaking!
About the author:
Emily Kapit is TORI-nominated, Top-Ranked & 3X-Certified Master Resume Writer and was the keynote speaker at our NY Chapter event on March 7, 2018. Kapit is the owner, lead resume writer and head career strategist at ReFresh Your Step. She is a leading triple-certified resume writer, one of only 25 MRWs globally, and the world’s only MRW, ACRW, CPRW with a Masters of Science in Educational Psychology, a field that forms the backbone of her career advisory work. For more information about resume writing, visit refreshyourstep.com. You may also be interested in viewing a webinar that Emily previously spoke at: How and Where to Find Your Dream Job in 2018
