ALWAYS INCLUDE

• Contact information, phone numbers, mailing address and email.
• Significant Career Accomplishments– written with IMPACT VERBS 5 to 7 bullet points:
  • What you did AND How it saved money, increased revenue, turned around a sales team, business unit, or company.
  • Relevant skills and Why they are a must have to succeed in the position you are a candidate for.
  • Character traits and/or work style and WHY they make you a better a candidate for the position you are applying for.
    

By answering 20 to 30 of the following questions,  we are certain that you will come up with some new ideas about your current responsibilities and skills.

• Professional Experience

  • What is your experience?
  • What skills have developed?
  • How many people did you supervise? (if relevant)
  • How large a budget did you manage?
  • To whom did you report?
  • What was the highest level in the company you reported to or communicated with directly?
  • Did you coordinate anything?
  • Serve as liaison between groups or key individuals?
  • Did you do, or participate in, strategic planning?
  • Did you set or participate in the setting or evaluation of policy?
  • Did you evaluate any individual or group performance?
  • How did you relate to the product or service?
  • Did you communicate with customers? How?
  • Were you on any proposal teams?
  • What was your function on the team?
  • Did you communicate with suppliers or subcontractors? How?
  • Did you purchase services or supplies for the office, unit, department?
  • Ever serve as a troubleshooter? In what area?
  • Did you back up someone? Who?
  • Did you do any surveys or other research or studies? Explain.
  • Prepare recommendations?
  • Design or manage any processes, systems, or projects?
  • Organize any events, conferences, meetings? How many and what type?
  • Did you administer anything?
  • Consult for anyone, inside or outside the organization?
  • Did you gain experience in any special use software?
  • What kind of writing did you do, for yourself or someone else (e-mail, correspondence, memos, reports, concept papers, plans, proposals, office newsletter, etc.)? What did you write about? Did you write anything that was delivered to a customer as a product, or part of one?
  • What experience, skills, aptitudes, or traits do you have, or think you might have, that could be of some use to some employer?
  • What skills have you developed, at least to some degree, that you have never used at work?
  • Do you have military experience (include Coast Guard and Merchant Marine)? Branch, grade, specialty? Duties? Accomplishments? Medals, citations, commendations?.
  • Have you ever published an article, report?
  • Have you ever given a talk, speech, or presentation, or provided training? Give the specifics.
  • Computer literacy and related skills: What platforms can you use? What operating systems are you familiar with? If you program, which languages do you know, and what is your level of ability or experience? What programs, or kinds of programs, have you designed? What Internet research tools are you familiar with? What programs are you familiar with?
  • What foreign languages do you speak?
  • What experience have you had as a manager?
  • Do you have any special travel experience?
    

• Achievements, Accomplishments:

• How much reduction in costs or increase in profits did you contribute to?
• What did you do?
• Did you noticeably improved the way things were before you assumed responsibility?
• Did you propose, suggest, or initiate any programs, changes, or improvements that were implemented at least partly because of your initiative? How did they improve the company’s bottom line?
• What did you do as a volunteer, beyond the regular duties of your position?
• What were you particularly good at that made a difference in how the office progressed from day to day?

• Awards, Recognition:

• Were you recognized for anything? How? By whom?
• Were you promoted ahead of schedule?
• Selected for any special responsibilities or programs?

• References:

  • Be prepared to submit 3-5 professional references