Resume Cheat Sheets

When you attend any of my job search classes you leave with an armful of worksheets designed to help you write your resume, interview or network. You’ll get as many free samples and tools that you’re comfortable using. Two of these tools are designed for resume writing; specifically for writing your accomplishments. Writing  your accomplishments is one of the hardest parts of resume design.  Most people don’t think of about the impact of their actions and instead, use their resumes as a listing of job activities. This is the worst thing you can do with your resume and is a good guarantee that it will end up in the trash. Resumes must be tailored to each position and need specific, measurable examples of your accomplishments. After all, an interviewer or resume reviewer wants to know, “What’s in it for us?”

The first worksheet, Measurable Accomplishments looks like this:

What did you do?	Who was Involved?	Why did you do it?	How did you do it?	What was the result?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The purpose of this form is to review you job responsibilities and as you are doing so, jot down the answers to these questions.  Your honest evaluation should help you uncover the measurable results of your actions. 

The second worksheet is a simple two-column chart.  On the left you will list the responsibilities of the open position and on the right, you would add examples of your experience that match with or align with those responsibilities.

New Position Responsibilities	Examples of Your Accomplishments That Support These

Both of these worksheets should help your identify your accomplishments and allow you to build a specific, tailored resume.  They will also help you with the interview, especially with any behavioral questions.