Postion Accomplishments Worksheet: Free Job Search Tool

Sometimes the tools that you use to create your resume can be used for your other job search needs such as LinkedIn, interviewing, career assessment, a cover letter or networking. The Position/Responsibilities/Accomplishments Worksheet© is an example.

I created is tool as a handy device to capture a candidate’s accomplishments in both technical skills and soft skills and align them to the requirements needed in an open position. (Now that I think about it, this tool can be used for identifying a customer’s needs in relation to a sales call too). 

The idea behind this tool is to list the job requirements of the open position on the left side of the document and on the right, list your accomplishments that support or align to these. For example, if the open position requires that a candidate develop technical specifications for procurement and contractual services, you would list that requirement on the left side of the worksheet and one right-hand side, list examples of your experience doing the same thing, the money you saved, any processes you created to simplify or manage the procurement process, ensure the accuracy of the procurement process, etc.

The worksheet can help you add specific, measurable examples to your resume, cover letter or LinkedIn profile and in addition, allow you to provide strong, results-oriented examples to some of your interviewing questions.  Here is an example of the tool for your use.

 

Based upon your examples you will see your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for growth, etc. It is a rather simple worksheet but as uncomplicated as it is, it is designed to allow you to align a position to your strengths.

The Interview Thank You Note

About two weeks ago I bought my son a blazer from a local Brooks Brothers outlet as a birthday gift. It was gorgeous gray blazer at a great sale price. He loved it.

Yesterday I received a card in the mail. It was a hand-written thank you note from the sales associate at Brooks Brothers who helped me select the blazer. He thanked me for my purchase and told me that he looked forward to assisting me in the future.

It was short and sweet and it brought me a little bit a faith in human-kind in these days of on-line shopping, little communication and lack of customer service.

After all, who doesn’t like to get a real piece of mail?

So write the interview thank you note. Let the hiring manager know that you enjoyed meeting him or her and share something that you discussed in the interview. It does make a difference and if the hiring manager is stuck between offering the job to you and another candidate and YOU wrote the thank you note, chances are the odds are in your favor.

Here is a sample that you can tailor for your own thank you note.

Name

Address                                                                                                                       Date

Dear Name,

I’d like to thank you for meeting with me to this past Tuesday to speak about the Financial Analyst position with (Name of company). I hope through our conversations that you were able to learn of my commitment to the industry along with my thoughts concerning (state something that you spoke about).

*****As I mentioned in our interview, I would value the opportunity to work as part of the (company name) team.  My financial experience along with my knowledge of (list skills mentioned in position description) best practices, strategic planning, driving results and building relationships have given me a well-rounded view of many business practices.  Most importantly, I have a true respect and deep interest in finance and its enormous relevance in advancing a global business.

I especially admire the strong values and commitment displayed by (name of company).  If I can be of further assistance or if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me via email or at (area code) number.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Name

Email

****This section is tailored to the discussion points in the interview.

Job Search 101: Know Your Audience

I learned years ago that it is critical to “know your audience” for anything work or life related.  Example, as a freshman in college we all had to take the requisite English class. I loved English all through high school and enjoyed creative writing. My English professor though, didn’t like my choices of creative writing topics and as a result was marking them with C’s. 

One day I wrote about a verse in the bible; I selected Corinthians 13:4-8. It is the one that says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud…” I’ll be honest, I selected that verse because I had a crush on the guy who sat next to me. Well, wouldn’t you know that I got an A on that assignment? I wrote a spiritual piece for my next creative writing paper and received an A again. I learned at 17 years of age that an easy way to get an A was to know my audience and in this case it was my professor, who happened to be married to a minister. 

Over the years this motto has stuck with me; whether it was in designing training programs, giving presentations and now helping people write their resumes. Today I had a meeting with a client who was looking for some job search coaching. Prior to meeting with him I looked at his LinkedIn profile, read his work experience and titles and googled his company. I also went to the career pages of his company and looked up the jobs that are similar to his. Doing this better prepared me for meeting with him and preparing for our conversation.

You can use the same, “Know your Audience” tips in your job search.

Resume:

1.    Tailor your resume to the open position. Use key words and make sure that your Summary Statement reflects a need that that company may have.

2.    Align your accomplishments to the needs listed in the position. Include your measurable results.

Interview:

1.    Research the company. This includes management, products, services, locations, culture, staffing.

2.    Research the position. Come up with examples of your accomplishments that support the position requirements and be prepared to explain the steps that you used to get there.

3.    Come up with questions to ask the interviewer.

4.    Be prepared to ask for a business problem that needs to be addressed immediately. Based upon the requirements of the position, can you envision what that problem might be? Can you articulate how that problem might be addressed?

5.    Ask the manager how they might address a business problem (this may lead you to understanding their style of leading a staff).

Networking:

1.    Use social media or your professional contacts to meet people who may work for that company.

2.    Ask about the culture and style of the organization.

3.    Use this information to better plan for your interviews.

Some people wonder why they never hear from a company once they submit their resumes. Others wonder why, after interviewing, they didn’t hear back or they weren’t selected for the position. Both of these problems may be narrowed down to better preparation by knowing your audience.