The time has long gone when we can be passive in our career management. Kiss that concept goodbye. We are in an age where it is crucial to be able to sell yourself to a potential employer or executive recruiter as the number one candidate.
As you enter a job search, you must forget about your functional-based skill set as a finance, marketing or operations leader, and focus on your skills as a sales leader. Now you are selling yourself.
Selling yourself in a resume
A resume is no longer a passive document that outlines your previous roles and responsibilities. Now it is an aggressive and seductive portrayal of the assets, attributes and successes you will bring your next employer.
As a leading certified resume writer, I omit responsibilities from a resume, except for key metrics such as budgets or the number of staff under direction.
Think of yourself as a performer. Everyone delivers results; it’s a matter of describing those achievements in a compelling way. Anyone can learn to sell themselves better. Today everyone is a competitor, but I firmly believe there is a job out there for everyone.
Tracking your wins
One of the cardinal sins in career management is failing to acknowledge and document your successful endeavors as they happen. A good practice is to maintain what I call a brag book. Keep it at home (in case a pink slip arrives unexpectedly), and every time you deliver an accomplishment, draft a new STAR story.
Make note of any time you are granted additional responsibilities over and above your current role. This means you have proven to management that you have the ability to operate on a higher workload.
Not all results or accomplishments are generated individually; many are delivered in a team-based environment. In a STAR story about a team win, highlight your role within the group, particularly if you were a team lead or subject matter expert.
The next time you update your resume, feature these engaging STAR stories and omit the long, boring lists of responsibilities.
Times have changed. Have you changed your attitude to career management, and the way you sell yourself as a candidate?