Create a ‘Rolodex of accomplishments’

When you’re writing your resume, you’ll want to highlight your most relevant accomplishments to the role you’re applying for. These will help prove to the employer that you have what it takes to succeed on the job.

Depending on your role, these can include “managing budgets, effectively managing a team, beating quarterly goals, scaling something from zero to one, growing revenue for a company if you’re in sales” and so on, says Stefanie Fackrell, a HR consultant who’s worked in recruiting at companies like Google and Nvidia.

How do you know which highlights to include? Read the job description to get a sense of its daily to-dos. Then, “you need to think through your Rolodex of accomplishments” and pick out the most relevant ones, says Fackrell.

To do that, you’ll want to build and regularly refresh that Rolodex. Here’s how.

Fackrell recommends keeping “a running list of accomplishments” so you never forget how you’ve been able to contribute to your teams. She suggests having one of two documents handy at all times: either a continuous list that you can add or refer to at any time or an ongoing resume in which you add bullets under the job title.

“If it’s better for your brain and visually to do it in the resume format, do it that way so you can pick and pull as you need,” Fackrell says. “If you just want to have a list of accomplishments and then create your resume from that, I think that’s great.”

The point is to use your job’s metrics for success to keep an updated list of proof points that you can meet and even exceed your goals.

Another critical component of this document is to update it regularly — not just when you’re applying to a new job.

“Write down your accomplishments as they happen so that you have that list” and you never forget what you’ve done, she says. This will make it easier to “add the meaty bits” as you’re building out your resume for each role you apply to.

She adds that, “especially in this economy, you never know when you’re going to find yourself needing to look for a job.” Having an updated, impressive resume is critical.

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