Digging Deep: How to Uncover Critical Accomplishments to Make Your Resume Shine

By Wendy Enelow, CCM, MRW, JCTC, CPRW
ResumeWritingAcademy.com 2012

As professional resume writers, we all know that a great deal of a resumes effectiveness is based on accomplishments - what a job seek has done to improve operations, increase revenues, strengthen bottom-line profits, reduce operating costs, enhance business processes, upgrade technologies, and so much more.  And, we also know, one of the most difficult tasks can be identifying those accomplishments when clients cannot easily articulate them.

To help you you become even more effective in identifying your clients' achievements, I've outlined key areas of accomplishments for 13 different professions.  Use this information as a guideline when you're interviewing your clients, digging deep to uncover their accomplishments and showcase them in their resumes.

To identify your clients' achievements, begin by asking these questions:

ACCOUNTING & FINANCE:  It's all about the money!

• Improvements in revenues, profits, ROI, EBITDA, and other financial measurements
• Negotiation of contracts including dollar amounts, profits, cost savings, and more
• Partner relationships with investors, pension plan administrators, board of directors, auditors, and others

ADMINISTRATION & OFFICE MANAGEMENT:  It's all about organization and efficiency!

• Introduction of automated tools, programs, and systems to enhance efficiency
• Contributions to improved operations, cost reductions, and overall performance improvements
• VIP and executive responsibilities and relationships

CUSTOMER SERVICE:  It's all about customers, clients, patrons, and others!

• Top industry rankings for quality of customer service organization
• Contributions to sales growth
• Key account management responsibilities and results

ENGINEERING:  It's all about development and improvement!

• Project planning, management, staffng, leadership, and financial success
• Engineering/design of new products and processes and their positive financial impact on the organization
• Integration of advanced technologies to expedite engineering and expand capabilities

EXECUTIVE & GENERAL MANAGEMENT:  It's all about bottom-line performance!

• Leadership of and contributions to strategic planning and long-term business development
• Recruitment and leadership of successful management teams (and their contributions)
• Success in expanding into new markets, new geographic regions, new countries and more

HEALTH CARE:  It's all about quality!

• Positive impact on quality of care and quality of patient outcomes
• Expansion of health care services, programs, and outreach to meet patient needs
• Reduction in disease incidence and overall health improvement of targeted patient base

HUMAN RESOURCES:  It's all about the people and their impact o the organization!

• Creation of expatriate recruitment, training, employee support, and related programs
• Improvements in traditional employee benefits and reduction in premium costs
• Success in recruiting personnel and their performance within the organization

LAW:  It's all about distinction!

• Establishing legal precedents
• Managing prestigious cases and clients
• Relationships with regulatory, legislative, judicial, and other agencies/organizations

MANUFACTURING & PRODUCTION:  It's all about yield and output!

• Increase in production yield and output, worker productivity, and other performance measurements
• Seamless introduction of new products into existing manufacturing plants and favorable financial results
• Implementation of new technologies, robotics, and other automated processes, systems, and equipment

RETAIL:  It's all about product movement and sales performance!

• Distinction for merchandise design and display (including sales results)
• Departmental staffing and management responsibilities, and quantifiable results
• Increases in revenues, profits, and market share

SALES & MARKETING:  It's all about capturing clients and generating profitable revenues!

• Development of new territories and new markets
• Introduction of new products and services (and results)
• Capture of new key accounts and revenue streams

TEACHING:  It's all about innovation and student/learner excellence!

• Measurement of student/learner performance and achievement
• Development of new curricula and instructional programs
• Experience in training and developing other teaching staff

TECHNOLOGY:  It's all about technology innovation and advances!

• Development of new technologies and their organization/operational/market impact
• Success in systems migration, conversion, integration, and more
• Patent awarded and/or pending

11 Surprising Ways to Hurt Your Career

by Megan Malugani, Monster Contributing Writer

While most career advice focuses on how to succeed, we can all learn valuable lessons by dissecting career failure as well. Workplace experts offer insights into some of the top ways workers undermine their own careers and jeopardize their career development.

1. Not Taking Your Education Seriously: If you party too much in college and end up with a run of the mill 2.5 GPA, you'll be passed over for the best entry-level jobs, says New York City based executive recruiter and coach Brian Drum of Drum Associates.



2. Not Having a Plan: In the current poor job market, you may have defaulted into a career you aren't crazy about. That is OK, as long as you develop career plans to get where you want to be.



3. Lying: You'll lose professional credibility in a hurry if you lie, from exaggerating on your resume to getting caught fibbing on Facebook.



4. Sullying Your Reputation on Facebook or Twitter: Social media can harm your reputation in other ways, too. Personal posts and tweets from work -- when you are supposed to be doing your job -- can tag you as a slacker.



5. Not Respecting Professional Boundaries: Sharing TMI about your personal life with colleagues is unprofessional.



6. Gossiping, Slandering, Excessively Criticizing: If you publicly bash fellow employees, the boss, the board of directors or even your competitors, you'll be perceived as negative at best and a troublemaker at worst.



7. Carrying on an Inappropriate Relationship with Your Boss: A romantic entanglement with a boss can do real damage to your ability to collaborate with peers.



8. Not Controlling Your Alcohol Intake or Libido: Getting drunk at the office party or on a business trip damages your credibility. Ditto a romantic, ahem, "indiscretion" that your colleagues know about.



9. Job-Hopping Just for the Money: Job-hopping -- in moderation -- may not automatically disqualify you from a position. "But it gets to the point -- like if you have seven or eight jobs by the time you are 35 -- that employers are not going to want to invest in you," Drum says.



10. Losing Touch with References: You'll kick yourself later if you leave a job without collecting personal contact information from colleagues who can serve as professional references for you in the future.



11. Leaving a Job on Bad Terms: Don't become a lame duck when you've got one foot out the door, Drum says. "The employer only remembers about the last five minutes you were there," he says.

For additional information click here

Insight into Diversity Makes for Bette Job Interviews:

An Informed Process for Job Seekers

What is diversity and why should it matter? It matters because the more you know about corporate diversity, the more successful you will be in your job search process and interview experiences.

• What components must be in place for a diversity program to succeed? Find out what it takes to run a successful diversity program, in essence, all of the components that must be in place and the infrastructure need for sustainability.


• What facts can you discover about the company? Next, collect background information on the company, namely, the nature and breadth of its ties to diversity. Once you have digested what has been collected so far, develop a list of conversation starters, interesting points, and questions that might help to fill in the blanks and clarify what seems curious or motivating.


• What is the company's reputation as an employer? Move on to third-party endorsements for firsthand experiences and hearsay renderings. These sources offer insight into the company's reputation.


• What role should advisors and recruiters play in the process? Engage school placement counselors (Career Services) and/or recruiters in meaningful diversity conversations using the information you've gleaned as a starting point. Ask for their thoughts and insights, use them as a sounding boards, and have them engage you in practice runs.

For further information see the article in full in EOE Journal, Vol. 22 - Num. 91 - March 2012 by Dr. Kathryn Alexander

The Best Advice I Ever Received
Julie Hamilton, President, Global Walmart Group, The Coca-Cola Company

Julie leads the customer team that is responsible for growing and managing the relationship of The Coca-Cola Company's business portfolios and brands with Walmart, the organization's largest customer.

Named on of the "Top Women In Grocery" by M Magazine and Nielsen in 2008, she serves on the boards of the Network of Executive Women in Retail, Children's Miracle Network and SIFE.

She says, "The most important lesson was to treat people the way you would want to be treated and don't ask people to do something you wouldn't be willing to do yourself. That's been an important foundation for how I learned to build, work with and lead teams as well as my approach with customers.

"Another valuable piece of advice I had was to always keep learning and challenging yourself. That might mean picking up an extra assignment or taking on extra work. You will benefit by learning new skill sets, gaining new perspectives, and meeting new people, all of which will help you grow personally and professionally.

For detailed information see Career Connections Fall 2009

Succeeding in a competitive Job Market

Flexibility: For the ambitious job seeker facing a competitive job market, perhaps nothing is more important than flexibility. That means considering options outside of your comfort zone, but it doesn't mean your job search should be unfocused or disorganized. And don't just stop at opening your mind to different job options, be open to relocation.

Start Now: Many students don't think about their job search until senior year. The key is to not sit back and wait: TAKE ACTION NOW.

Use your career center: Your campus career center should be your first stop. Schedule an appointment with a career counselor to explore your career options. Take part in the resume writing, interviewing and other job-search-related events.

Employers say that the lack of research is obvious in interviews and that researching the company, and specific job, if possible - is perhaps the single most important thing a potential employee can do before interviewing. Candidates who fail to do so can come across to employers as disinterested and lacking initiative.

Know what employers want: Most job postings will provide a general list of requirements - the "hard" skills. Perhaps cheif among these is the work-related experience. As a rule, employers prize experience in potential employees, as it provides some evidence that you can, in fact, do the job. For most college students, work-related experience is gained through participation in an internship, volunteer activity or part-time job. (And experience doesn't have to be paid to count.)

In addition, many employers screen candidates based on GPA (generally 3.0 and above is the cut off for consideration).

Finally, employers look for "soft" skills - communication skills, leadership abilities, ability to work in a team, and the like. Employers look for well-rounded individuals. These individuals offer more than just an academic record. "They also participate in sprots or hold leadership positions in student organizations. They have the ability to listen, write, and speak effectively.

Connect with employers: In a competitive job market, it's especially important to use everything at your disposal. While you're in college, take advantage of any opportunities to interact with employers provided through your school. Once you have graduated, you'll find it is not as easy to get access to a group of employers in one location.

Some contacts may be available to you through your school: "Check with your school's alumni association." says Christopher Carlson, manager of university recruiting for Booz Allen Hamilton. "Try to identify alumni who are at companies of interest."

Be thoughtful, be informed: Conduct your job search armed with information and insight so that you don't dismiss a job out of hand or ignore potential opportunities.

Your first job is not likely to be your last, so look at how a job may help you gain experience and develop important skills, even if it's not what you expected to be doing.

For more information see: Job Choices 2010

Cultural Understanding Critical to Care

Minority applicants to medical schools are on the rise. Organizations liek the Association of Ameican Medical Colleges have launched campaigns to increase awareness of the glaring gap (see Aspiring Docs) and increase recruitment of diverse individuals to the health care industry.

An article by the American Medical News in late 2008 reported that first-year medical school enrollment for Hispanics was up by 10 percent from the previous year and that American Indian and Alaska Native enrollees increased by more than 5 percent from the previous year. Enrollemnt for African Americans had also increased, but only slightly.

Ultimately, the answers lie in elementary and high school education to prepare all students for careers in health care. Often, students from under-represented groups are not exposed to enough science and math in high school to be able to excel in those classes in college that would prepare them for advancement to medical school.

Affirmative Action Register: Summer 2009

Climbing Careers

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, wage and salary employment in the health care industry is projected to increase 22 percent through 2016; this is very significant compared to the 11 percent increase for all industries combined. The health care industry is expected to provide approximately 3 million new jobs in teh 2006 - 2016 period.

Affirmative Action Register: Summer 2009

Corporate Careers With Social Impact
Looking to mesh your passion and your paycheck?

You might be surprised by the opportunties in the business world. In the corporate sector, "careers with social impact" is an umbrella term often used to describe innovative work that aims to make positive social or environmental change on a large scale. It is also used to describe careers that measure their impact based on a triple bottom line or blended value approach.

Triple Bottom Line (TBL): is type of accounting that takes into consideratin social, economic, and environmental impacts and benefits. it is also referred to as a "People, planet, and profit" approach.

Blended Value: proposes that "all organizations...create value that consists of economic, social, and environmental value components - and that investors...simultaneously generate all three forms of value providing capital to organizations." (Jed Emerson)

Corporate Career Options:
Job seekers should keep in mind that social impact can be integrated into any job, company philosophy, or industry. Often the best opportunities to create social impact are in places wehre the history may be troubled but the potential for change is great.

Positions:
Rarely do companies hire externally for specific positions that are focused on sustainability or CSR. Often these ositions are created for or filled by a current employee who has taken the initiative to incorporate social change into their mainstream job or deparment.

Positions focus on issues such as "the development of environmental policies, decreasing the company's environmental footprint, and stakeholder engagement." (Net Impact Environmental Sustainability Career Guide).

for more information visit: www.idealist.org