Step One Assess: Résumé

Résumé writing is an important part of the assessment process. Your résumé, like your portfolio, is essentially a list of your achievements. It requires you to review all that you've done so far. Creating and reviewing your achievements reveals your strengths. It also prepares you for interviews.

List Your Achievements

Think about your past jobs, extracurricular activities and volunteer work. Jog your memory by asking:

• What can I do better than anyone else?
  
  
• When did I take the initiative?
  
  
• Was I promoted? How often?
  
  
• Did I win awards, e.g., Employee of the Month?
  
  
• Did I get good performance reviews?
  
  
• Have I received complimentary letters from customers or coworkers?
  
  
• Have I produced anything tangible (e.g., a publication or product)?
  
  
• Did I finish a major project on time and under budget?
  
  
• Did I start some system that improved efficiency?
  
  
• Did I participate in my company's employee suggestion program?
  
  
• Have I saved the company time or money?
  
  
• Did I work with someone important, e.g., the vice president of company?
  
  
• What are the 10 greatest accomplishments of my life and what skills did I use to achieve them?
  
  
• Was I recognized for excellent attendance?
  
  
• Did I file all the forms daily so that there was no backlog?
  
  
• Did I complete tasks in less time than expected?
  

Write Your Statements

Now comes the actual writing process. Use the CAR method to arrange your sentences. Each sentence should contain these three components:

• Challenge: a problem or opportunity
  
  
• Action: what steps you took to meet the challenge
  
  
• Results: what happened (using dollars, time, percentages or amounts)

Your achievement statements should be brief and always begin with an action word, as the examples in the box below illustrate.