Keeping Your Career Facts Straight
by Janet Farley, Ed.M.
You wake up each day, dress for success and charge into to the office where you spend countless hours slaying dragons and rescuing others from themselves.
It's just another day on the job, right?
You eventually go home, eat dinner, drift off to sleep and then wake up only to do it all over again.
Truth be told, you're fairly awesome at what you do. You have honed your existing skills to a new level while adding more than a few new ones to your arsenal. You've even managed to accomplish several significant feats, earning impressive kudos along the way.
You're so busy being awesome, however, that you neglect to keep track of those amazing things you do. That, my dear working warrior, is a mistake for a couple of reasons.
Reason #1: Your Resume
That's right. Eventually you will PCS, literally or figuratively. When you do, an updated resume will be required. If you fail to keep track of your work experiences, accomplishments and skills you will have a fun time (not) trying to remember what you did.
Chances are good, that you will then minimize your marketability on your resume simply because the finer details have faded with time in your memory.
Reason #2: The Big Picture
When we lose sight of what we've accomplished professionally, we sometimes also lose sight of where we're headed professionally. Instead of charting a specific course, if that's the desired goal, we float along from job to job and hope that it all somehow makes sense in the end.
If that's how you want things to be, then go for it. It's your call. If, however, you want to purposefully reach some next level in your career, then it truly helps to keep track of where you've been and keep focused on where you want to go next.
By keeping better track of your skills, abilities, experiences and accomplishments, you eliminate any unnecessary angst associated with updating your resume or with charting your future career path.
How can you, however, keep better track of those things?
The Love Me Binder Solution
Get a basic three-ring binder. Fill it with supporting documentation such as:
- Your most recent resume and/or job application
- Certificates of training you've completed
- Career-specific certifications and/or licenses you hold
- Awards you've received
- Your most recent performance appraisals
- Copies of your academic transcripts
- Letters of reference and recommendation from others
- A detailed list of your current employee benefits and how to access them
- A copy of your federal security clearance application if applicable
- A dream sheet list of new skills you'd like to work on next or new job titles you'd like to call your own
- A chart showing your salary history
It's not high tech or pretty but it's effective. If you do PCS literally, hand-carry this binder with you or scan it contents and email the files to yourself for easier portability.
The Love Me Folder Solution
You can also keep track of new responsibilities, accomplishments and note-worthy words of praise from others from the comfort of your own work email account.
For example, when a client sends you an email thanking you for doing such a good job or when you boss sends you a new tasker, simply move and/or copy the relevant message to a folder you've created just for that collective purpose.
When the time comes to update your resume or review your career trajectory, these saved historical emails may help you generate solid ideas that capture your true genius.
These solutions may take a little effort to establish, but they require minimal upkeep once in place.
When it's time to update your resume or contemplate your next career move, you'll be glad to have easy access to all those important details.
Janet Farley is a job search and workplace issues expert who has a love me binder and can personally attest to its effectiveness. She is also the author of "The Military Spouse's Guide to Employment: Smart Job Choices for Mobile Lifestyles," (Impact Pubs, 2013) and "Quick Military Transition Guide: Seven Steps to Landing a Civilian Job," (Jist, Inc. 2013). Follow her @smartjobchoices on Twitter.
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