Reflecting on the past year can be very enlightening. While we all live such busy lives, we seldom take time to celebrate our learnings and accomplishments. Yet, it’s important to set aside 30-40 minutes each month, or at least, quarterly to jot down some notes about our accomplishments. So many times when I’m interviewing clients for the development of their resume, they’ve forgotten quantifiable details, or they’ve completely forgotten many of their accomplishments.
Following are some suggestions on what to record:
Success Stories — Your challenges, actions, results, and strategic impact on the company. Be sure to quantify your results. It’s easier to look up the numbers and details now than it will be a year or two from now.
Education & Professional Development — From college degrees to workshops and seminars, record all of the details related to any type of education or learnings.
Recognition — From awards and honors to letters of commendation and praise. Gather copies of each and store in a safe place.
Leadership Roles & Outcomes — From developing and implementing strategy to leading people, projects, organizations, and corporations. Be sure to include both your assigned and assumed leadership roles.
Contributions to the Company — From financial contributions to efficiency and productivity improvements, to the attainment of business objectives. Record all of your contributions.
Recommendations / Suggestions Implemented — Record any business models, strategies, systems or processes that you have conceived and recommended. Be sure to note if they were implemented and the results or outcomes.
Special Projects — From a special committee, task force, or working group to a cross-functional or cross-enterprise initiative. Be sure to include projects outside the normal scope of responsibilities.
Speaking Engagements / Presentations — From external presentations to hundreds of people to internal presentations to a small group. Record the who, what (topic), where and when.
Volunteer Work / Community Contributions — From volunteer work in local organizations to large-scale industry associations. Record your role and contributions.
Compensation Package — From a cost of living raise or a change in benefits, to a promotion, or performance bonus. Before you can effectively negotiate your severance or compensation package, you must be aware of the dollar value of all of your benefits and perks, as well as, your salary.
Career Management Advances — Record the steps you’ve taken to more effectively manage your career. From career development plans established with your current employer to steps you’ve taken independently.
Brand Management — Record the steps you’ve taken to manage and promote your personal brand. Personal branding has gone mainstream and it’s critical to communicate and exude a consistent authentic personal brand.
Your Most Fulfilling / Rewarding Career Moment Of The Year — Think about a time when you were at the top of your game, brimming with pride, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Note every detail you can remember about that moment — where were you, who were you with, what was happening, how did you feel, what did that mean to you, why was that important to you?
Your Dream Job — Describe your dream job. What would you be doing, what type of company would you be working at, what kind of environment would you be working in, who would you be working with, what types of challenges would you be handling, what types of contributions would you be making?
Recording these reflections will help lay the foundation to start working on your goals and plans for the upcoming year.
*This article may be republished with written permission. If you are interested in posting this article on your blog, please email me at Beverly@HarveyCareers.com. I will respond within 2 business days with my required signature and credits.