Career Corner: Your brag sheet
You accomplished a lot in 1998 didn't you? Well, what did you accomplish?
If someone asked you what happened last year, how would you respond? That somebody could be your supervisor, a hiring manager (if you're lucky enough to get an interview), a program manager or an important customer. If you can't answer the question off the top of your head, think about it and write down your response.
This 1998 accomplishments list can be the basis of your new federal resume, a knowledge, skills and abilities statement (KSA) required for many federal jobs, or an executive core qualifications (ECQ) statement required for the SES application process. Not only is it important to remember your accomplishments, it's important for you to be proud of your accomplishments. (If you can't answer the opening question because you didn't accomplish much, hopefully you can fix that this year.)
Your accomplishments are the "value-added service" (as they say in the private sector) you bring to your supervisor, your agency, your customers, and co-workers. What you have achieved - beyond your regular daily duties - is what can make you stand out as a star employee. A star employee is a self-starter, a problem-solver, an office expert. A star employee never fails to go the extra mile.
You may think it's hard to recall your accomplishments now that the year is over, but you need this list because you might apply for a new job or meet an important person at a meeting, conference or training class.
When someone asks you what you've accomplished, you can be ready. Without hemming and hawing, you can say, "My most important accomplishment last year was when I designed and set up a new program for my agency that increased service to my customers by more than 300 percent. We needed to revamp our way of communicating with customers, and we did it by creating a database from all of the books and brochures stored in file cabinets. Now, when a customer calls, my staff simply looks in the computer and either e-mails or faxes the information to the customer. It was a challenge, but we did it in just four weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed managing the project and everybody involved feels great."
This way you'll convey a sense of pride, satisfaction and excitement, and you'll impress the person you just met. So make your list and talk about it with enthusiasm.
If you have an accomplishment from work that makes you very proud of yourself, write me at resume@ari.net and let me know if we can publish your story.
Next week, I'll help you realize your star potential.
Kathryn Kraemer Troutman has been the president of The Resume Place, Inc. for 27 years. Kathryn helps people get promoted and change jobs. She is the pioneer designer of the new "federal resume." She wrote and published the first book on federal resume writing and is a popular resume writing workshop leader in government.
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The Resume Place is a full-service job search center specializing in writing, editing and designing custom personal marketing materials, including various resume formats: Federal (including KSAs and ECQs), Resumix, Private Industry, Career Change, Marketing, and Executive Portfolios. President Kathryn Troutman has written four books on resume writing, is an expert resume-writing trainer, and is webmaster for the popular Web site: www.resume-place.com.
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