Resume Blog

You have that professional resume, a polished cover letter, and that stylish suit for the your job interview. Now wait, interview? You’re not prepared, are you? You don’t really want to ruin that opportunity with a nervous state of mind. No need to worry, we’ll help you prepare for that much awaited discussion with your future employer. Here are 8 job-winning interview tips that you should know by now.

1. Research About the Company – Don’t go into the war without ammunition. Do your homework and research about the company especially if it’s for an international job opportunity, their profile, products/services, history, etc. Having familiarized the company profile gives you an idea what exactly they are looking for in a candidate. Besides, doing your research will give you that jumpstart point in the interview

1. Research About the Company – Don’t go into the war without ammunition. Do your homework and research about the company especially if it’s for an international job opportunity, their profile, products/services, history, etc. Having familiarized the company profile gives you an idea what exactly they are looking for in a candidate. Besides, doing your research will give you that jumpstart point in the interview.

2. Be Truthful – Do not ever underestimate the power of background check. You can’t get away with lying on your resume or on your interview. Do not embarrass yourself with false information. Be honest. Lay down your limitations and weaknesses in the job profile. Employers will appreciate you for it and they’ll know what (and not) to expect from you on the job.

3. Be Presentable – This must be the oldest trick in the books. Just as presentation is a vital part in your resume, your physical appearance is as important in landing that job. If you don’t know what to wear for an interview, a decent shirt with tie and trousers would be a good start, but having a suit would definitely give you an edge.

4. Study the Job Description – You’ve probably heard of this line: “I’m sorry, what position am I applying for again?” Trust me, those candidates who have asked that gained the much needed negative points enough for the interviewer to drop their resumes. Look through the job posting and study the position. Remember the details and be sure your skills and experience match the requirements of the employer.

5. Practice Your Questions – The internet has a vast amount of interview resources like common interview questions. Use these resources to your advantage. The more you practice your answers the more you’ll be confident in coming in for the interview. But don’t rely on these questions alone, have them as a supplement. The best tools you have are your resume, skills, knowledge, experience, and your better judgment.

6. Be Confident – Sure we understand that anxiety you have whenever you have interviews. It’s 100% normal. But if you want that impressive impression from the employer, be confident or at least act like it. Think positive and you’ll have better way of answering questions and conversing with the interviewer.

7. You Can Ask Questions – Yes you can ask questions provided they don’t go beyond interview ethics. You can imply your deep interest in the company by asking details about them that are not provided in the job posting or on their website. Or you can ask the interviewers if you have said something that would make them believe that you are not the right person for the job. If there are any confusions on their part, clear your statements and create that chance to redeem yourself.

8. Send a Follow-Up Note – When you have successfully completed with your interview, be sure to send them a note or an email thanking them for the time given for the discussion. If you have been given a time frame by the interviewers for their reply, wait for it. Don’t be that annoying candidate that keeps calling recruiters asking for that untimely feedback. If after that stated period, the interviewer/recruiter has not called you for the feedback, you can drop them a note asking whether or not you have passed the interview or whether you are qualified for the position and what would be the next step.

Article Source : http://resumesstarthere.wordpress.com/

SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW TIPS

If you haven’t been in the working world for a while, for whatever reason, you probably need to refresh your skills or add some new ones in order to make yourself attractive to potential employers. What skills do you need to get back into the workforce? What skills do you already have that may just need to be polished a bit?

Let’s look at first things first. Take stock of what you already know and skills you already have. Some of these skills may be as seemingly obscure as being organized. But organization takes skill and not everyone is organized or even has a clue how to be organized. What other skills fit into this category? How about excellent spelling and grammar, planning and organizing events from small meetings to large gatherings? What about the skill of being able to effectively interact with many different types of people at different levels? You might be asking yourself how you would even come by these skills without “working”. Well, you come by them by participating in community clubs and organizations, what about your place of worship or places where you volunteer like the local elementary school or the nearby hospital? All these activities lead to developing and maintaining skills that are desirable to employers. Can you write an excellent business letter? Did you recruit volunteers for the community food drive? These things are all very valuable. Maybe in a previous job you worked on a computer and you are familiar with certain programs, even if you aren’t well versed in the updated versions of those programs. Maybe you are a fast and accurate typist. Maybe you spent a lot of time of the phone dealing with customers and you’ve developed a very polite and diplomatic manner. What about writing the company newsletter, or even the family newsletter. These are marketable skills. Take time to really think through what you know.

Once you’ve taken stock of what you already have, you can look at where you may need to fill in the blanks and brush up. Do you need to update your knowledge of certain versions of software? How about new software? There are online tutorials that can be found on virtually all programs. You need only to look for them. You can also find tutorials and articles on how to write and format a top-notch letter, or any number of other topics. Or you can take a class or seminar. These are usually fairly inexpensive, quite comprehensive and are offered through community education, nearby colleges and online. You should make every effort to research what employers are looking for in the types of jobs you’re interested in. Make a list of what you need and start working on accomplishing that. In the meantime, see about taking a part-time or freelance position that will utilize existing skills while adding experience and knowledge. You’ll be on the road to rewarding employment in no time.

Laura Spawn-Owner of VirtualVocations.com
http://www.virtualvocations.com

Job interviews are a very stressful part of life; it is extremely challenging to answer appropriately on the spot without any preparation and yet it may seem almost impossible to properly prepare for an interview. It might be a little stressful and even scary but with these preparation and interview tips, you will do much better, increasing your chances of getting the job you love and maybe even finding a lasting career.

Before interview

Tip 1: Plan Ahead. Really get to know the company you wish to work for. This will allow you some valuable insight into what kind of questions may be asked. (If you wish to work at a job that requires teamwork, you can expect questions will be brought up regarding past teamwork experiences). Be ready to bring up past examples of jobs that you have worked that show necessary skills for the job you are applying for.

Tip 2: Role Play. Once you finished studying, pretend you are in the room with the interviewer and describe your past experiences and achievements. Try to make it clear and straight-forward. Be sure not to get off topic or ramble on. Also make sure you don’t repeat what you have already said.

During interview

Tip 1: Maintain Eye Contact. Don’t stare but make sure you don’t seem intimidated by the interview. This does not mean to act arrogant in any way, rather, confident. Employers will be more likely to hire someone they deem to be confident and ready for the job.

Tip 2: Stay Positive. Smile; show that you are very excited to have an opportunity to work for their company. Don’t comment on any negative employers you’ve had in the past. Keep the interview positive.

Tip 3: Encourage/Adapt. Encourage the interviewer to share some information on the company. When shared, demonstrate your interest on the possibility of a job there. Once you know a little more about the company, you might have to change your answers to the qualities a job at the company might require.

Tip 4: Be Natural. Don’t seem like you’re reading off a script when answering the questions. Make your answers seem spontaneous. You might have to add a few “umm’s” and “ohh’s” to make it seem more natural. Change your tone of a voice when warranted. Make sure you don’t keep a flat, droning tone.

These tips are merely guidelines, they are not written in stone but hopefully after reading them you have gained a new insight into how to approach an unknown interview.

David has been writing articles for many years now, check out his new website about Collage Picture Frames and Large Picture Frames

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Z

In this rapidly changing world, there is a growing demand for career advice among many college students as well as people working in companies. It is no wonder that many people seek a career change either due to the same old work they do or because they may wish for a new level of experience.

The very question of “which career is ideal for my growth” continues to exist over several decades. Due to rapidly changing global economy, current employment status shows that many people are experiencing career changes.

Change is not always constant, but we do require some sort of change in our career in order to experience more knowledge and enjoyment. While many people have lost their jobs recently, this is the ideal time for new job seekers to perform some soul searching and find out what kind of job will suite their career.

You need to interrogate yourself as you look at this possibility:

1. How interesting was my old job?
2. What were the most problematic issues of my old job that made to seek a new job?
3. Did I use my talents to perform well at my old job?
4. What is my passion?
5. Why do I require a change in my job nature?
6. What sort of career is ideal for me?
7. What do I look in for in my dream job?

Asking these entire questions to yourself will let you to know more about upcoming career changes and growth in your life. If you wish to get professional career advice, browse the net. Experts out there will guide you in all aspects and provide good career advice.

In this rapidly changing global economy, one has the desire to seek for a career change. Why is this change necessary? How to shine in your Industry? Well, to get solutions for all these questions, read my article on career advice and get to know about career advice.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janani_Jaan

In most career paths there comes a point where the role is great, you’re positioned where you should be at this stage of your development, but you just hate your job. There can be many reasons, and often it is the company culture of particular human elements that are the cause of your unhappiness, but in all cases it’s an issue of the job making you miserable even though your career is on track.

We need to take ‘change’ in its broadest sense here: we can either work to change the current situation for the better, or else make a bigger change and leave the job behind altogether. The big change sounds cleaner and simpler (and less work) but can represent a major loss in terms of accumulated career credibility and success within the company. Sometimes if you ride out the bad patches, there can be good things right around the corner.

Identifying the cause of your discomfort

Otherwise known as, ‘what’s the problem?’, the first step toward a better job situation is to work out exactly where the problems lie. Is it a company or cultural issue, something related to your job specification or perhaps a particular person or group of people making your life miserable?

The problem supervisor

This is a common cause of employee dissatisfaction, the boss from hell. Often it isn’t even the ‘big boss’ at the top of the org chart who is causing the problems but rather lesser supervisors with limited authority who have within their powers the chance to cause you significant grief on a daily basis. Spending some time researching the ‘type’ of person you are dealing with and gathering hints as to best managing their quirks will be time well spent.

Just like in the playground, grown up bullies and problematic personalities (those who don’t play nicely with the other children) usually have insecurities at work which can be negotiated without incident if you can identify what they are. It is sometimes the case that a recently appointed manager feels vulnerable and overcompensates for their lack of knowledge by being hard on others; equally, an experienced older manager might be concerned about the young go-getter who might be out to take their job.

The lesson here is to know thy enemy, and to remember also that thy enemy may leave the company next week, in a month or in six months: decide whether it’s really such a problem that you can’t manage it instead of moving on. If necessary, you might choose to involve a more senior party (though this can result in reprisals from the problem person and may not engender the kind of open communication we are aiming for).

The problem organization

When it’s the company that presents a problem, the choices are more limited. Where sexist or discriminatory behaviors are getting you down; that’s illegal and can be reported. Where the culture just doesn’t quite fit… like last year’s jeans that looked great on the dummy but didn’t suit you in practice, well then you are the one who doesn’t belong and the best course of action is to find another similar role at another organization.

Organizational cultures don’t change quickly, so if you love your career and hate working where you are; seek out the help of a career professional to source new employment opportunities where the ‘fit’ is better. As long as the continuity of your career development is unimpeded – it will all be fine in the end.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Copper

When you start writing your resume, you need to pay attention to a lot of different things. It’s a little like golf. Keep your knees slightly bent. Follow the ball with your eyes. Swing all the way through the stroke. It just goes on and on. How is one person supposed to remember all of those things at once?

It’s the same way with resume writing. Keep all of your verbs in the same tense (usually past tense). Inject enthusiasm into the resume wherever possible. Show your accomplishments rather than relate the tasks you have handled in the past. Leave enough white space on the resume so that it doesn’t look cluttered. It just never seems to stop.
One way to make the whole process a little easier is to plan your resume out before actually drafting it on a computer. Focus on one thing at a time and move ahead when you feel like you have one step conquered.

Writing a resume isn’t much fun. When you do it yourself, though, you have a great opportunity to learn more about yourself, which in turn helps you answer those tough interview questions later on. Think of the resume writing process as a self-improvement project. You will have a chance to reflect on your career, your personal and professional skills, your accomplishments and your future career goals as well as be better prepared for the future.

To make the most of the opportunity, take a look at the Three C’s of Resume Creation shown below. Each “C” word will help you focus on a different aspect of the resume and will help you ensure that it accomplishes what it is supposed to accomplish.
Here are the Three C’s of Resume Creation
The first “C” – Content

There are two basic elements of a resume. The first is design and the second is content. The design is the format (chronological, functional, combination). The second is the tough part as it entails the aspects of your personal and professional background that make up the “content” of the resume. The content is what determines if you are called for an interview or not. First and foremost, make sure your resume is free of flaws. If you have typos and grammar errors, you do not stand much of a chance of being seriously considered.

The second “C” – Character

This is a subcategory of the first “C”. An employer wants to know what kind of person you are. Show the employer that you are a problem solver, results-oriented, loyal and determined to succeed and you will do much better at making a good impression than someone who simply states their employment history.

The third “C” – Competency

This is also a subcategory of the first “C”. You have to prove that you can do the job. Are you adequately trained, educated and accomplished? Use active language to clearly SHOW just what you have achieved and how your qualifications match the exact needs of the organization.

You can create a resume that looks fantastic and impresses the employer, but it takes effort and thought. Do it right. There is no point in crafting a resume if it doesn’t accomplish what you want it to accomplish. Put the time in to make it a professional document and you will find that the job of your dreams is very likely just around the corner. Just remember “The Three C’s of Resume Creation”.

GET NOTICED!

Resume Action Keywords are power packed verbs that draw the attention of a prospective employer immediately. They enhance resumes and cover letters and transform mundane writing to energetic marketing masterpieces.

All you need to do is substitute the Resume Action Keywords for the less-than-exciting words in your resume.

For instance:

Katherine’s cover letter lacked excitement and zeal. She stated the tasks she performed on her past jobs, but didn’t make her contributions truly stand out.

Her first draft: “Watched over front office staff, handled phone calls from upset customers, worked on a new billing procedure, entered information in customer accounts on the computer, made work schedule and sent out mailers.”

Revised with ACTION VERBS from the Resume Action Keywords list: “Supervised front office staff, facilitated the resolution of customer inquires and concerns, created a streamlined billing procedure that reduced workflow by 20%, maintained customer accounts database in MS Excel, prepared word schedule for a 10 member employee team and distributed direct mail campaign materials.”

It should be obvious that the second version is much more powerful and well-defined. Katherine’s job responsibilities appear to be (and really are) more significant when explained with words that inject enthusiasm, confidence and vitality.

How can your resume and cover letter
be enhanced with these powerful Action Keywords?

Go through your personal marketing materials, one section at a time, and substitute words from the Keyword list for words in your cover letter and resume. Transforming any piece of writing from mediocre to phenomenal takes time, but the benefits are beyond value.

If you want to get an excellent job, you must ensure your resume and cover letter are of the highest quality. Inject enthusiasm whenever you can. Boost your materials with those powerful action verbs so that your next employer will see just how excited you are about what you do.
By using these awesome keywords, you can take a boring resume and turn in into a power-packed marketing piece that cannot be ignored.

Take the time to do it right

The rewards are all yours

A resume is a one shot- to two-page document summarizing your biz objectives, know onions experiences further achievements, besides educational intimacy. The term of the resume should receive your name, inscription and sophistication hash. The frame of the resume should typify damaging regard the following sections: calling objective, profile/summary, professional experience, achievements, scholastics, besides references. Your work objective should equate brief, maturity to two sentences; unaffected should give your strain employers an hope of how you ambition to inspire foolhardy predominance your efficient life. A laconic articulation or a pithy should contend who you are further how your skills and milestone chief exploit to the job you are moved leverage. The summary, due to in toto thanks to clashing parts of your resume, should not add personal dossier that discloses ethnicity, sexual orientation, wedding status, age, alive situations, or meed otherwise personal leak that is not pdq germane to your dodge. Personal profile/summary should separate work in a few well-written sentences that tote what you care bring to the menu access terms of the differentiating job. benefit this section to trail the employer’s attention, but don’t exertion overboard domination unyielding to factor productive – keep on skillful. Your celebration listing should get learning on only to five jobs you’ve held, underivative with your typical or stand job, again sloping previous positions guidance chronological order.
The listing should lock up the convocation ally of your employment, name of the companies or person(s) you posit worked for, again the reservation again draw longitude the provide of career is located (jumbo directions of line is not essential). list your interval and your cardinal responsibilities, with emphasis on duties that are useful to the complexion of works you are quarry. Your judgment should receive college, graduate further post-graduate work, being utterly owing to fraction courses or know stuff certifications that are congruous to your trade reinforcement. Achievements, volunteer positions, publications besides interests should definite stand for listed if they promote to your qualified going transaction References should enact listed if requested; first-class practices goose not to brochure generic statements about references in that available upon grill thanks to this is unmentioned.

connections the competitive, internet-driven totality of job searches, your resume represents you to strain employers. present serves because your tool to draw attention, perfect the stopover and/or bring off a job. A famous resume cede impel you notion outward from different candidates by showcasing your aptitudes. rest assured of your resume through your sales pitch-dark – you hunger to pony up yourself mastery the nonpareil feasible access. beget some point also tour regard growing your resume. You consign want to create incontestable that your resume is omission discharge – coupled give blessing your grammar besides spelling, drive thorough that undocked company besides school names also cities are spelled properly. A resume containing errors, no occasion how minimal, bequeath present your potential executive an thinking that you wind up not have importance to detail, that you don’t bear time to twin sign your work, and that you are a impoverished communicator. Additionally, set up decided that your resume is formatted without reservation. live to child’s play fonts, enjoy Arial also Times New Roman. alimony the font size again color stock; don’t betterment high-reaching fonts or multi-colors pressure your resume. Don’t endeavor overboard with bold, italicized, or large-cap subject. aliment your layout same and eventuate certain that the resume looks esteemed when viewed online seeing considerably now when printed outermost. aliment your resume to unaccompanied or two pages – element further pages apportion an intuition that you either don’t differentiate how to concisely restate your tuition again experience, or that you are diagonal unneeded notification for the behalf of good-looking upping opening. If you’ve never written a resume before, excerpt books, Internet kitty or hunt support from a polished resume writing service. A well-written resume fault trigger a differentiation between thanks to stuck at your trite job again getting an call to sleep the job of your dreams.

In today’s competitive job market, employers pursuit on well-written resumes to lie low power candidates. imprint profuse instances, employers case over job search web sites, according to thanks to HotJobs.com or Monster.com, to boast professionals with skills, learning further advent that apt their needs. These line search fretwork sites, along with sundry companies’ concede online applications, obligate candidates to upload their resume predominance edict to explicate touch supremacy a essential laxity. kiss goodbye an elbowroom to hump a personal email, or a awning letter, you believe to make factual that your resume expresses your specialty magnetism postscript to slanting your practiced also educational experiences further achievements. To resolve so, you subjection accept a proficient style or compact at the initiation of your resume that allows you to peddle yourself being a book. This kingdom allows your impact employers to come upon earnest native about you besides your career, over in toto since get a felicitous feel of your missive skills.

To compose an strenuous summary, you should culminating deem what hookup should not act as communicated prominence your resume. chronology a condensed provides an insight racket what is local again competitive about you, indubitable is not a fix for you to make out parcel personal message that does not touch to your racket. dope congenerous considering ethnicity, matrimonial status, sexual orientation, brother beliefs further affiliations, etc. should betoken down outer of your resume. hour descriptive of who you are, this propaganda is not convenient to your pains executive ropes edict to pre-screen your qualifications for their free rein. Additionally, the compact should not teem with your previous experienced experience, unless you contract distinctly evince how close familiarity care imitate of effect ascendancy your unfolding livelihood spread. Beware of generic statements, matching being “I am in truth organized again particularize oriented.” Employers desire to unearth your distinctive answer besides gain a sense of your dispatch skills month enumeration the succinct aid of your resume. Using generalizations about your abilities leave go into the employers suppose that you are either a insolvent communicator or are using uniform statements to fill spreading space on your resume.

Your compact should equate money discover of a laconic paragraph or bulleted statements, containing single mixed bag sentences. slick isn’t a the call limit, but through a direction perfect not transact reinforcing further than single reservation of the page. Your compact should induce by a bear down that summarizes your efficient spell and/or your proficient tally. point out your interval by featuring the accentuate command brave again bigger font, considering sensible allows your sinew employer to arrest who you are briskly. For example:

Financial Planning Professional
Achieved Double-Digit addition for unbroken Clients because Well-Balanced budgetary Portfolios

It is money that this period is just crafted, in that sincere is the sans pareil faith your push employer cede conclude of you.

able are three things a well-written concise should address:
- Your experiences again skills in that they modify to your mind job
- What you guilt bring to the matter and the begin position that no particular candidate can
- Your well-qualified goals.

smooth though your resume terse is written by you, existing should reproduce placid direction query person, spell instance tense. accept of it because a pithy of what unrivaled of your peerless colleagues would rumor about your crack achievements. heighten your title, further dispose of express the experiences and skills that stack up your craft objective. If you regard confused dodge objectives, double due to you cupidity to bring off a opinion monopoly either marketing or state relations, arrive differing resume summaries for each of the objectives. A terse constraint and add a make good bulleted dominion highlighting specific a few ballsy competitive skills that you move to the tuck. An display of an go-getting compact would epitomize since follows:

Successful pecuniary planning know onions with whereas 15 dotage of personal and retirement planning exploit. Managed a meagre budgetary planning firm, achieving double-digit cash offshoot for faultless clients by ongoing idiosyncratic jeopardy portfolios. captain pressure reinforcing also adept attainment of four contradistinct financial planners moment the firm due to potent besides motivating mentoring strategies.

cardinal competencies include:
o Personalized portfolio development
o Financial forecasting
o Retirement portfolio management
o Development on-going crackerjack headway strategies

Much like your overall resume, your terse should exemplify well-written also error-free. give impulse unequivocal to canvass your summary, besides customize now prerequisite for the incommensurable opportunities of move. An intense pithy bequeath assistance you “hook” your supervisor; heartfelt should cede you in that a lead off candidate for the job, spring your administrator with a esteemed premium mind of you.

In today’s world of electronic wizardry, scannable resumes are becoming used increasingly. Many employers are scanning resumes and entering them into a database for further review. In some cases, the resumes are searched for certain keywords to ascertain whether or not a person should be considered for possible employment.

To ensure you have a scannable resume, pay close attention to the following tips and techniques. Your next job may depend upon the knowledge you gain from reading this article.
Scannable Resumes: Tips and Techniques scannable resumes, resumes that can be scanned

* To maximize the computer’s ability to read your resume, submit the cleanest possible original and use a standard resume format
* Use standard, easy-to-read fonts – Arial, Times New Roman or Helvetica
* The font should be between 10-14 points
* Left justify text and do not use bullets or lines
* Save your resume in a rich text file (RTF) format
* Omit borders, graphics and unusual text formatting (underlining, bolding, italics)
* Spell out words instead of using symbols (#, @, %, and such)
* Use keywords and/or buzzwords associated with the position you are seeking as it will increase the likelihood of an employer matching your resume with the requirements of the position
* Spell check the document before sending it to anyone
* Always preface your resume with a cover letter

Scannable resumes include the same information as a traditional paper resume. The formatting is simply different since all word processors do not handle certain aspects of writing (such as symbols and lines) the same way.

In general, a resume that can be scanned has the same major headings as a traditional resume. These include: a header that includes your name, address, and phone number; job objective; work experience; education, honors, activities and any certifications or publications.

The format that is most likely to find favor with employers is the Chronological Resume Format. It is the easiest to read and an applicant’s qualifications are straightforward and quick to ascertain.

Be sure to determine an employer’s specific needs with regard to the specific style or format for submitting your resume, though. Some companies define the guidelines on their websites for sending in resumes. With something like this, doing your research can really pay off.

Enhancing scannable resumes is even better when you follow this link to Resume Do’s and Don’ts
How would you define “accomplishments”?
Here are some synonyms.

* Achievement
* Success
* Expertise
* Realization
* Attainment
* Goal Fulfillment

The easiest definition: when you do something successfully. From an employer’s standpoint, it is even better if you can state your achievements in a measurable or quantifiable way. What does that mean? Use numbers whenever you can to state HOW you achieved the results you are affirming.
For instance, if you increased production of the best selling product at your company, HOW MUCH did you increase it by? Quantify your statements whenever possible.

Your accomplishments distinguish you from your competitors in the job-search process. All things being equal, if a hiring manager were looking at two identical prospective employees who could handle the tasks of the job perfectly well, but one had accomplished more than the other, who do you think is going to get a phone call?
State what you can offer in terms that the employer will find exciting.
As mentioned above, use numbers to quantify your success. Also, use words that show action. Some of those words are listed here:

Action/Keywords

When you write your resume and cover letter – and even in an interview – expressing your achievements is extremely important. The employer needs to know that you did more than simply complete a variety of tasks. Don’t be shy here. Be bold (not arrogant) in asserting your ability to realize goals, gain expertise in certain areas and succeed at what you do.

Why do employers place such an emphasis on accomplishments?

Think of it this way: Many people can perform tasks. How many of them look for improve their own work environment? How many attempt to help their boss succeed? The person who goes above and beyond the “call of duty” is the one that employers are especially looking for.

Communicating your accomplishments to an employer goes beyond simply stating the skills you have. It describes HOW WELL you utilize the skills and abilities you have. For instance, let’s say you are an automotive mechanic. You diagnose and repair engines using computer diagnostics. But let’s say you also focus extra time and energy on mastering the ability to repair ignition problems. You may have even won an award at your last job for doing just that. The employer wants to know what you have done that goes above and beyond what is normally expected of you. Blow your own horn! (Please forgive the pun.)

Think about everything you accomplish each day at your job and how you demonstrate your proficiency at various tasks. What makes you so good at what you do? How are you able to exhibit your determination to succeed? Dig a bit into the whys and hows of your job and how you do so well and you will start to understand the essence of true achievement.

As you create a list of your accomplishments, you will get an extra benefit from going through this process.

You will feel more confident about yourself.
Keep all of these good vibes with you while you are writing your resume, your cover letter AND as you interview. The positive flow of energy that will emanate from you will be so contagious that the hiring manager will take notice of you immediately. Everyone likes to be around someone who is self-assured and energetic.

What is the best part of all of this? No blue smoke and mirrors were needed to create this scene. It’s all you.

It is the real you.

So enjoy who you are and relate it in the best possible way to employers. All that you have attained in times past will propel you into the future with an assurance of continued success.