Helping You Shape Your Future
Toot your own horn
Highlight successes, not just duties
By Jean M. McLean
Special assignment writer
The Birmingham News - Sunday, January 18, 2009
Polite Americans have been raised not to toot their own horns.
Marlene Wallace, president of Birmingham-based Career Concepts, Inc. thinks that might be one reason why job seekers of every rank have such difficulty specifying their work contributions.
“Documentation is very important to your career,” said Wallace, whose firm aids clients with career management, development and outplacement.
But in many cases, careerists document duties instead of results.
“Job seekers tend to want to talk about what they do, not what they’ve accomplished,” said Ramona Graffeo, vice president of Birmingham Reliance Financial Group and past vice president of Executrack, a human resources consulting firm.
Wallace and Graffeo said achievers, whether entry-level workers or CEOs, are typically too busy achieving to quantify their achievements. But quantifying achievements is vital in this revolving-door economy, as employees average a job and/or industry change every four year.
“People have to learn how to do this now,” sand Wallace. “The person you proved yourself to may not be there in two or three years. Documentation is very important.”
Wallace advises her clients to keep monthly CIB journals. CIB is Circumstance-Improvement-Benefit. Graffeo calls the same process PAR, for Problem-Action-Result.
Both efforts briefly detail a significant problem, how the worker solved the problem and how the company benefited.
For example, a warehouse manager might find that communication issues are delaying shipments (Circumstance/Problem). That manager creates a more timely reporting mechanism (improvement/Action), cutting warehouse shipping delays by half (Benefit/Results).
Results should be quantified with numbers whenever possible. Perhaps a project was completed 15 days early or customer complaints dropped 20 percent. Powerful quantifiers might cite time saved, turnover reduced or sales increased.
Those preparing cover letters, resumes and interview conversations will find these journals invaluable. But journal entries are also important for those preparing for workplace assessments and goal setting.
Such records also boost an individual's sense of value, Graffeo said. An employee can energize a team by citing how much they accomplished in the last six months.
Those who have been downsized use those entries to validate their worth to an employer. Recorded, quantified achievements also serve as ready-made answers when an interviewer asks. “Tell me about a challenge you’ve overcome.”
Quantified accomplishments should be factual, brief and positive. Make sure data would back up your claims. Don't make up numbers, overstate contributions or otherwise falsify information.
Avoid using industry acronyms, said Wallace, as they mean nothing to someone outside your field. Graffeo said properly-phrased accomplishments document skills needed when transitioning into other industries.
Those who worry about sounding egotistical can cite team projects that express their ability to work with others, said Wallace. Effective words include assisted/worked with, served/led.
Make your words work
Resumes, cover letters and interviews should communicate the candidate's contribution to positive results. Marlene Wallace suggests her clients use specific actions verbs.
Maybe you didn’t spend six months “doing a new file system.” You researched documentation needs, created a streamlined method, negotiated with vendors, introduced the plan to employees and directed its implementation, coming in 25 percent under budget while reducing clerical overtime by 10 hours each month.
Action verbs include: negotiated, steam-lined, introduced, designed, developed, created, directed and implemented.
Published in The Birmingham News - Sunday, January 18, 2009
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