Don't be afraid to take credit for what you've done, especially in the early stages of this project. Most of us undersell ourselves. We tend to claim too little for ourselves—not too much. Job-hunters hesitate to take credit for an entire project, especially when they managed the project or had others help. Don't worry about that. If you write "Saved $20MM by installing new computer hardware and software system," the reader will assume you had help with the project and didn't do it alone. So don't be shy. Speak up!

Whenever possible, try to show how what you did contributed to company profit. This shows that you were thinking about the bottom line—and sometimes that's more important than what you actually achieved.

However, not everyone saves the company $3 million per year or improves productivity by 182%. Some people really do "just do their jobs." Still, you can find accomplishments that "sound impressive," and for the purposes of this exercise, that's what counts. So look for things that sound difficult to do, even if they weren't hard for you.

In a seminar at US Steel in Provo, Utah a secretary said, "I've never accomplished anything." I asked, "How long have you worked here?"