It's easy to forget important accomplishments in one's career. When I went into partnership in the Career Center on America Online, for example, they asked me for a resume, which I wrote overnight. I included CareerLab's size and revenue, publications I'd written, and major offices I'd held. Several days later, after mailing the resume, I realized I'd left off the most important aspect of my career—the 25,000 hours I'd spent as a career consultant. There was no mention of counseling. That was a real eye-opener.

In many respects, we know ourselves so well we take our greatest gifts for granted. The way to avoid this is to cross-check your accomplishments against your core competencies. If you claim "Research" as a core competency, for example, be sure to list several research-oriented achievements on your resume. Do the same for all other core competencies.

Identify Your Core Competencies

Every mid-career professional has 6-12 big areas of capability. In the past they were called skills, but today's buzzword is "competencies" or "core competencies." A recruiter of employer may ask you to name your core competencies. If so, they're asking you to identify a few of these general areas of capability. Take time to check the top 6-12 that apply to you, then prioritize them. Which is first most important to you, second most important, and so on? If you have competencies that aren't named, add them to this list.

1. Art
2. Business Management (cost reduction / revenue increase)
3. Communication
4. Community Service / Social Responsibility
5. Computer / Information Technology / Informatics
6. Conflict Resolution
7. Construction / Facilities
8. Consulting
9. Counseling / Caregiving
10. Entertainment
11. Finance
12. Human Resources Management (recruitment, training, retention)
13. Leadership / Managing / Administration
14. Legal
15. Library / Records / Knowledge Management
16. Media
17. Negotiating
18. Operations
19. Planning / Strategic Planning
20. Political Skills / Schmoozing
21. Presentations / Speeches
22. Quality Assurance / Quality Control
23. Research & Development
24. Sales and Marketing / Advertising and Public Relations
25. Science / Innovation / Patents
26. Special Skills [Pilot, etc.]
27. Teaching
28. Technology
29. Writing / Editing / Publishing

Use your list of competencies to help you remember, identify, and develop your work accomplishments. Your achievements should mirror your competencies, and vice versa. Example: if you check "Leadership" as a core competency, then your resume should show several leadership home runs. Otherwise, why is it listed?

:: Next -->  :: Go to part five  :: Go to index of articles