Resume Development Worksheet

Executive Career Portfolio Development Worksheet Page 7

Worksheet for VIP Career Portfolio Development

Toll Free Phone/Fax: (800)644-9694 Phone for VIP clients only, please don’t share: (603) 397-0222

www.100kcareermarketing.com

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS:

Completion of this informational worksheet is a required part of Michelle’s VIP process

This worksheet includes questions developed to help me gather the information I need to create your personalized and distinctive résumé, and your entire executive career portfolio. Please read these instructions thoroughly and call or e-mail me if you have any questions. I can’t continue with your project until I receive your completed worksheet, so please return it as soon as possible. In all cases, I need your completed worksheet no later than the Friday evening before the week that you have reserved to work with me.

Most people are able to complete the worksheet in several hours, but I ask that you take the time you need to do a thorough job. I recognize that this is work for you, but it is critical work. Yes, I may have written a thousand résumés in your field and we may be thoroughly familiar, in a general sense, with what your responsibilities are. However, this does not mean that I know what *YOU* do. Résumés are about individuals and the **unique** value that you add to a company. Unless you tell me about your achievements, there is no way for me to know about them.

Please pay special attention to questions that ask about the challenges you have faced and your accomplishments and achievements. For additional industry/job specific achievement ideas, feel free to download the relevant questions at http://www.distinctiveweb.com/worksheets/. These are worksheets that we use with our “regular” résumé clients, and you may find them helpful. These worksheets are optional and in addition to this main worksheet.

Yes, we will have the opportunity to speak by phone to clarify unclear worksheet answers, to discuss questions that you had trouble with, and so that I can probe for deeper answers. However, through years of experience and a great deal of trial and error, I have found that I receive the best quality of information and most accurate data when clients take the time and make the effort to really reflect upon and answer the questions in the worksheet.

DO NOT just refer me back to an older résumé. If you do that, I WILL return the workshet to you and ask you to complete it more thoroughly. I wrote the questions on the worksheet to elicit more detailed information from you. In almost all cases, I am unable to collect this information from an older résumé. Save yourself some time and copy and paste from other documents if the information answers a worksheet question, but PLEASE give some honest and deep thought to the question and see if you can expand on it.

The worksheet is designed so that it can be filled out in Word or printed and completed by hand. While I do not require typing, if it is possible for you, I do appreciate it. If you choose to complete it in Word, just click in the shaded areas and type. Spell checking does not work in MS Word forms. Please don’t worry about this.

If you need additional room, feel free to attach additional sheets of paper to the worksheet as necessary.If you have them available, it will also be helpful if you attach copies of any old résumés, performance evaluations, letters of recommendations, awards, or job announcements that interest you. Again, however, please don’t just refer us to these documents in the worksheet. If the information is relevant, transfer it to the worksheet in the relevant spot.

Because there is such individual diversity, even within each field and industry, you may find that some of the questions do not refer to you. If this is the case, simply mark the section "not applicable" and move on. If you need clarification on a question, please feel free to ask me.

When you have finished the worksheet, please fax (888-289-9694),
or email () it to me.

I look forward to working with you! Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can answer any questions or help you in any way. You have also been sent my private phone number. If you wish to speak to me, please leave me a message and I will call you back, though email is often the best way to reach me directly and quickly.

Worksheet for VIP Career Portfolio Development

Toll Free Phone/Fax: (800)644-9694 Phone for VIP clients only, please don’t share: (603) 397-0222

www.100kcareermarketing.com

Personal Data

Name (as you want it to appear on résumé):
Home Phone: / Work Phone: / Fax:
Cell Phone: / E-Mail:
Note: Your email address should be a personal address, not one related to your present employer. Also, we will NOT use your office/work number on the résumé unless you tell us employers would have no other way to reach you during the day.
Address:
City: / State: / Zip:
Any special instructions regarding confidentiality when we need to reach you?
If you are currently employed, does your employer know you are job searching? Please explain any confidentiality concerns:
What is the best way to reach you if we have questions or need clarification?
Are you willing to relocate? If so, where?
Are you willing to travel? How much?

Online Identity & Personal Branding

For personal branding & online identity purposes we highly recommend you secure your name as a domain name (e.g., michelledumas.com). If you decide to do this, you may click here (or go to: http://x.co/pSpB) to take advantage of GoDaddy’s $7.99 .com domains. GoDaddy also offers very affordable email services so you can turn your new domain into an email address (e.g., ).
If you decide to do this, please tell us your new domain:
And/or your new email (we will use this on your résumé):
LinkedIn Profile URL (if you have one):
Your LinkedIn log in user name (email you used to create the account):
Your LinkedIn log in password:
Would you like your résumé to be made available as a download from your profile?
Your LinkedIn profile should include a photo of you. If you would like us to upload one for you, please email it and indicate that you have done so here:
Your blog URL (if you have one):
Your online career portfolio URL (if you have one):
Other URLs and/or social media links:
Your Twitter handle (if you have one):
Note: You should not include URLs or social media links unless you maintain a professional image on them. For example, only include a blog that focuses on professional issues (such as your industry or profession), not a blog that you maintain for a hobby or for political or religious purposes. Likewise a Twitter account which you use solely for social purposes would not be appropriate.

Career Objective

We’ll want to focus your résumé as precisely as possible. What type of position or other goal are you hoping to achieve with this résumé? What level of position? What industry? What size company? How does this differ from your current or most recent position?
Are you changing careers? If so, explain why:
What are three job titles that describe your ideal job? (If possible, attach job announcements representative of the typical position you will be applying for)
1. / 2. / 3.
What salary range do you hope to achieve?
Is the above more, less, or the same as your current salary?
In relation to your career goals, I want you to think about the ways you are the SAME as your competition in the job market and the ways in which you are DIFFERENT. Please note these in the following chart:
SAME (What are the qualifications, traits, skills, education, and experiences you offer that are EXPECTED in your industry/profession and that are the SAME as the majority of your peers and competition in the job market?) / DIFFERENT (What are the qualifications, traits, skills, education, and experiences you offer that are EXTRAORDINARY and that make you DIFFERENT—in a good way—than your peers and competition in the job market?)
What qualifications do you offer that you think it will be most important for us to emphasize?
Are there any areas of concern? Qualifications that you are lacking for your current career goals? Are there any situations or problems that we should de-emphasize?
What are your true areas of “expertise?”
What are some terms (keywords) specific to your line of work that you think might play a crucial part in your résumé? (e.g., in the Health Care Industry: Acute Care, Health Maintenance Organization, Managed Care, Inpatient Care, etc.):

Education & Training

High School: / City/State: / Dates Attended: / Did you graduate?
College Name: / City/State: / Dates Attended: / Degree Type: / Major/Minor:
College Name: / City/State: / Dates Attended: / Degree Type: / Major/Minor:
Graduate School Name: / City/State: / Dates Attended: / Degree Type: / Major/Minor: / Location / Dates Attended / GPA / Degree / Major/Minor/
Concentration
Dissertation/Thesis Title (if applicable):
Academic honors, if any:
If recent graduate, specific coursework relevant to your objective:
If recent graduate, extracurricular activities:
Certifications/Licensures:
Additional Training / Workshops (Course title, Place, Year):
Publications authored or co-authored by you:
Public presentations or speeches given by you:

Professional / Business Affiliations - Community Service Work

Professional Memberships (include offices held):
Community Service / Volunteer Work (if extensive and significantly related to your objective, please detail duties and accomplishments on a separate sheet of paper):

Professional Experience & Employment History

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ

On the following pages, when asked for a listing of accomplishments and/or achievements, refer to these questions to help probe your memory. Please use dollar figures, whole numbers, or percentages to describe the results whenever possible.
§ Did you help increase sales? If so, by what percentages or amount?
§ Did you generate new business or bring in new clients? How did that impact sales?
§ Did you develop partnerships or forge affiliations with new organizations? What happened as a result?
§ Have you led your company into expanded markets? How did that impact sales?
§ Did you solve a particularly challenging problem? How and what was the result?
§ Did you save your company money? How did you do it and how much did you save?
§ Did you design and/or institute any new system or process? What were the results?
§ Did you do something that increased efficiency? What was it and what was the impact?
§ Did you do something that increased productivity? By what percentage or amount?
§ Did you meet a deadline through extra effort? If so, what difference did this make to your company?
§ Did you bring a major project in under budget? How much and what was the impact on your company?
§ Did you suggest and/or help launch a new product or program? What was the result?
§ Have you made recommendations that have improved products? What was the result?
§ Did you introduce any new or more effective techniques for increasing productivity? What was the result?
§ Did you improve communication in your firm? If so, with whom and what was the outcome?
§ Did you increase profits? How did you do it and by how much?
§ Did you improve customer relationships? Under what circumstances and what were the results?
§ Were you involved in any negotiations? What was your role? How did this benefit the company?
§ Have you done anything to help control costs? What did you do? What was the impact?
§ Did you do something to correct inconsistencies or errors? What was the result?
§ Have you ever done anything to increase cash flow? What did you do? What was the result?
Industry and profession specific questions can be found at: http://www.distinctiveweb.com/worksheets/
Company Name (Most recent first )
City, State / Dates Employed
What is the size of this company? ($ of sales) / What are its products/services? / Is the company national, international, regional, etc?
Most recent title: / Dates of position:
IMPORTANT: If you have a record of promotion in the company, please list previous titles below, and use separate sheets of paper to answer the following questions about each position. If this is the only employer you have worked for, feel free to use the “previous employment” section to describe each position.
Previous title with same company: / Dates:
Previous title with same company: / Dates:
Previous title with same company: / Dates:
Please describe your job. Overall, what are/were you responsible for in terms of type and size of organization, number of direct and indirect reports, budgets, regions, technologies, and functions, etc.
Why were you hired, recruited, or promoted into this position? Was there a specific problem that had to be dealt with such as a marginal operation, failing sales territory, or chaotic office? Was there a particular goal that you were expected to meet? Did you meet the challenge? Exceed it? How did you do it? How long did it take?
How does your company gain new business? Who are the clients? How do clients choose one firm over another? Did/do you make contributions on the sales side of business? How much? Is this more than your predecessor? Explain