Most people don’t think about it while they’re busy working. They’re too busy making a living to write down what they were doing, and who they knew while they were doing it. My suggestion is that you take some time to jot down the major career highlights in your life.
What to Chronicle in your career:
- List the volunteer positions and the organizations you’ve donated your time at (date range)
- List the employers you’ve worked for (date range)
- List the positions you’ve held at those employers (date range)
- List the contacts you’ve had and where they worked over the years
- List groups within the company that you’ve worked for (date range)
- List the major accomplishments you’ve achieved while serving at these different positions
The bad news. You may have forgotten some of your major accomplishments because you’ve done so much. In some ways, this might hurt you because you might miss an important aspect of your career that you should have recorded.
The good news. As you start chronicling all the things you’ve done, the contacts you’ve had and the positions you’ve held, you might remember those important accomplishments you’ve achieved over the years. If you have developed your network of colleagues over the years, you might be able to look over their resumes. Perhaps, they worked on the same projects you did or they were in the same group at the company you worked for.
The best news. This doesn’t have to be a chore. You can record the timeline information on LinkedIn. You can do the research of colleagues on LinkedIn too. As you change positions between companies or even positions within companies, make sure you take the time to record your career changes and highlights. If you develop the habit of doing this, then when you need to recall the information, it has already been recorded for you.
Hint: Maintain a life Career resume. This isn’t one that you would show other people. It’s one that you use as a resource for building your current resume with.
Have you chronicled your career? What’s the easiest and hardest things to remember?
