Chapter 2

Job Descriptions & Accomplishments

In this chapter you will learn how to capture, on paper or by word processor, skills you may have never considered or knew you had.

This is easily the most important part of the résumé writing process. As you work through the tasks in this chapter don't be concerned about spelling or editing. You will learn to edit these in a very specific manner in the next chapter.

If you make the mistake of trying to edit everything as you go along, you will stifle your brainstorming ability and your memory. Just jot it down and move on.

Doing the exercises in this manner will boost your memory power and improve your recollection.

Job Descriptions

Now that you have listed your jobs and positions, write a description for each one. Describe what your responsibilities were, especially highlighting the responsibilities that are most valuable to your potential employer. Don't list tasks. Give descriptions that describe your skills. Remember you will edit this later for size, exact wording and content.

Here's an example of Joe E. Jobseeker. Again, we'll be using him as the model throughout these exercises.

Jim-Bob Big Corporation, Great Town, IM (1990-Present)

Systems Administrator/System Support (Sept 97 - present)
Provide system administration and hardware support for 60+ systems in the disk drive test process while maintaining technical expertise on the product line. Provide technical support to the process/product in respect to technician and operator training, development of tools and fixtures, and/or the application and maintenance of associated software. Develops, executes, monitors and analyzes standard and non-standard operations, tests or experiments (chemical, electronic, mechanical), frequently working from general objectives.

Work Group Facilitator/Electronics Technician (3/96 - 9/97)
Provide facilitation and team based TQC and SPC instruction to the Customer Returns organization while maintaining technical expertise on the product line. Lead manufacturing teams as they implement functional strategies and business fundamentals developed by management team. Knowledgeable in those areas required to achieve business fundamentals i.e. capacity planning, customer requirements, "real-time" team building (facilitation skills, conflict management, decision making processes, etc.) and continuous improvement processes.

Electronics Technician, Hard Disk Division (4/95 - 3/96)
Provide Failure Analysis support for the disk drive production line as well as Process and Test Engineers responsible for the quality of the disk drive. Control and improve test yields. Provide complete and accurate documentation of assigned processes. Troubleshoot disk drive assemblies that fail in the test process. Adhere to all safety, ESD, cleanroom, and ISO guidelines.

Technical Supervisor, Hard Disk Division (3/92 - 4/95)
Manage technical and non-technical departments, supervising all employees and fostering a safe, productive work environment, emphasizing teamwork as a tool to efficiently test, troubleshoot and repair failed units. Recruit and train technicians for existing and future products. Evaluate performance and administer wages for all assigned employees.

Electronics Technician, Hard Disk Division (9/90 - 3/92)
Provide Failure Analysis support for the disk drive production line as well as Process and Test Engineers responsible for the quality of the disk drive. Control and improve test yields. Provide complete and accurate documentation of assigned processes. Troubleshoot disk drive assemblies that fail in the test process. Adhere to all safety, ESD, cleanroom, and ISO guidelines.

Medical Rental Company (1988-1990)
Evaluate performance and administer wages for all assigned employees. Research and negotiate maintenance contracts with area hospitals. Set pricing and purchase inventory for related sales. Provide and foster good customer relations with client on non-client base. Manage rental inventory and train users on all equipment. , Great Town, IM (1986-1990)

Technical Supervisor - Biomedical Dept., Great Town branch

Biomedical Electronics Technician, Small Town branch (1986-1988)
Complete inspection, maintenance, calibration and board level repair of 1000+ pieces of equipment, representing over 100 manufacturers, located throughout five western states. Inventory control of equipment and parts as well as tracking and scheduling of equipment inspections. Packed and shipped equipment and disposable goods. Contract negotiations, sales, and customer service which included in-servicing and phone consulting on all equipment.

Capture your own job descriptions for each one of your previously listed positions or jobs you have held.

Do this now.

Accomplishments

Now that your chronological employment record is complete and your job descriptions are written it is time for another critical part of the job winning process.

This section is paramount to a successful résumé, cover letter and interview process. In order to succeed you must brainstorm every possible accomplishment and noteworthy project that you have ever completed, worked on or have been associated with at every employer or position you have listed.

Sometimes this task is very easy. Sometimes it isn't.

If you have difficulty coming up with accomplishments and noteworthy examples of your skills, here are some things that you can use to spark your memory and dust out the cobwebs.

Pull out your old employee reviews, if you have them.
Think about your time spent with each company or as your own boss in a chronological sense. Review in your mind how you progressed in each position from the time you started until you left.
Find old pocket calendars, schedules, wall or desk calendars that may list appointments or descriptions of what you were doing at the time.
Sort through computer files by date, looking for projects or documents you may have created.
Look through old mail you may have saved, both postal and electronic. These may point you in the direction of what you were working on while in a specific position.
Think about any business trips you may have taken.
Try to remember any presentations you may have given or prepared.
Analyze present and past friends and acquaintances and their relationship to your work or volunteer life.
Scan your bookshelves or boxes for any training materials you may have that could trigger memory events of what you were working on and why you were getting that particular training.
Do you have a pile of certifications or awards? Are some of them hanging on the wall?
Write down everyone in your place of business and any clients, customers or vendors you may have dealt with on a regular basis. Then think about any specific time you may have worked together on an assignment or project or had a reason to deal with them.

No matter how big or small, right down every accomplishment you can think of.

Writing down everything is very important for a few reasons:

Most of all it starts your memory juices really flowing and triggers associative recollections that could make a significant difference on your résumé.
No matter how big or small an accomplishment is, it may be useful for a particular job or position in the future even if it has no bearing now.
You probably won't get every important event the first time you try but you will start your mind working on it. This is normal and necessary. Your brain will work for you while you are doing something else. Over the next several days you will probably remember a number of events that you have forgotten about.

While you are working through these accomplishments, keep in mind that numbers are very good selling points. In other words, saying that you were personally responsible for saving a ton of money is great but if you say you were responsible for saving an additional 35% over a three-month period, you will make a serious impression.

Don't try to get the actual percentages and figures during your brainstorming sessions. Make a note and come back to them later. Just remember, these kinds of statistics really sell for you. People like numbers. They perceive tangible value when you give actual numerical figures.

One more important point to notice while writing down your accomplishments. Start each one with an action word to capture the point. Notice the examples, below.

Do this now.

Jim-Bob Big Corporation, Great Town, IM (1990-Present)
Systems Administrator/System Support (Sept 97 - Present)

Received a certificate of appreciation for work on the "2X" project.
Created automated programs to clean out log files.
Created reporting programs to monitor test hardware reliability.
Trained test operators to reboot problem systems and log issues.
Gave weekly updates on hardware and software performance.
Created work and test flow diagrams to analyze test process.
Learned the C programming language to assist in debugging and test code modifications.
Wrote procedures for test operators to troubleshoot high maintenance test stations in order to minimize production down time.
Continually used as a resource for production and failure analysis issues.
Supported three different versions of HP-UX and a multitude of different test suites and hardware.
Designed and built test connector for Operators to improve reliability and up-time.
Heavily involved in site-wide holiday power shutdown. Crossed support borders to bring up two other areas.
Debugged and resolved customer firmware problem caused in our process.

Work Group Facilitator/Electronics Technician (3/96 - 9/97)

Actively sought out by three divisions for skill and job approach.
Made countless process improvements as a facilitator and individually.
Saved the department $150,000 per month by the results of one team.
Major contributor in the design of a process to handle production problems and drive them to resolution.
Created and taught a hard-drive handling class and tested and certified every person in the division.
Provided a solution that revolutionized the way customer returns were handled.
Simultaneously training four separate teams made up, primarily, of production operators in the concept of TQC and the Teamwork approach.
Published a monthly team newsletter that highlighted results of all four teams.
Participated in the Ad-Hoc Committee for the National Skill Standards being set by the Electronic Industries Foundation out of Washington, D.C.

Electronics Technician, Hard Disk Division (4/95-3/96)

Helped in the research lab doing experiments and documenting particle contamination.
Summarized and presented three separate studies on particle contamination.
Found flaw in production contamination procedures and process.
Created a Team Standards Handbook to help guide us through resolving many issues using TQC, SPC, and a Teamwork approach.
Created an 'on-line' means of communication for five shifts and two buildings that allowed instant access to the current status of any team issue.
Maintained the highest percentage of "good repair calls" for failed disk drives.
Worked with numerous design engineers on various performance functions of the disk drive.

Technical Supervisor, Hard Disk Division (3/92 - 4/95)

Designed a complex spreadsheet, to do people projections based on the changing variables of a manufacturing environment.
Technical advisor for the setup of a site-wide Technician Trainee Program, targeting production operators. This included curriculum and administration selection.
Established methods and objectives that allowed my direct report technicians to consistently out perform their peers in productivity and accuracy.
Planned and budgeted construction of two new Failure Analysis areas and one rework area to handle manufacturing demands. The latest area required accommodations for 150+ people across 5 shifts.
Formed a Closed Loop Corrective Action Team to provide needed feedback to engineering that resulted in a yield increase over 15%.
Effectively supervised 48 technicians and production operators across 5 shifts for three months.
Worked split and off shifts to accommodate direct reports needs.
Designed a training process that cut the average technician training time in half.
Participated in multiple interview sessions and recruiting teams off-site and on-site.
Wrote multiple evaluations and developed a review process to add accountability to the employee reviews.
Led a mastermind group of other supervisors from various shifts to develop a process that broke down every segment of the failure analysis process into simple chunks with owners for each.
Gave daily updates on various products and the performance of the failure analysis area.
Had four of the top five technicians in the division report to me and follow me to every new product I was asked to supervise.
Took over other areas several times to improve their performance and then turn them over to someone else.
Had monthly one on one reviews with every direct report.
Always had a open door policy for every direct report.

Electronics Technician, Hard Disk Division (9/90 - 3/92)

Successfully involved in the introduction and release of two major products. This required root cause analysis, extreme sense of urgency and incredible time commitments.
Worked three months straight with only two days off.
Selected to be a Root Cause Investigation Technician responsible for in-depth debugging and frequently working with design engineers.
Learned to write HTML to display current project list and on-line help.
Actively sought out by production operators to help with problem solving.
Trained many technicians and production operators on disk drive and test equipment functions and troubleshooting.
Wrote several procedural guides for debugging failed disk drives. This information was for both technical and non-technical staff.

Medical Rental Company, Great Town, IM (1986-1990)
Technical Supervisor - Biomedical Department, Great Town branch (1988-1990)

Number one in Biomedical Department revenue out of 48 branches nationwide.
Designed and implemented a Performance Evaluation process for all technicians at this branch.
Managed repair parts and sales inventory for maximum turns.
Reported various performance measures to district manager. Frequently number one ranked branch by these measures.
First branch to negotiate maintenance contracts with area hospitals.

Biomedical Electronics Technician, Small Town branch (86-88)

Wrote an operations guide for training new technicians.
Worked totally unsupervised at the Small Town, IM branch.
Number one in equipment rentals as a technician.
Number one in maintenance revenue.
Number one in on-time preventive maintenance.

Keep your lists separated by employer and position held.

Do this now.

Chapter 2 Review

Write a job description for every position you have held since the start of your résumé.

List all accomplishments for every position.

Big or small, write them all.

Brainstorm now, edit later. More is better.

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