Thank you for joining me to find out more about what I mean by this statement. The concepts I share here are motivated by the conversations I have with my clients. By sharing my observations with you, it is my hope that you will benefit from the experience of others.
How The Scout Motto Applies to Your Career
In the third part of Scouting for Boys, Robert Baden-Powell explains the meaning of the famous Scout Motto, ‘Be Prepared’, which means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty.
As a professional, my question to you today is “Are you ready, willing, and able to do what is necessary in any situation that comes along’, especially if it means looking for a new job? Too often I see people decide they want to look for another role outside of their organisation, but they have not done the very simple work required to prepare themselves and be ready! They have not realised the importance of their CV or resume as a record of achievements to prepare them for when they decide to make a career move. Instead, they think it is something they will do when they need it.
Am I describing you?
It is essential that you keep an ongoing record of your CV as you change jobs or roles. Life runs at a rapid pace, and the older we get, the harder it is to remember the specific details of each role. It is the key achievements and examples of what you’ve done in each role that become your compelling selling points in your CV when you are looking for a new job or making a change in your career direction.
Examples of resumes I see where people haven’t taken the time to record each role is when there are no details of the duties completed in each role and no details of the achievements in each role. Having these gaps in your CV when actively applying for work will mean your application will not land on the ‘to be interviewed pile’.
And it’s my job to make sure you do get to interview!
So let’s explore how to take a leaf out of the Scout’s handbook and be more prepared for when you do decide to apply for new roles.
What You Need To Capture For Each Role
It is very easy to capture the following key points for each role:
- Role title
- Name of organisation you worked for
- Scope / breadth of role (e.g. how many people reported to you, what geographic area did you cover, etc)
- Value of Budget or P&L you managed
- Key Responsibilities
Ideally I would also like you to include your key achievements, although this is often an area that my clients find difficult to write down and something I can talk through with you to tease out the relevant information for each role.
5 Benefits of Being Prepared & Keeping a Record of Each Role
There are many benefits of taking the time to record these details for each role. It does not take long and only requires 30 minutes of reflection, even less, per role. Here are some of the key benefits of capturing this information on an ongoing basis (rather than in a scramble when you wish to apply for a new role).
- Provides clarity of the skills you have
- Reflection is powerful and helps you close one door and open another
- Helps you determine your next steps
- Is a reminder that you are doing well
- When you do apply for a job, you are ready!
To encourage you to take the time to be prepared for your next role I have a special offer on my CV Health Check. If you have been applying for jobs and not getting anywhere take advantage of our complimentary CV Health Checks so that you can apply for your next role with confidence. Register here to have your CV reviewed: http://eepurl.com/crjRGr
I am a passionate Career Coach who works with individuals in the explore and search phase of their career journey, helping you realise your strengths through my career coaching and training programs. I enjoy showing people the path to greater career satisfaction and providing insight and tools to help you make your next career move.
