Editor’s note: September is Update Your Resume Month! In recognition, APH CareerConnect updated Steve Cardenas’ popular blog post on how to archive your career history as an individual who is blind or low vision, simplifying the process of updating and customizing your resume.
A friend once encouraged me to submit my resume to a nonprofit organization. She told me its executive director began searching for a new grant writer. Years ago, I would have dreaded the burden of updating my resume, but this time I was ready for it.
See, I used to think a resume was a “dump” for all of my work and educational experience. The more experience I had, the more pages I needed to capture it all. So, I turned in these four- to five-page resumes when I applied for jobs.
Thirteen years ago, I picked up a helpful tip about archiving my career-related history. Credit for this tip goes to the good people at Manager Tools.
I learned resumes should not be a one-stop document for dumping anything and everything career related. Instead, I discovered how the use of a wholly separate document was better for capturing and archiving all of my career experience. Then, using the data from that one document made it easier for building a resume customized to a specific job opportunity.
How to Archive Your Career History
It’s easy to get started. If you’ve got a resume already, simply copy and paste it into a new word processing document like Word or Pages. If not, create a new document. Name it something like “Career History Sheet” or something else you prefer. Save it somewhere easy to access. I store mine in my Dropbox account. Now, it is ready for capturing any and all work experience, volunteer experience, and educational experience.
Remember, this document is meant for your eyes, or ears, only. Do not use it as your resume.
What to Capture
Capture all of your career-related experiences in your new career history sheet. Over time, it will grow into a valuable career archive.
I enter the newest info at the top of the sheet, so as I scroll down the page, my oldest experiences can be reviewed as I get to the end of the document.
Type your work experiences. For example, type the dates, places, job positions, job responsibilities, and any accomplishments. Do this for each of the jobs you have held.
Work Experience Example
Here’s a fictional work experience example:
Work tenure: January 2020 to September 2022
Company: Office System Professionals
Contact: Jane Smith, Vice President – Sales Phone: (555) 555-5555
Job title: Sales Associate
Responsibilities:
Schedule sales appointments. Conduct sales presentations. Identify customer needs. Offer value-added products and services. Maintain customer files through data management system. Promote customer retention. Provide monthly sales reports to management.
Accomplishments:
Increased sales revenues by 35% from January 2020 to September 2022. Earned four Salesperson of the Month Awards during tenure. Increased customer retention by 65% by creating an online survey.
The above example represents a basic format for capturing your data. Modify it for your own needs and preferences. Follow the example for volunteer experience and educational experience too.
By the way, capturing your college work is important. But, do remember to make a record of other educational courses or seminars you complete.
Be sure to record any of your assistive technology training as well. If you spend a day or two learning JAWS or OpenBook down at your local Lighthouse, record it.
How to Use It
The career history sheet you create for yourself is a living document. Update it when jobs change, when you volunteer your time, and when your education and training grow. Review and edit it on a consistent basis.
The information in your career history sheet makes it easier to customize resumes for specific job positions. It will provide you all the content you need to create a resume that is sharp, concise, and no longer than a page or two. Choose the most relevant experience to create an effective resume that best matches the job position for which you are applying.
For instance, I worked for a car dealership after high school. I drove cars around the car lot for the service department. I would not place that info on my resume if I intended to apply for an executive director position at a nonprofit agency though.
Are those groans I hear?
Yes, I know this creates more work for you to do. I’ll admit it was tough for me to get this started, but it’s been easier to manage my career information and to respond quickly to job opportunities.
Believing a resume is the place to archive career history becomes a headache for you and the people who review your resume. The enormous amount of info that gets jammed into them isn’t helpful for recruiters and hiring managers.
Creating a single document to archive career history is a smarter, more effective option. Think of your career history sheet as a running story and think of your resume as highlights of that incredible story.