When you're at work doing something really amazing, sometimes there's this very faint voice in the back of your mind that says, "I should probably write this down."
We can't tell you how many times we've sat down to interview clients about their professional experiences only to hear crickets on really important questions. What was your YOY growth? Close rate? How did you positively impact retention? Revenue? Do you have a net promoter score, customer satisfaction survey results? The list of things that can be measured to show success within a role goes on and on. And sadly, more often than not, clients do not have answers to those very important questions. Most times it's because people are so engrained in their current posting that by the time they need access to the hard data, too much time has passed and the details fade away. That's why, no matter the profession, our number one suggestion for clients time after time is to create a master resume and keep it updated it at all times, even if you're not actively searching for a new role. So what is a master resume?
A Master resume is an ongoing document where you can dump relevant career accomplishments/highlights at any point to be refined when you finally decide to apply for new positions.
Consider it your brag book of sorts and treat it with the same energy you would a to-do list, meaning that you'll revisit the document when it's time to clean things up and apply for new roles. Because the master resume is always in rough draft form, you don't need to worry about how you articulate yourself or even if the grammar is correct. The point is to continually add important accomplishments as they pop up so you never forget. No more saying, "That was so long ago. I don't remember..."
How and where should I keep this master resume?
Great question. Our recommendation is to use Google drive. Creating a Gmail account is free, and Google's dashboard provides access to dozens of great applications, one of which is Google Docs. Google Docs is basically an online version of Word, with essentially the same features. It is connected to the internet and saves automatically only seconds after you take your fingers off the keyboard. If something comes to mind, we suggest opening the App to a Google Doc titled "Your Name Master Resume." Then, when it's time to tailor your resume for a specific job opening, you can transfer certain info that applies to the new role and clean it up wherever your official, hard copy resume is located.
If you need help with any part of the master resume process, contact info@dallaswritingproject.com and we'll support you any way we can!