In today’s competitive job market, it can feel difficult to find ways to stand out from your fellow job seekers. Because of this, it’s important to find effective ways to separate yourself from the competition. Unfortunately, many professionals aren’t sure how to do this and end up frustrated and in a seemingly dead end – stuck and unsure how to stand out without seeming cheesy, too pushy or desperate.
We recommend creating and using what we call a Career One Sheet to impress a hiring manager during your job search. A Career One Sheet is a one-page document that is a complement to your resume.
- It allows you to provide greater details about projects and accomplishments relevant to the position you are applying for.
- It can highlight things that you don’t have space for or wouldn’t be appropriate to list on your resume.
For example, if you are applying for a graphic design position, you could include the unique process you use with customers to understand what they want and how you implement that process in your design work.
Here are some other ideas for content you can include in your Career One Sheet:
- Your career objective. We don’t recommend using a career objective on your resume, so this is a great place to include it. Include your long-term career goals!
- Accomplishments or projects. You can highlight your impact on these items in more detail than you could on your resume.
- Your career values. This is a great place to go into detail about what is important to you as a professional and what you hope to contribute to your industry.
- If you are in a creative field, include design examples from previous jobs. Your Career One Sheet can be part of your portfolio that you show a hiring manager.
- Include the link to your LinkedIn profile on your Career One Sheet, especially if you are sending it electronically.
Make sure to tailor your Career One Sheet to your industry, position, and the role you are applying for. For example, if you aren’t applying for a leadership position, you wouldn’t need to include a leadership statement.
You can also include a link to your Career One Sheet on your resume or cover letter if you are applying to jobs electronically, depending on the submission instructions.
Not sure how to format a Career One Sheet? Watch our webinar to learn more about how to create an effective Career One Sheet for your job search.
If you need more job search help, schedule a free consult today.
