Develop stories of various lengths and containing assorted amounts of detail for each element of your job search:

• Short bullet-point version for your resume. Because a resume needs to attract attention quickly, it’s a good idea to tell each story so that the result comes first, as in the following bullets about a job-seeker’s accomplishment:
• Beat two-month deadline for operationalizing online scheduling, time/attendance, and payroll system by overseeing fast-track implementation from outside vendor.
• Reduced payroll discrepancies 25 percent and time spent scheduling employees and resolving timesheet-related issues by 50 percent.
• Decreased time spent on reports by 25 percent by customizing reports to track labor/benefits allocation.
• Earned vendor’s Certificate for Management’s Commitment for Successful Implementation and Design Contribution to Improve Efficiencies.

You can read more about resume storytelling in the upcoming Chapter 4.

• More detailed paragraph version for your cover letters. In the following example, the same story is told in paragraph form in the job-seeker’s cover letter. Note that a cover letter should not rehash the resume, so even if you are highlighting the same accomplishment in both documents, vary your language and the way you frame the story:

  I demonstrated my strong project-management skills when the project team I led exceeded all expectations while implementing an outside vendor’s system for online scheduling, time/attendance, and payroll. Not only did we crush our two-month deadline, but we also reduced payroll discrepancies, slashed in half the time spent scheduling employees and resolving timesheet-related issues, and cut time spent on reports. The icing on the cake was earning the vendor’s Certificate for Management’s Commitment for Successful Implementation and Design Contribution to Improve Efficiencies.

You can read more about cover-letter stories in the upcoming Chapter 5.

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Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling that Propels Careers, Quintessential Careers Press, ISBN-10: 1-934689-00-9. Find out the ways you can own the entire book.