1%

Information Gathering



Education and training: his will be most important to those with little work experience, such as recent graduates. For the seasoned worker, this category will be secondary to work experience, though it is still important. If you have a college degree, you will need only to focus on your college education, not on high school. However, if you do not have a college education, then you will focus on your high school education and any additional training that you may have had. List out the following information:

  1. Colleges (or high school) attended.

  2. Degrees earned and the dates they were awarded. If you currently are working on that degree, list your expected graduation date.

  3. Major and minor subjects.

  4. Additional training or courses taken.

  5. Grade point averages, Dean's List, academic honors.

  6. Scholarships and awards.

  7. Extracurricular activities.

Work experience: Be sure to list out all your employment that may be relevant or applicable to the position you are applying for: full-time, part-time, temporary work, internships, freelance work, etc. Jobs you had years ago may not be directly relevant to today's position, but they show your experience base and where you came from. Think about each job in detail and answer the following questions for each:

  1. What was the company name?

  2. What was your job title?

  3. In detail, what tasks did you perform?

  4. Why were you hired?

  5. What skills did you learn from that job?

  6. Were you given a promotion or more job responsibilities?

  7. What specific results did you achieve? For instance, increased sales from $1 million to $2.5 million, saved company $25,000 by updating security system, etc.

  8. When did you start that job and when did you leave?

  9. Would your former employer give you a good reference?

  10. What special traits were required for that job, such as leadership, creativity, ability to work on a team, etc.?

  11. Did you win any awards or receive any special bonuses?

Professional and personal skills and activities: Whether these are skills that you formally learned in a class or that you taught yourself, they are important, as long as you are adequately trained. List out, in detail, all the professional skills you have, including the following:

  1. Computer programs and software, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Photoshop, QuickBooks, etc.;

  2. Computer languages and coding (HTML, etc.);

  3. Foreign languages;

  4. Published writings;

  5. Member of a professional group or association;

  6. Professional certifications.


      7. ]]>