Guyant Resume Grid

You can't stand out from everyone else if your resume just lists your responsibilities and experience. You can stand out by quantifying your results, progress, products and so forth (see example here and in the sampel resumes on this site).

Write down specific things you improved (or bad things you decreased like waste or inefficiency). Describe what you have learned and skills you gained or improved.

Say how your achievements to your promotions and awards -- even pats on the back. See how it's done below.

If you take a few hours to really develop this grid, you'll be ready to quickly produce a targeted resume in an evening, and also stand out from the rest of the like-alike applicants.

Print 5 to 10 copies of the blank grid, so you have plenty of space. List all paid and non-paid work -- we learn from non-paid work just as well as from paid work.

Your next employer wants to know what you know and what you can do. It really doesn’t matter whether you got paid - - you know what you know; you can do what you can do. It is better to use pencil so that you can erase and change easily.

Activity name or work area (1 or 2 per sheet)	Specific tasks	Frequency and duration (how often, how many, and how long)	Results, achievements. What good things did you produce or increase. What bad things did you avoid or decrease?	Knowledge and skills you gained or improved doing these things.	Describe any awards, commendations, compliments, special recognition letters or calls. These help prove you did well.
Fuel assistance intake worker	Obtain information from applicants	15 to 25 times weekly during Sept. to March. Did this for 3 years. Processed 1,500 applicants over 3 years.	I developed new method that reduced application time by about 10 minutes each (about 25% reduction in time). I also changed form and explanation technique to reduce errors that used to take a lot of time to correct later when applicants had left the office.	Learned regs and rules for entitlement applications. Gained more skill and insight on how to handle upset or desperate people. Gained extensive knowledge about the network of other social services and the eligibility criteria and application locations and process steps.	I received special commendation letter for my personal file because of the improvements. Clients thanked me personally and sometimes even called my supervisor to praise my skill and assistance to them. Our partner organizations made similar complimentary remarks. I received several letters of appreciation from former clients. I was named employee of the month twice in three years.

Activity name or work area (1 or 2 per sheet)

Specific tasks

Frequency and duration (how often, how many, and how long)

Results, achievements. What good things did you produce or increase. What bad things did you avoid or decrease?

Knowledge and skills you gained or improved doing these things.

Describe any awards, commendations, compliments, special recognition letters or calls. These help prove you did well.

Fuel assistance intake worker

Obtain information from applicants

15 to 25 times weekly during Sept. to March. Did this for 3 years. Processed 1,500 applicants over 3 years.

I developed new method that reduced application time by about 10 minutes each (about 25% reduction in time).

I also changed form and explanation technique to reduce errors that used to take a lot of time to correct later when applicants had left the office.

Learned regs and rules for entitlement applications. Gained more skill and insight on how to handle upset or desperate people. Gained extensive knowledge about the network of other social services and the eligibility criteria and application locations and process steps.

I received special commendation letter for my personal file because of the improvements. Clients thanked me personally and sometimes even called my supervisor to praise my skill and assistance to them. Our partner organizations made similar complimentary remarks. I received several letters of appreciation from former clients. I was named employee of the month twice in three years.

Activity name or work area (1 or 2 per sheet)	Specific tasks	Frequency and duration (how often, how many, and how long)	Results, achievements. What good things did you produce or increase. What bad things did you avoid or decrease?	Knowledge and skills you gained or improved doing these things.	Describe any awards, commendations, compliments, special recognition letters or calls. These help prove you did well.