Submitted by morelock on
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I am working on my career document, and have run into several questions, that I might be able to get some help with here.
1. How do I phrase accomplishments for jobs in which I have been a mental health care provider?
Elaboration: For the past 5 years, I have been providing mental health services in a variety of settings, and am looking at switching industries. I have been able to provide a number of specific accomplishments about my work (i.e. going over productivity standards, building referral relationships, etc.). Unfortunately, it seems that the accomplishments that are missing are the ones which formed the bulk of my job - that is- making people better. The agencies that I have worked for have not kept outcomes measures on these things (kind of a health care industry problem IMHO), which means that it is difficult to evaluate my success in these areas relative to other people in the job. If I am not able to provide those reference points, should I forget about them, or just described the stuff that I did, and hope that the reader will evaluate it to be "good".
Moreover, as a mental health care provider in particular, the "stuff" of my work has been pretty sensitive (think rape/incest, meth addiction and psychosis). My accomplishments could involve colorful words that are not quite what I want running through the heads of potential employers outside the industry. Is it reasonable to say that I "helped clients to reduce the frequency and intensity of flashbacks by doing empathic narrative work"? Or "reduced client suicidality by focusing on imminent risk reduction and mindfulness practice"? Or should I just forget about that stuff and focus on the stuff that's a little easier to talk about?
2. Is it necessary to provide a list of responsibilities for positions where the responsibilities are obvious or redundant to other jobs? (trying to save space.)
Elaboration: Earlier in my career, I held positions like "Rock Climbing Instructor" and had more than one job as a "Wilderness Guide" with similar responsibilities. The specific responsibilities of my jobs back then are no longer relevant to the types of jobs that I will be looking for now. I think that most people could imagine what a Rock Climbing Instructor would be responsible for (Managing the care and safety of groups of 4-8 novice rock climbers and children while top-roping in indoor and outdoor settings, by providing instruction in rope management, emotional safety, and communication standards). And in any case many of the skills described are either inherent (what kind of rock climbing instructor wouldn't be responsible for ropes?) or described elsewhere (I've had other positions working with children). I would prefer to reduce and potentially eliminate the responsibilities paragraphs for these jobs because while I do have accomplishments associated with the jobs and I feel that including these jobs makes for an intriguing career arc, the responsibilities paragraphs don't feel like they add much. What do you all think?
Any guidance on either of these two issues would be much appreciated. Thanks!
#1: Being generally
#1: Being generally successful at your job is not a bullet-able accomplishment, because, let's face it, who's going to say that they AREN'T successful at their job? The fact that you are successful belongs in the responsibilities section. For example: "Worked as mental health professional, providing excellent care to a diverse population."
If you have specific accomplishments, which might include awards or special recognitions, those could appear in bullets. Another thing which may be useful would be to ask people to write recommendations/endorsements on LinkedIn, and invite people to read your profile and these endorsements in your cover letter, and include a link in your resume. I've found that many prospective employers and recruiters will take the time to review your profile. That is, at least, if you can convince them it's worthwhile.
#2: If these positions are pre-college or during college, you are free to eliminate them if they aren't relevant. If you're still in the early stages of your career, however, you may want to, just to show a chronology of continuous employment. A one or two line summary can be made into something meaningful, however, and creates consistency in the format of your resume, which is probably worthwhile. Examples might be "Climbing guide and trainer at the largest rock climbing school in Montana" or "Lead wilderness guide, responsible for safety and interpretation."
Hope that helps.