Self-knowledge is the key to personal branding, creating marketing documents such as CVs/Resumes, and excelling during networking and executive job interviews. One key way strengthen your brand and increase your self-knowledge (and self-worth) is to look back at all your previous employers and create ‘an inventory of the initiatives you have undertaken that have paid off’ (Driving the Career Highway, 2007). 

Look beyond the traditional key points you extracted from your CV/resume. As professionals we have learned to economise our experiences to fit on one or two pages, yet as we move forward, the many other positive initiatives and achievements surrounding these key points become distant, unrecalled memories.

Dig deep

Working through your past to find your key strengths is particularly useful during an executive job search. Create a table or spreadsheet for each job you have held. List all of your initiatives by detailing the solution/initiative, obstacles/context and the skills/knowledge utilized to made them work.
 

This list will become the basis for identifying your key skills and fleshing out your capabilities, and add fuel to your networking discussions. More importantly, it will build your self-knowledge at a key time of transition.

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This article was written by Christian Pielow from the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).

BlueSteps is the exclusive service of the AESC that puts senior executives on the radar screen of over 6,000 executive search professionals in over 70 countries. Be visible, and be considered for up to 50,000 opportunities handled by AESC search firms every year. Find out more at www.BlueSteps.com.