Keeping a Work Journal

Previously published in the Times Beacon Record Newspapers,  Employment Section, June 21, 2007.

Laura Smith Dunaief

If you’re looking for a new job, or even new challenges in your current job, you may be in for some stiff competition. 

According to a CNNMoney.com poll issued in conjunction with Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” coverage, only 42% of the 11,000 respondents are happy where they are.  The rest expect to get a new job in the next year, at either a new company, or due to a promotion. 

The Society for Human Resources Management puts the number of job hunters even higher, reporting in December that 75% of employees are looking.

So, if you’re on the hunt, yourself, what can you do to stand out amid this Times Square on New Year’s Eve crowd? 

I will let you in on a secret: the single best way to shine is to have a strong grasp on what you’ve achieved and what that has meant for your company – the more specific you can be, the better.  It’s always surprising to me how few people can succinctly describe their current positions and accomplishments, articulating them in a compelling way that shows their value.  It’s a skill so rare that, in twenty years of hiring, I only found a handful that could do it – and I did somersaults to make sure they came to work for me.

Think of this as the decoder ring for the career management puzzle.  If you can master this, all of the pieces, including writing a resume, interviewing, networking, and negotiating salary, become that much easier to nudge into place.  And it’s equally worthwhile if you’re one of the few with no plans to move; you can use it to show how valuable you are when raises and bonuses are doled out.

So, how do you sift through the daily tasks you juggle each work day and really get your head around the value in what you do?  Keep a “work journal.”  It doesn’t matter if it’s electronic or longhand.  It only matters that you update it consistently – before details fade and while key business impacts, like sales results or client feedback, are at your fingertips.  A work journal is the raw material from which you will build your resume, your interview stories, or your case for a big raise or promotion.

What should you write in there?  It’s not a minute-by-minute record of how you spent your day.  Think of it as a series of stories that show what you’re worth. 

To get started, I suggest that you write down your three biggest achievements for a week.  Then reread each and ask the question, “So what?”  Your journal’s value will come from being able to answer this.

Let’s look at an example:  This week, I facilitated a meeting between a potential client and a technology vendor that I found and introduced to the client.  So what? By itself, this doesn’t tell how successful I was at facilitating, or about its value to the organization. 

What if I wrote that, as a result of that meeting, the vendor agreed to partner with me on the client’s project and that it was worth $250,000 in revenue to my company?  Or that the vendor later approached me about partnering with clients of theirs?  Does this sound more compelling?  For an extra “bang,” I should also indicate what I did to make it so successful.

Make the journal work harder for you by categorizing your entries.  If you want to prove your sales prowess, client relationship capabilities, and communication skills, you should label each of your entries accordingly.  This makes it easier when someone asks you to talk about your sales abilities.  It also allows you to see where you need to expand your experiences to get to the next big thing.

Ideally, you should update your work journal at least once a week.  Of course, some weeks you’ll have more to say than others.  Still, the habit is critical. 

And unlike a teenager’s diary, you don’t need to stuff this between the mattress and box spring.  In fact, it’s most valuable if you air it out and review it regularly.  Who cares if the boss stumbles across it?  It will remind her how lucky she is to have you.

 

Laura Smith Dunaief is a principal of LASD Resource Development, which provides individual career coaching and corporate training and development programs. 

 

 

Comments

[Jill Roy Jolley]

Great article !!! I know this is something that I always say I will do but never get around to doing. Then, I always regret it when I cannot remember the specifics that I would have written down right that moment. Now, because I didnt do it, I have a file of folders that I keep scraps of paper in and I don't even know what all those mean. Please, take Laura's advice, have a little notebook handy and take the time to keep track.