Back in 2019, I was preparing my resume for a full-time job and was thinking of ways to stand out.
I went through all the checklist items – good GPA, difficult courses, nice capstone project, good internships, a bunch of security certifications, etc. But something was amiss.
So I decided to include a section called ‘Principles of Work’ in the resume and wrote these 5 bullets:
- Complete Accountability & Ownership.
- Attention to detail is paramount.
- No task is a small task.
- Always close the communication loop.
- No question is dumb queston.
I merrily sent this to a recruiter (who later became a great friend) and asked her opinion while we were on the call. She reviewed the resume, smiled, and made a comment that has since stuck with me.
Your principles of work are not something you write on your reumse, but something that you consistently do.
I removed those bullets from my resume, but her words stuck. And so are these principles.
I also recognize how naive it was to write something on a 1-page resume. Thankfully, that version never saw the light of day. 🙂