Lionel Messi and scoring goals with your CV

Imagine if Lionel Messi will ever have the misfortune to apply for a job through bdjobs.com what would be key strength of this CV? If you and I are singing from the same hymn sheet then we are right to say that it will be number of goals that he has scored throughout his career as the world’s best footballer.

Same goes for your CV too. The more CVs I receive and get asked by people I know for a quick glance makes me want to reiterate the fact that what you have achieved in your previous work experiences is more important than what you have actually done, the processes you have followed to achieve those results. In other words, results in a CV stand out than mere blabbering about processes and description of your role.

Coming back to Messi, may be it is of less importance how many games he appeared in or may be how many times he helped setup a goal which got scored by his teammates in Barcelona or Argentina. Even less important would be how many times Messi appeared in the avatar of an accidental defender and helped prevent a sure shot goal by the opponent team. What matters in the end of the day and what mesmerises us about him is his uncanny ability to hit the net time and again. It is true that Messi could not have reached his pinnacle of glory without the support of his fellow team mates, the failure of the opponent defenders and sometimes may be just luck. Same goes for you in the work place too – you cannot achieve results or success, personal or even company’s – without the combined effort of your team. But keep in mind you will still not apply for jobs with a CV of your team, your CV is yours only and you will have to strike that balance between what you have achieved as an individual and how effective you are as part of a team.

So if you are new to your job, once the dusts of excitement settle down, figure out your attribution to a great product or service launch, or to a great cost saving or to an important process change. Don’t become dazed by the day to day job processes so much that your CV will read like a worker’s CV rather than an achiever’s. If not clear, discuss with your manager to seek help to set clear, measurable and attributable results which you can claim to be because of you.

Messi keeps winning Golden Boots because he scores the most, even if sometimes his team ends up losing a match. If the company you work for fails and if it is greatly because of you – you will also get a golden boot up your backside. However if you are a performer and achiever and your company fails because of various reasons beyond your sole control, you can atleast hope for the red card to be not shown to you.

So next time you are sitting down in front of your computer to edit your CV for the next job application – think like Messi, think about scoring goals. Don’t think about playing a good game of football only.