The I-Resume, We-Job

Do you wince when you think that your current or former boss and colleagues would scoff at claims on your resume about your achievements? Would they say that those claims actually resulted from team efforts or never quite happened the way you describe them?

Picture yourself in two situations: interviewing for a job you really want and presenting your department’s successful, year-end results to a senior vice president. The information you are conveying is essentially the same, which includes your contribution. However, your colleagues are with you in the presentation, as is your boss.

If someone counted the number of times you say “I” versus “we” in each situation, I suspect that:

• the I:We ratio in the interview would be something like 10:2; and
• the I:We ratio in the department briefing would likely be quite the opposite, perhaps 2:10. Again, same information.

The difference comes from wanting to impress the prospective employer that you have what it takes to do the job and, in the department presentation, to impress the executive that you are a team-player. The job-search process rewards “I;” organizational life promotes “we.”

So, what’s the truth? Did you do what you say on your resume or not? Are you overstating your role in the interview or understating it in the presentation? Or is all of this situational ethics?

3 POSSIBLE ANSWERS

1. You, alone, did what you said.
There are circumstances where you might have gone solo. For example, if you are entrepreneurial, you may have undertaken a project, even a large-scale one, where you really did handle most everything by yourself.

That has happened to me when my client or employer was convinced and enthused by the possibilities of what I recommended but waffled on committing resources – the gain without pain dilemma. Consequently, I had to bootstrap by recruiting two or three ambitious, fast learning, and technically savvy young people as understudies, instant experts, and gophers.

If that scenario fits you, you have a great example on your resume of an against-the odds story that most prospective employers appreciate. Just make sure you don’t slam management to raise your profile as a hero. Simply say that you believed passionately in an idea and were prepared to act on your beliefs. Once you produced results and demonstrated what could be done, your management and colleagues then contributed (assuming this was true).

The same description could be played out in the department presentation, too. Your colleagues would agree, albeit grudgingly, that you had the courage to venture out. Sometimes, you would explain, people need a proof-of-concept before they can buy in, which is the truth.

Short of that kind of experience, however, be careful what you claim as yours alone. “Increased regional sales 15 percent year-to-year” sounds impressive on your resume. However, if your boss (current or former) or sales team members were in the interview, would they say the figure was closer to five percent for your contribution after taking into account the effect of deep discounts, the introduction of new products, and an increase in the number of sales people? Then try this:

Increased regional sales 15 percent after two no-growth years by convincing management to offer discounts and expand the product mix, and by adding supporting sales engineers to the team.

2. You did what you said, sort of.
I have been involved in many projects that looked like The Skaare Show initially but, in the end, those whom I motivated to stretch and reach actually were responsible for the final results. I improvised, mobilized, and verified; the group rectified, solidified and delivered.

If this is your style, here is what likely happens on an initiative. You describe the vision and the rationale to your team, lay out what the end result probably looks like, but you don’t detail the project. That’s the job of others.

At first, team members may wait for instructions from you because they are not accustomed to or trust empowerment. But, because you picked the right people, they soon begin organizing themselves individually and as a team, and then, eventually, they recast your ideas and add their own.

You let them run with their ideas as long as they are willing to be accountable for results. After awhile they are coming to you asking only for advice not directions. The project takes on their identity, not yours, and they are now in charge.

This is an example of a 2:4, I:We ratio. Whether on your resume and in an interview or in your department presentation, you should take credit for ingenuity, initiative, motivation, organization, troubleshooting, and accountability. You are the glue and the grease. Your team gets the credit for risk-taking, thoroughness, execution, demonstrable and measureable results, and also for accountability.

In short, you produced the result of getting others to produce a result. Sounds like leadership, doesn’t it. It is. Consequently, you’re likely to get a job offer or, in the case of the presentation, a tag in your HR file about potential.

3 We did it
Be careful with this explanation. On your resume and in your department meeting, talking up the “we” of a project can sound a bit sentimental, disingenuous, and … well, limp.

Be sure you identify the “I” in We (Wii? … sorry.). Without your contribution, the project would not have succeeded, right? Yes, admit it. Then describe that contribution with confidence, specificity, and context. For example, your resume might include this:

Completely revamped database for annual event that allowed teammates to expand invitation list and increase attendance by 35 percent.

Take credit for the component and let the team take the rewards for the whole – a 1:3, I:We ratio. Ironically, your “I” value will increase because you pinpointed your contribution while acknowledging others. A responsible, results-driven, team player is a valuable prospect and employee.

5 Ways to balance the I:We ratio

1. If you are finding an “I did” in your resume too uncomfortable, you won’t be convincing in the interview. Rewrite it.
2. Ask your self-confident, confidence-keeping colleague/friend to tell you honestly if what you say is what you really did.
3. Review your bosses’ written evaluation from your last three performance reviews and use the language and messages of those comments to create and substantiate points on your resume.
4. Visualize your boss as the prospective employer. Read your resume to him and watch his non-verbals.
5. Don’t trick yourself into believing that, while you talk “I’ on your resume and in your interview, you will switch to “we” when you land the job. Consistency is evidence of truth.

Richard Skaare 04.06.09

 Link to this page

 Link to this page

Tagged as: job search, resume