2. STRENGTH FINDERS – BLESSING OR CURSE?
August 14, 2013
Achiever
Belief
Developer
Maximizer
Woo
STRENGTH FINDERS – Example from a resume:
3. ACCOMPLISHMENTS - Examples from resumes:
AUTOMATOR - Reduced data center weekly man hours from 240 to 0.
PROCESS IMPROVER - Reduced worker compensation and disability
claim usage by 47%.
DETAIL ORIENTED - Discovered major credit error oversights leading to
a daily revenue recapture of 66%.
ACCURATE - Received praise from Charge Nurses such as “Care was
thorough and complete.” and “Reports were accurate and timely.”
MOTIVATOR - Named to “The Circle of Heroes” by former student who
won a scholarship to Texas A&M.
August 14, 2013
STRENGTH FINDERS – BLESSING OR CURSE?
Editor's Notes
I have noticed that quite a few job seekers put their Strength Finder list on their resume and also on their Linkedin profile.
While it may seem to be impressive, and it is better than nothing, there is a more effective way to represent your potential value to a new employer.
The problem with this list is that the reviewer needs to work hard to figure out how these strengths could be used by you to help them with their problems. Also, they may or may not be related to your target job. They are actually designed to help YOU, not others. They only represent “potential”, sort of like having a high IQ, the actual application or benefit of the potential is not known. Many people have “potential” yet they may not live up to that potential.
This list also does not provide much help to anyone looking at your strengths on LinkedIn for all the same reasons.
This is what the terms shown say about the person who posted them:
Achiever - have a great deal of stamina and work hard.
Belief - have certain core values that are unchanging.
Developer - recognize and cultivate the potential in others.
Maximizer - focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence.
Woo - love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over.
How these strengths relate to the position that person is seeking is not clear; some may actually be a problem. For example: If you are really an “Achiever”, I would expect to see some accomplishments that relate to the job opening or your profession. In addition, as an engineer, I may not think of “Woo” as a positive. I may think of that person as a “social butterfly” and not a serious worker. On the other hand “Woo” in a sales position may be great.
You would be shocked at how many “deer in the headlight” looks I get when, during an interview, I ask job seekers “give me an example of how “X” strength has helped you on the job. It is usually followed by a long uncomfortable pause.
If you listed the accomplishments, related to your target job and the job you are applying for, the reviewer does not need to do any work to figure out what you can do to help solve their problems.
This list is not meant to be a one-for-one example of the previous strengths. These are just some examples from resumes that I have reviewed that were memorable because they were powerful statements. Things like this will make your resume more powerful than a list of potential strengths.
The addition of “handles”, which are words used by you, or other people, to uniquely describe you may make you even more memorable. If you follow the CareerSolutions Workshop resume format, you can just copy and paste these from your resume.
David Rawles covers many helpful hints like this in his book “Finding A Job God’s Way” and in his CareerSolutions Workshops. If you’re serious about finding a job, David’s workshops provide everything you need to know to shorten your job search. By the way, you need to attend more than just a few one hour, or one day seminars to be effective.
Now, let’s work on your task. Take your Strength Finder list and come up with accomplishments that support your strengths. Are you living up to your potential?
