Career Discussion Guide

1. Career Discussion Guide
A modern career discussion guide is 1 page long and has 6 parts:
• Education
• Experience
• Value Proposition
• Professional Interest
• Personal Interests
• Bottom Line
Copyright Tony D. Thelen May 2022

2. Education
List all of your material educational accomplishments, including
certifications. Make sure they add value, avoid listing every class on coursera
you have taken.
Example:
Education (examples from Tony’s background)
• Neuroleadership Inst. Certified Coach 2016
• Graduate Degree Oxford University, Strategy and Innovation 2014
• MBA University of Northern Iowa 2001
• BS Iowa State, Chemical Engineering 1991
Copyright Tony D. Thelen May 2022

3. Experience
List all the jobs you’ve had. Title and # of years only. No big descriptions. If in early career, OK to list
temporary positions for <year (grocery clerk, babysitting, etc). As your career progresses update.
NOTE: OK to swap Education and Experience sections order if you want.
• Experience (Example from Tony’s background)
• Chief Product Officer & VP, Strategy <1 year
• JDF Strategy, Program Mgmt, Portfolio, and Quality 2 years
• JDF Sales & Customer Support 3 years
• Software & Technology Operations – ISG 4 years
• Product Line Marketing – 5000-9000, ISG, R4 6 years
• Field Sales, Support & Dealer Development – KC / Dallas 9 years
• Production Supervision – Waterloo 4 years
• Manufacturing Engineering – Waterloo 3 years
Copyright Tony D. Thelen May 2022

4. Value Proposition
This is the most important section and differentiates it from a traditional resume.
Most resumes are about your past, this section is about your future, specifically,
why someone would want to hire you. Be brief and to the point.
My Value Proposition as best I can describe it is:
• Why would someone hire you today in your own words? What are your core
competencies? Brief description, 1 sentence support. Must be able to defend
these with examples, logic. Think STAR technique – Situation/Task, Action, Result.
• Examples
• Build strong teams
• Strategic Thinking
• Drive change
• Innovation
Copyright Tony D. Thelen May 2022

5. Professional Interest
List experiences you want, things that speak to your passion, and areas
you want to explore. Suggest not naming jobs, but experiences.
Professional Interest
• List what areas you are interested in advancing your career and why.
Think in terms of experiences, not “jobs” or “labor grades”. List
several. Be specific about where you want to go, but flexible about
what experiences might get you there.
Copyright Tony D. Thelen May 2022

6. Personal Interest
Another section that is different than a resume – share what you are
personally interested in? What do you “really, really” want in life,
beyond a job?
Personal objectives
• Share mobility, travel or anything else related to your career objective
from a personal growth perspective. Are you open to move? What is
it about you personally that may tie into your career and life that
others should know?
Copyright Tony D. Thelen May 2022

7. Bottom Line
Here is where you get to list anything that doesn’t fit into the top 5
sections. Like “I have 5 job offers, but I’m waiting for the perfect role”.
Or “I have 8 kids and I need a job, I’ll do anything”. If nothing comes to
mind, skip this section.
Bottom Line
• Overall statement to share anything about you, what you are willing
to do, and how you want your career to go in a way that is not already
captured in the above sections.
Copyright Tony D. Thelen May 2022

8. Thank you & best of luck
To receive an editable word doc, please reach out and connect to Tony
on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonythelen/
If this document has helped you in any way I’d love to hear from you.
If you have any questions about how to use it or ways to improve it, I’d
love to hear from you.
Please feel free to share this document with others if you find value in
it – permission granted to share this document.
Copyright Tony D. Thelen May 2022