14 comments

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  Brooke (Dollar Frugal)

  1 year ago

  We call this an "I love me" file at work. We have to do yearly performance reports. It makes it easiest if we have already been keeping good track...in a personal file.
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  SavingDiva

  1 year ago

  Great tip! I forgot what I did during a few college interships....I have the titles of the projects, but nothing after that....hm....I will definitely create a WIDD document for this job because I work on so many different projects.
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  plonkee

  1 year ago

  I'm so glad I've been doing this since I graduated, I think it's helpful no matter what your job is. Very few people do exactly the same things day in day out, even when they keep the same job duties.
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  Hunter Nuttall

  1 year ago

  Great idea. I've always thought of resumes as being pretty useless, because "X years of experience with Y" doesn't say anything about how good you are. When I was fresh out of school, I had a resume as a formality, but I used a cover letter to explain why they should hire me. Now that I have some experience, I can highlight relevant things that I've actually done, but of course a WIDD file makes it much easier than trying to remember everything you've done.
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  Writer's Coin

  1 year ago

  Another thing to do is an annual "Why I should be making more file" that you present during your review. My manager asks for this and it's really helpful because it keeps you a) motivated to come up with good ideas that improve the way work is done and b) it reminds you to write it all down so you don't forget.
  
  The what have you done vs what job did you have argument is so true. No one cares what the job is/was. What did you do there?
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  Pamela

  1 year ago

  Love your WIDD file and it's an excellent tip. I head up recruiting for a rather large company (in excess of 30,000 employees worldwide) and I can tell you from a hiring managers perspective (HR's as well) there is a vast difference between a job hopper and a job jumper.
  
  The way a job hopper is viewed is that either s/he can't get & keep a job; or is not a good performer, maybe bored & jumps from company to company in the hope of finding something they like; so invested in moving up as quickly as possible that the first offer that comes in that pays more than the current company does & they are off & running. Overall, not a good impression.
  
  If however, you have had the bad fortune to work with companies not doing well financially & that is why you lost a job or several in a row, explain that on your resume!! Otherwise, it's assumed it's your "fault" you don't stay on a job for long. We do expect a couple of fairly short term positions after college as a learning curve, but if you keep on the path of a job for just a year or even 2, that's generally regarded as a warning sign. Not fair I expect, but it's reality.
  
  On the other hand, as a job jumper, that shows initiative that you have what it takes to get promotions or even if it's a lateral move that you have the resourcefulness to learn different skills. This is definitely a good thing. In addition, (depending upon what level job you have) a good review will go a long way to getting you a better job. If your score is above average & you were blessed with a manager that put on paper the good things you've done, good habits you have & that you exceed expectations, well, that's the candidate we are ALL looking for.
  
  I look forward to seeing the rest of your tips since this one is an absolutely invaluable one.
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  Asithi

  1 year ago

  For the last few years, I have been noting what I worked on in a monthly calendar at the end of the day. It is very nice to be able to see what I did on any given day. But the problem is that it is not portable. And when I move, I just dump it in a box. Just like Bubelah, I worked for the same company for years, so I keep dumping my used calendars in the a box (note: sometimes they are not in the same box - very disorganize). So I think I will give the idea of having a Word file with a list of projects a try.
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  Mrs. Micah

  1 year ago

  I did this at my last job...definitely was helpful in building talking points afterwards. I'm going to work on one for this current job in case of promotions. :)
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  Jonny

  1 year ago

  Here is my tip...which relates back to the WIDD. I work in a company where practically all communication (including praise) goes through email...and we have the latest version of MS Office (2007) here. I manage a couple of large projects, and what I have done in support of performance reviews that come up on a bi-annual basis is to categorize the 'you did a great job/thank you emails' into "Project X Review Evidence', "Project Y Review Evidence" and so on. You can set up categories quite easily...they are just a way of tagging similar things. Once set up, categories can be applied directly on the mail in your inbox. When review time comes, I simply run queries on my inbox for these categories, and then refer to them when writing up my review. Of course, I could never remember all of the praise that is heaped on me over the course of 12 months :P... it is a handy quick reference.
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  Ayun

  1 year ago

  Of course it ain't a half bad idea for Job Hoppers to keep a WIDD file too... See below...
  
  
  book">http://www.amazon.com/Job-Hopper-Checkered-Down...
  
  Ain't nothing wrong with a little hoppin' now and then....
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  Ayun

  1 year ago

  uh oh... if I'd paid closer attention at that temp job, I could've learned to post links that work. Wait, I don't think the internet had been invented then. It was all floppy discs and pantyhose that came in eggs. try this instead....
  
  http://www.ayunhalliday.com/jobhopper/index.html
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  Steve (Brip Blap)

  1 year ago

  @Brooke: I like the name "I love me" for this kind of file, too. Whatever you call it, it's handy for a variety of reasons - it's good that you pointed out performance evaluations.
  
  @SD: That's definitely the point! Titles and generic job descriptions aren't always useful in describing what you actually did. There's no way my job offer letters that I've received ever described what I ended up doing, for example.
  
  @plonkee: Very good point - even if you keep the same job, it (hopefully) evolves over time into something new. Chances are good that unless you have a very rote job - VERY - that your duties change from year to year.
  
  @Hunter: Memory - at least for me - is a completely unreliable resource for things like this. Need to recall the lines to "The Breakfast Club" - memory works. Need to recall job duties from 10 years ago - nada.
  
  @WC: That's a good idea, too. The WIDD concept could be pretty easily changed - you could 'star' items above and beyond, you could keep a separate page for highlighting superior performance, etc.
  
  @Pamela: Thanks very much - and you're right, there is a distinction between a hopper and a jumper. If it's just someone jumping from a job making $32,000 to a job making $32,500 for no reason other than a $41.67 raise per month, they are a hopper. Someone who strategically moves from position to position to build skills, enhance their network and define their interests is a jumper. Great clarification, thanks for the comment!
  
  @Asithi: The problem with the calendars, for me, at least, is searchability. I like to be able to search in file, or copy and paste from the WIDD to a custom-designed resume. The calendars still serve as external memory, which is good, but it is intimidating to pull out big piles of calendars and start flipping through them trying to find something in particular.
  
  @Mrs. Micah: Keeping one to bludgeon your boss with at review time is certainly a valid reason to get a WIDD file! :)
  
  @Jonny: That's a very good tip. Email is a good way to keep stuff organized, but I would still back it up externally. If you leave the company, you may not be able to take email history with you (they may not look to favorably on copying that .pst out - if it's even possible). I have thought of keeping my WIDD in Google Docs, though, and integrating it with gmail - somewhat similar. Your system is a great idea for preparing for a performance review.
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  NH Mom of 3

  1 year ago

  This is such a great idea, and I wish that I would have thought about this earlier in my career! I wonder, is there a way to "cram" and get down onto paper what you have done on past assignments to make a starter WIDD file? I an in between positions currently (not of my choice, and not planned!) and am starting to interview elsewhere. Any advice? Thanks!
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  Joe

  8 months ago

  Hi!
  
  Can you post an example of a typical WIDD file?
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