How a 'brag doc' can help you ace interviews and land a job, says recruiter: ‘No one’s reading cover letters’

One of the champion pieces of proposal Maddie Machado received from a erstwhile brag astatine Microsoft was to support way of each her vocation wins.

Machado would log "anytime I did a bully job, anytime I made someone's beingness easier, anytime I got kudos" archetypal successful a Microsoft document, past a moving email draught and present successful a descent presentation. She calls it a "brag doc" and says she's utilized it successful each interrogation for the past 10 years.

Machado, 35, is simply a reverse recruiter and laminitis of SkillScript, a resume platform, successful Tampa, Fla.

The conception of documenting your vocation wins isn't new, but her method categorizes 4 circumstantial aspects of your nonrecreational success:

1. What I'm bully at: What roles and responsibilities travel people to you that's harder for others? What tasks are you perpetually complimented about? These are your "corporate superpowers," Machado says.
2. What I deliver: This conception should item the interaction of your unsocial skills, Machado says. For example, if you're truly large astatine cross-functional collaboration, you apt present businesslike teams and large communication. Think of it this way, Machado says: "What is thing that wouldn't person happened if you weren't there? Or what is thing that wouldn't person happened arsenic good arsenic it did if you weren't there?"
3. What I'm astir arrogant of: These are the "exceptional" accomplishments wherever you went supra and beyond, Machado says. Some of her favourite guiding questions: Did you prevention the institution money? Did you marque the institution money? Did you prevention the institution time? Did you make a process betterment that created much efficiency? Think large representation successful presumption of your interaction connected your squad and the business.
4. Why they should prosecute me: Finally, erstwhile you're preparing a brag doc for a caller job, tailor this conception to show your alignment with the role, the squad and the institution you're applying to. Research the company's ngo and civilization and amusement however you'd beryllium a bully fit. For example, if the institution is known for moving fast, this is the clip to archer them that you enactment champion that way, too. Your elevator transportation present should amusement that "not lone would you beryllium a bully acceptable technically, but you're besides a bully acceptable for the institution arsenic a whole," Machado says.

Machado says having a brag doc connected manus tin assistance you web and could marque a bigger interaction than a accepted resume oregon screen letter.

"No one's speechmaking screen letters," Machado says. "Even erstwhile I was a recruiter for truthful galore years, I tin number connected possibly 1 manus however galore times I really work a screen letter."

A brag doc, meanwhile, is "a clip for you to toot your ain horn," Machado says. "It's hard to spot connected your resume the magnitude of interaction and the things that you really owned and are really arrogant of."

It besides shows disconnected the astir important aspects of a campaigner a hiring manager wants to know, Machado says, based connected her clip moving with hiring managers astatine companies similar Meta and LinkedIn.

Hiring managers volition mostly already cognize what you bash day-to-day successful your role, Machado says, but are looking for what you'll bring to a caller institution and things that volition marque them think, "Wow, look astatine what she did there. Imagine what she could bash here," she says. "And that's what your brag doc is doing."

A brag doc is simply a utile assets to connect to your application, to travel up with a hiring manager connected LinkedIn aft you've applied for a role, oregon adjacent to cold-message idiosyncratic to network, Machado says. It won't needfully get you the occupation close away, but it could get you successful the hiring pipeline that overmuch faster.

Then, usage it to hole for interviews and negociate a beardown offer, Machado says.

"It's bully to beryllium capable to punctual yourself what you've accomplished truthful far, whether it's large oregon small, and besides beryllium capable to stock with different people," she says.

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