We all know that resumes are important.

But if you're anything like me, you've done a really crappy job of keeping yours updated.

Let's be real.

You kick ass every. single. day.

It's honestly hard to keep track of the wins.

This became a major blocker for me as I tried to escape retail leadership roles and break into the tech space.

I knew that I could do the job that I was applying for but I didn't have any supporting documentation.

But in hindsight, it didn't take me three years to break into tech because of my resume.

It took me three years to break into tech because I didn't tell a good story.

While I can't tell you how to be a great story teller in the remainder of this short form Atomic Essay.

What I can share is the most important career document that you probably didn't even know existed.

Meet the Career Journal.

Here's how it works (for me):

Every Friday before you log off for the week take a note around what you accomplished that week. Don't worry so much about the "importance" of the item, just jot down a win.

My career journal (I use Notion) lists out a problem, solution, and business value which forces me to think critically about my time. But you can format yours in any way that you want.

Just take the action of reflecting every week and tracking your reflections somewhere.

Eventually you'll start to see an outline of your story come together.

Taking ownership of your story in the present allows you to recognize the areas that you need to strengthen your narrative. You can then be proactive in selecting projects that align with your future role.

An added plus for your career journal is that you can repurpose the content!

Use your Career Journal to tell your story to your boss during performance reviews, on your Linkedin profile, on your Resume, during interviews.... Literally anywhere that you need to speak to your impact you will have your Career Journal to reference.