The standard protocol for working on a resume is to work on it when you’re ready to find your next job. It does make sense. Why would you work on your resume when you’re not looking to move on from your current employer?

However, even if you’re not quite looking to move on, you never know when/if you’ll want to leave – or under unfortunate circumstances – have to leave. It’s for this reason that it’s good to update your resume, not after you leave your employer, but while you’re there and everything’s fresh. Unfortunately, it's not always a simple matter to know where to start, so here are a few tips.

Note Daily Tasks as You Accomplish Them

Of course, being an executive you don’t have time to note your every move; however, it’s a good idea to keep track of the tasks that you complete as you complete them. You'll have a much easier time during your next job search if you do things this way, since you'll have more accurate information by writing everything down while it's fresh in your mind.

Think about it. How often do you think about your heavy workload, mentally listing all that you need to do? By this point, probably hundreds if not thousands of times. This is the perfect time to note it all down. Copy your to do list, calendar, or project notes if you don't have time during the actual project to make a list of the accomplishment, and you can sort everything out later.

Keep Track of Exceptional Events

In addition to the goals that you fulfill on a regular basis, you want to be sure to keep track of the exceptional events. Whether you gave a leadership speech that resulted in a new way of operating the company, or you pushed a team of managers through a successful initiative that earned the company tons of money, you want to make sure that you keep track of what occurred.

These exceptional events are usually career-defining moments and something that you want to make sure you’re able to summarize effectively. So rather than minimizing your success later down the line because you’ve forgotten the pertinent details, take time to jot down what occurred while in the moment.

Make Sure to Note the Specifics

When keeping track of the details, don’t forget to make them specific. That is, if you’re jotting down a specific project that you initiated and oversaw, be specific about the number of people you managed, how much money and what items were listed in the budget, how much money was made, how many hours your employees worked, etc. The idea is to be as specific as possible so that a prospective employer down the line can visualize your contributions to a tee.

Hopefully you’ve gotten a chance to see just how beneficial it could be to work on your executive resume while still working. Technically, there’s nothing wrong with waiting until you’re in between jobs, but why not make the resume writing experience easier if you have the opportunity?