How to Create a Career Taxonomy That Works for Everything
Organizing your career accomplishments, skills, and experiences can be a game-changer.
It’s like building a personalized library for your professional life.
Crafting a resume, updating LinkedIn, preparing for an interview, or mapping out a career move.
Having everything in one place will save you time and energy.
Below are the steps to take to create a career taxonomy that works for everything:
Career development, job applications, and personal branding.
Step 1: Start with Purpose
Before diving in, take a moment to ask yourself why you need this taxonomy.
For most of us, the answer isn’t just one thing, it’s all the things.
You want it to:
- Help you track your progress.
- Identify skill gaps.
- Provide a quick reference for tailoring resumes and cover letters.
- Use as a reminder when creating a bio for a speaking event.
- Set the foundation for a strong, consistent personal brand across platforms like LinkedIn.
Understanding your goals will help you build a flexible system that meets your needs.
Step 2: Build Multi-Purpose Categories
Your taxonomy should be broad enough to work across all use cases. Start with these categories:
- Achievements: Track accomplishments with measurable results (e.g., “increased sales by 20%”) and qualitative impact (e.g., “streamlined team workflows”).
- Skills: Break these into technical, soft, and leadership skills. Add subcategories for expertise levels or industries.
- Projects: Document significant projects, focusing on challenges, solutions, and outcomes. This doubles as material for case studies or interview prep.
- Professional Growth: Include certifications, training, and milestones to show development over time.
- Feedback: Capture testimonials, performance reviews, or quotes from clients and colleagues.
- Lessons: These are the failures that didn’t go so well. Note what happened and the growth and resilience that resulted.
Step 3: Use Tags to Increase Flexibility
Tags make your taxonomy dynamic and easy to search. For example:
- A project might be tagged as “Leadership,” “Sales Enablement,” and “Key Achievement.”
- A certification could have tags like “Resume Highlight,” “LinkedIn Update,” or “Skill Development.”
This way, one entry can be used in multiple contexts without duplication.
Step 4: Choose a Structure That Fits Everything
Not all taxonomies are created equal, so pick a structure that makes sense for your goals:
- Chronological: Great for career development or preparing for interviews.
- Thematic: Ideal for personal branding or showcasing expertise.
- Hybrid: Combines the best of both worlds for maximum flexibility.
AI Tip: Use AI tools to analyze your data and recommend an optimal structure. AI can group similar skills or align projects with responsibilities, saving you time.
Step 5: Leverage Tools to Stay Organized
The right tools make all the difference. Consider:
- Spreadsheets: A simple table with categories and tags.
- Notion or Airtable: Dynamic databases that let you customize views and filters.
- AI-Powered Platforms: Tools like Roam Research or Obsidian for interlinked notes.
- Career Fingerprint: This is a website dedicated to helping keep career information organized. In addition to the information all in one place, the system allows you to connect content to roles you are applying for.
AI Tip: Some AI tools can auto-tag entries or suggest updates based on your goals.
Step 6: Keep It Current
A career taxonomy isn’t a one-and-done project. Treat it like a living document:
- Add new accomplishments, certifications, or skills as they happen.
- Archive outdated information but keep it accessible for historical context.
- Set reminders to review and update your taxonomy regularly.
AI Tip: Use automation tools or calendar reminders to prompt updates at key intervals.
Step 7: Make It Work for You
Now that you have a robust taxonomy, here’s how to put it to work:
- Tailor Job Applications: Quickly pull relevant examples for resumes and cover letters.
- Enhance LinkedIn Profiles: Use your taxonomy to keep your profile fresh and focused.
- Create Case Studies: Turn projects into detailed narratives for portfolios or interviews.
- Prepare for Interviews: Use your taxonomy as a cheat sheet for answering behavioral questions.
And when life throws you a curveball, like a surprise job opportunity or an unexpected pivot, you’ll already have everything you need at your fingertips.
Conclusion
Creating a career taxonomy that works for everything might sound ambitious.
However, with a little planning, and the support of AI, it’s totally doable.
Organizing career content into a system that’s easy to update and access sets us up for success.
Whether chasing our dream jobs.
Building our personal brand.
Or simply tracking our growth.
Our future self will thank us.