How Accomplishments Lead to Resume (and Job) Success
When writing a resume, it is important to show to a prospective employer what you are best at.
How do you determine what accomplishments to include on your resume? Think about what you do each day at your job and how you demonstrate your proficiency at various tasks. (Do this with all of your past jobs, too.)
Ask yourself:
- What am I most successful doing and how does it apply to the job I am pursuing?
- How do I exhibit my determination to succeed?
- What do I do better than my coworkers?
- How did I take the initiative to get something done?
- Did I improve the work environment by the job I did?
- How did my work add to the bottom line?
- Can I identify a few major projects that I have successfully completed?
Dig a bit into the why’s and how’s of what you do so well and you will start to understand the essence of true achievement. Focus on your larger assignments as well as your day-to-day tasks. Think of anything for which you might have received recognition.
Why is it so important to list accomplishments on your resume?
Employers want to know what you are going to be able to do for them. An employer is thinking, “Don’t tell me what you did – show me what you are capable of doing.” In order to do that, you have to make your qualifications come alive. Creating a sense of success is vital to showing employers what you are capable of. Let your accomplishments do the “showing”.
The best way to list your accomplishments in your resume is to use statements with measurable quantifiers. What? 
Relate your successes in terms of money saved, money earned, percentages increased, etc. For example, if you are a manufacturing supervisor, you might list something like this: Decreased absenteeism on the floor by 25% while increasing production of product A by 15%. Those are results that speak volumes to prospective employers.
The more you focus on those numbers – money, time and amounts – in relation to your accomplishments, the more an employer will see not only what you are competent at doing, but also what you are proficient at doing. The difference might be whether you are called for an interview or whether you sit at home wondering why no one wants to hire you.
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Author: Carla Vaughan Carla is the owner of Professional-Resume-Example.com, a web site devoted to assisting candidates in the job-search process. She holds a B.S. in Business from Southern Illinois University and has authored several books. |
