Building a standout resume can feel like a lot of pressure, especially when you’re trying to find just the right words to grab a potential employer’s attention. How do you make sure your resume lands you that interview? By showcasing your skills through solid examples of your accomplishments.
You might think, “What accomplishments?” especially if you’re fresh out of school or gearing up for your first job. However, achievements don’t always come with flashy numbers or groundbreaking projects. Anything you’ve done that aligns with a company’s goals or adds value counts as a win.
If you’ve worked before, you’re in an even better position to showcase how your efforts have made a real difference. For new graduates, explore your academic or extracurricular experiences. Did you lead a project, or perhaps improve a process during an internship? Those are invaluable!
Understand the distinction between job responsibilities and resume accomplishments
Job responsibilities are the duties you are expected to perform at your job. Resume accomplishments focus on the successful outcomes of those duties.
Resume accomplishments are specific, measurable achievements from your work history. They use numbers to show exactly how you made a positive difference at your jobs.
In other words, job responsibilities tell what you do; accomplishments show how well you do it.
For example:
Job responsibility: “Organized weekly team meetings.”
Resume accomplishment: “Streamlined weekly team meetings, reducing meeting time by 25% while increasing productivity and team collaboration.”
Why are resume accomplishments better than job responsibilities?
Using resume accomplishments instead of merely listing responsibilities maximizes your resume space by demonstrating to hiring managers that you are results-oriented and consistently exceed expectations.
Quantifiable information allows hiring managers and recruiters to measure the degree of knowledge and skills you have to offer.
Two Ways to Quantify Accomplishment in your Resume
Quantify accomplishments using Time, Money and Volume
Quantifying accomplishments using the STAR technique
Quantify Accomplishments using Time, Money and Volume.
This method focuses on concrete metrics such as money saved, time reduced, and volume increased. Ask yourself questions about your experience that will enable you to answer in terms of money saved, time spent, volumes handled, and percentages improved.
Here is a list of questions to generate ideas for your resume accomplishments
Did I reach my goals quickly?
Did I exceed my goals often?
Did I contribute towards achieving company goals?
Did I create a system or process that helped the company’s productivity?
Did I help the company reduce costs and waste?
Did I help improve customer satisfaction and retention?
Did I receive awards for my performance?
Did I lead a team and drive them to achieve our KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)?
Did I make or save the company money?
Example
Organized a charity event that raised $5,000, exceeding our goal by 25%.
Quantify Your Accomplishment using the STAR technique
The STAR method enables you to showcase your accomplishments in an organized and powerful way. By outlining your achievements through the lens of Situation, Task, Action, and Result, you create a coherent story that emphasizes your problem-solving capabilities and the positive results you achieved.
Example
Situation:Think of a situation where you faced a challenge or opportunity that required action.
Task:Identify the specific objective you needed to accomplish in that situation.
Action:Describe the exact steps you took to address the task or challenge.
Result:Highlight the outcomes of your actions, including any savings in time or money, or positive feedback received.
Let’s say you were tasked with organizing a fundraising event for a non-profit organization. The situation was that the organization needed funds to support its programs, and the task was to raise a specific amount of money. Your action involved creating a detailed plan, securing sponsorships, and promoting the event.
As a result, you exceeded the fundraising goal by 20%, raising additional funds that helped expand the organization’s reach and impact.
These are some examples of quantifiable achievements that you could include in your resume:
Increased sales revenue by X%.
Reduced operational costs by $X.
Improved customer satisfaction ratings by X points.
Completed projects X% ahead of schedule.
Achieved a Y% increase in website traffic.
Managed a budget of $X.
Increased social media engagement by X%.
Need more examples?
Download the free guide Quantify_Accomplishments_On_Your_Resume.pdf. Once you master crafting your resume this way, you’ll never go back, and the interview invitations will start pouring in.
Bonus tip- Where to Include Resume Accomplishments:
In Your Job Summary
Example: “Seasoned marketing specialist with over four years of experience in digital campaigns and brand management. Successfully grew online audience engagement by 40% year-over-year through targeted content strategies and SEO optimization. Skilled in data analysis and campaign reporting, consistently delivering insights that drive budget efficiency and marketing ROI.”
Under Your Work Experience
Start by summarizing your job roles and responsibilities. Follow up with specific accomplishments from your resume that showcase your contributions. For example, if your role involved team leadership, you might say:“Oversaw a team of 10 in a fast-paced retail setting, where I implemented new scheduling practices that decreased staff turnover by 20% and increased overall productivity.”
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