The most common problem with résumés is the absolute lack of accomplishments. Too often they read like Job Descriptions that merely detail all the tasks you did.
For example: “Wrote company newsletter.” “Launched new products.” “Managed department budget.” “Supervised staff.” These well intentioned lines use the correct “action” verbs but provide no data to bolster the claim.
In today’s market, you must show how you helped your company grow revenue, control costs, improve operations, increase customer satisfaction, or reduce risk. Otherwise, you’re just another body looking for a job.
Great résumés (and cover letters) are built on accomplishments. Here’s a useful approach to help you document your accomplishments. Close the door. Spend the next 30 minutes coming up with 5-to-10 accomplishments. Each one should describe.
- The CHALLENGE: What was the problem, need or situation (1-3 sentences)
- The ACTION(s): How did you resolve the problem? List specific actions (1-3 sentences)
- What OBSTACLES did you overcome? List.
- The RESULTS: What results did you produce and what were the benefits? Please quantify. (1-3 sentences).
Let’s take the company newsletter as an example.
- Challenge: Employees were not aware of changes to company benefits, of new employees, or of business issues impacting the company. Morale was deteriorating.
- Action: Proposed to senior management an online company newsletter. Provided an online sample along with an estimated time to write/produce. Suggested a survey to ask employees what they wanted/needed to know.
- Obstacles: HR thought they already were communicating benefit changes effectively. Showed evidence to the contrary. Had to convince everyone that writing regular articles would not consume too much time.
- Results: Created the monthly newsletter using the employee survey results along with management inputs. Initial issue resulted in congratulatory emails from more than 70% of employee base. Six-month follow-up survey showed 90% “strongly approved” of the newsletter and its contents.
The résumé could now read:
- Proposed, researched and implemented online company newsletter that received 90% employee approval rating in six-month follow-up survey
I’d rather hire this person, wouldn’t you?
