Highlighting Accomplishments on Your Resume

This week I spoke with a Nexxt member who has 15 years of experience as a Sales Manager in the IT industry.  We discussed her background, work experience, and aspirations for her next role.  By all accounts, she is a great candidate who would be an asset to any employer.  While this conversation illustrated her skills easily for me to understand in 10 minutes, it was not resonating on her resume.  Today’s question focuses on emphasizing achievements and accomplishments on your resume to create a more positive first impression:

How do I come across as an “Achiever” on my resume?

Far too often we’ve found that job seekers focus too much on what they did at their previous employers rather than what they achieved.  This first impression as a “Doer” is more often than not going to cause you to miss out on opportunities that you could certainly qualify for.

The best way to ensure that you have an achievement-oriented resume is to use the STAR approach.  STAR stands for Situation, Tasks, Actions, and Results.

– The Situation is the name of your position, employer, and years worked at the company in question.

– The Tasks would be a snapshot of the day-to-day duties you held in the role.

– The Actions and Results are the most impactful areas of your experience and where you can bullet point the relevant accomplishments for each job.

What special projects did you work on and what were the results of those projects?  What impact did working in your department have on your professional development or the company as a whole?  Do you have monetary values or quantifiable results to back up your claims?  Anything that illustrates value to a perspective employer and shows what you accomplished will catch the eye of the recruiter or hiring manager reviewing you for the job.

By using the STAR approach, you will improve your odds of having an “Achiever” resume.  Employers will quickly and easily identify what you bring to the table and hopefully you’ll have a new job to show for it in the end!

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