I have bad news for you, job seekers: Most of your resumes are living in the 1990s. Back then, we kind of threw up on the paper with everything you did at each position, mostly in bullet form, focusing on tasks. Today, in the 2020s, we’re all about accomplishment stories. What we really want to do is highlight how you added value in past roles, which shares how you can potentially add value to a future employer’s organization. And these stories start on your resume, follow you to your networking events, and get the light shined on them in your interviews. In short, by taking some time to think about and craft stories that showcase your value add, your job search will be exponentially more effective.
Why Accomplishments Matter
Let me provide you with two scenarios for applicants to the same position:
Candidate #1 has a resume full of bullets stating what he did at each of his positions. For good measure, he’s included a block of keywords to help him get through ATS.
Candidate #2 has organized her resume into brief paragraphs of her overall job scope, followed by bulleted and impactful, results-based accomplishment stories for each of her positions. She has a powerful summary that incorporates keywords while highlighting how she meets the requirements of the position.
Which candidate would you call for an interview?
Unfortunately, most of the resumes I review look like candidate #1. They are task based and looking to “game the system” by incorporating lots of keywords that might help get through ATS. My goal is to transform those presentations into more of what candidate #2 is sharing: value, value, and more value. How does one effectively demonstrate value on a resume? One word: accomplishments.
“But I don’t have numbers.”
In my nearly 30 years of writing resumes and supporting job seekers, I can remember exactly two times when candidates could think of no accomplishments at all. I couldn’t work with those two individuals, alas. But everyone else in the thousands of people I’ve helped has been able to come up with accomplishment stories. However, they often get stuck on the numbers component of resumes. “But I don’t have numbers,” they say. “I’m not in sales or marketing. I don’t have accomplishments.” There’s a big difference between not having numbers and not having accomplishments. In my experience, there are plenty of people who don’t have the former and precious few who don’t have the latter.
Remember that there are two ways to think of accomplishments:
Quantitative outcomes include numbers. These could be about all kinds of things, but they share dollars, percentages, or numbers of parts made, as examples.
Qualitative outcomes are results of actions taken but that don’t have numbers. They could be more intangible about customer service or satisfaction. It might just be that you weren’t part of the number component—or just don’t know what happened. Regardless, if there’s an outcome, there can most certainly be an accomplishment.
Your Formula for Accomplishment Stories
When we hear the word “accomplishment,” we sometimes think of awards, promotions, or winning competitions. While these are accomplishments, resume accomplishments are specific. Here’s the winning formula to start thinking about excellent accomplishment stories:
Challenge: This is when it hit the fan, or your boss (client) asked you to take on something.
Action: What you did to overcome that challenge.
Result: The outcome of your actions. Typically, this is the opposite of the challenge.
When you add your accomplishment stories to your resume, you’ll want to bullet them after your brief job scope for each position and front load them. This means they go on your resume as:
Result + Action
Omit the challenge.
Types of Accomplishments to Consider
Having a formula is great, but what if you just can’t think of any accomplishments? Easy! I can help with that too! In my experience, accomplishments nearly always fall into one of the five following categories:
- You made a stakeholder* money.
- You saved a stakeholder* money.
- You made a stakeholder* happy.
- You increased productivity or efficiency.
- You mitigated risk or loss.
*A stakeholder can be your boss, colleagues, the company, vendors, or clients.
Wondering where awards or recognition come in? Often, these kinds of accolades are linked to overcoming a challenge. For instance, you received the Employee of the Month award because you helped a customer in some way. That award didn’t come to you for doing nothing, so be sure you’re incorporating it into your accomplishment stories.
Leveraging Accomplishment Stories Beyond the Resume
Yes, it is imperative to incorporate accomplishments into your resume, but as I mentioned earlier, they are important for a couple other areas in the job search, namely networking and interviewing.
Networking
Remember that often-asked question from networking, “What do you do?” I have a whole blog about that topic, but essentially, you want to tell them what you’re looking for. If you really want to make an impression, add an accomplishment:
“I’m currently looking for a position as a project manager, and I’m targeting tech firms, preferably startups. In my last role—also with a startup—I positioned the company for success by creating project SOPs, which reduced the time it took to complete each project and led to follow-on projects, thereby boosting revenue.”
BOOM!
Bonus: If you’re at a networking event where you’re invited to give a 30-second commercial to the group, an accomplishment will really differentiate you from the rest of the crowd.
Interviewing
In the interview, you will undoubtedly be asked a few questions that start with, “Tell me about a time when . . .” These are great situational questions that invoke the need to tell a story. Accomplishment stories are ideal responses here!
Start with the familiar CAR formula (challenge, action, result), but as an added bonus, expand accomplishment stories from CAR to CART, adding your key takeaway. Employers love to hear how you’ve added value, and they also like to know how you’ve grown and learned by overcoming obstacles. Here’s an example:
Employer: “Tell me about a time when you had a project you were managing that was falling behind schedule.”
Candidate: “Oh yes, I’ve definitely faced that challenge a time or two! One time, I took over a project that a colleague had been managing poorly. It was already a month behind schedule, $10,000 over budget, and wreaking havoc for the project management team, not to mention the client! I was asked to step in, and I immediately spoke with the team to determine where the bottlenecks were. They let me know that they could have been done weeks ago if only for this one obstacle. I researched how to overcome the obstacle and let management know where we needed help. Within a week, the project was complete. What we realized is that the prior project manager wasn’t listening to her team. They had tried to talk to her, but she thought everything was going well. Moving forward with projects, we built in regular meetings to touch base and a set of milestones to avoid such bottlenecks in the future.”
Look at that: a story, key players, a champion coming to the rescue, and a plan to avoid such situations in the future. Who wouldn’t want to work with that guy?!
What to Do If You Can’t Think of Accomplishments
Armed with a framework and ideas of potential areas in which to find accomplishment stories, most job seekers can start to think of a few. However, if you get stuck, it’s good to talk them out with a coworker, spouse, significant other, or resume writer/job-search coach. People who know you will likely help you remember that time when you were stressed out or super proud of something you did at work. On the other hand, an experienced resume writer will probably have worked with candidates in your industry and can provide scenarios or starting points to consider.
You Didn’t Get Where You Are without Accomplishments!
Shifting from looking at your experience as a series of “did this, did that” to accomplishment stories can be hard work. But I guarantee you that, if you’re like most of the mid-level and executive clients I work with, you did not get where you are today without having overcome some accomplishments. Even little wins are significant and will help illustrate to a future employer how you add value. Don’t focus on how you moved mountains; focus instead on how you made someone smile or made the processes work smoother. That’s where your accomplishments will be.
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I’m Amanda, Your Career Advocate, and I love sharing bits of wisdom to elevate your job search. I provide resume writing and LinkedIn optimization along with coaching and strategies to navigate a path to success. Want in? Learn more about my services.