When it comes to crafting a resume or preparing for an interview, some of the most powerful tools you have are accomplishments. These mini stories highlight the value in your professional journey, lending tangible evidence of your contributions at previous positions. Resume accomplishments also illustrate how you can add value as you move forward with companies that are facing similar challenges. Regardless of your experience or your target career goal, you can leverage these stories to differentiate yourself in a competitive job market. And let’s be clear: You wouldn’t have gotten where you are without some accomplishments.
Let’s dive in and determine how to unearth those great stories and share them on your resume and in job interviews.
CAR: The Formula for Winning Accomplishments
While you may have heard of SAR or STAR, I’ve always liked the CAR formula for building accomplishments. This simple acronym is easy to remember and gives you a tool to transform your achievements into compelling narratives that demonstrate how fabulous you are. The components of the CAR formula are:
Challenge
For most of us, we start by identifying a specific problem or challenge we faced. This sets the stage and provides context for what follows.
Action
Next, describe the action you took to address the challenge. This is where you showcase your skills, decision-making abilities, and leadership qualities.
Result
This is the outcome of your actions. Quantitative is ideal, but qualitative results are just as valuable. The result is how you supported the company, employees, or other stakeholders. Salespeople often do better starting here.
Using the CAR approach, you can frame your accomplishments as little stories of your value, making them more memorable and impactful in your resume and interviews.
Types of Resume Accomplishments: Quantitative and Qualitative
Quantitative accomplishments—those backed by numbers—are undeniably impressive. They provide clear, measurable evidence of your success. For example:
- Increased revenue 15% in 6 months through implementation of new marketing strategy.
- Reduced operational costs $100K by overhauling and streamlining supply chain process.
However, while numbers are ideal, the most important element of resume accomplishments are the results. The outcome of your actions is what truly matters. Even if you don’t have hard numbers to back up your accomplishments, qualitative results can be just as powerful:
- Improved employee engagement and productivity with development of comprehensive training program.
- Expanded brand awareness and added another revenue stream through successful launch of new product.
These are still some fantastic accomplishments, even without numbers, so don’t get bogged down in an attempt to think of dollar signs or percentages.
Some Examples of Resume Accomplishments in Different Areas
In my experience, most accomplishments fall into one of five categories:
- You made someone money.
- You saved someone money.
- You made someone happy.
- You created or improved processes.
- You mitigated risks or potential losses.
The “someone” here is a stakeholder, namely management, employees, customers, or vendors. Here are some examples of each of these categories:
- You made someone money:
• Generated additional $500K of revenue within 6 months of developing and implementing new digital-marketing campaign targeted to high-value clients. - You saved someone money:
• Reduced costs 20%, saving more than $200K annually, by identifying inefficiencies in procurement process and negotiating better supplier contracts. - You made someone happy:
• Retained top-tier client who was at risk of canceling contract by assuming ownership of account, reassessing client’s needs, and tailoring new package that exceeded their expectations. - You created or improved processes:
• Reduced labor hours by automating previously manual process, enabling team to focus on more pressing tasks. - You mitigated risks or potential losses:
• Protected company from potential breaches and ensured compliance with industry regulations via implementation of cybersecurity framework, including training employees on best practices.
These examples clearly illustrate how accomplishments can be powerful indicators of your value, whether they’re tied to financial metrics or qualitative improvements.
A Word of Caution About Using ChatGPT for Accomplishments
In today’s digital age, it can be tempting to turn to ChatGPT for help with your resume. After all, such programs are free, whereas an investment (sometimes significant) is required to work with a resume writer. However, while ChatGPT is a wonderful tool for many tasks, it has a bad habit of making things up, especially when it comes to resume writing. You could end up with numbers that aren’t accurate and don’t apply. Really, how can you measure intangible results like happiness? Yet ChatGPT will attempt to do just that.
Your accomplishments are deeply personal and specific to your career. They require careful thought and reflection to capture accurately. Rather than relying on a bot, consider working with a professional resume writer or coach who can help you identify and articulate your accomplishments in a way that truly reflects your unique value.
The Importance of Accomplishments
While resume accomplishments are key to a great presentation when you apply to jobs, they’re equally important during the interview process. I will bet money that you will be asked, “Tell me about a time when. . .” In most cases, this question is followed by a challenge, to which you’ll provide the action and result. Occasionally, you’ll be asked to share a result: “Tell me about a time when you were proud of something you did.” In that case, you’ll still use the CAR framework, just from a different perspective.
For most people, considering these mini stories is an entirely different way of looking at their resumes. And it can most certainly be hard to shift the way you view your work experience from task oriented to accomplishment oriented. If you can’t manage it on your own, a professional resume writer or job-search coach can guide you and provide examples for you to consider to get you going in the right direction.
Remember, accomplishments are the cornerstone of a powerful resume and a successful interview. By leveraging the CAR approach and focusing on the results you’ve achieved, you can effectively demonstrate your value to potential employers. Don’t leave this critical component to chance; start thinking about your accomplishments today (and consider enlisting the help of a professional to ensure they’re presented in the best possible light).
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