Resumes: Accomplishment Statements, Part I
By Angela Loëb
Accomplishments statements are used to elaborate on and liven up relevant task descriptions. However, the main purpose for accomplishment statements is to show your value proposition as it relates to the job you are trying to attract.
Why do you have to show your value prop on your resume?
I’ll put it right out there… I suggest you do what it takes to stand out from the pack. Let’s face it. We are still in an employer’s market. Even though we are seeing ongoing, positive signs of economic recovery as we move further into 2011, the talent pool continues to be very deep and wide. You are competing with active AND passive job seekers. Many of those who were employed throughout the recession were hunkered down, not willing to take the risk to move forward in their careers. Now that is all changing. They are putting themselves out there into the competitive talent pool as well.
So, it seems that we’ve arrived at a time when it’s not enough to simply state your education credentials and work experience. You need to do more than outline the tasks you performed and the responsibilities you held in the past. When there’s so much talent and credentials to choose from out there, the employer needs to be convinced that you can make the most impact with their organization. You can start that process of attracting their interest in you by showing your value prop on your resume.
The main way you can make this happen is to develop accomplishment statements for your resume.
First, let’s look at what accomplishment statements should do. They should:
- Show how you impact the bottom line and/or impact productivity using quantifiable numbers whenever possible.
- Show your career achievements such as awards, patents, publications, etc.
- Show how you went outside the usual scope of the job.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at how to compose and layout accomplishment statements for your resume.