Accomplishments For Your Resume

Question:

I’ve heard that my resume should contain more accomplishments than daily duties, but how do I do that? I just do my job. I don’t really have any accomplishments.

Answer:

Of course you do!

Many people feel the way you do; they come in every day, do what they’re paid to do, and go home. But in fact, if that’s all they did, they wouldn’t be doing it very long. Employers expect you to achieve successes, and help them do the same.

Fortunately, you don’t have to save the world in order to rack up achievements. For resume purposes, it’s not difficult to take a duty and turn it into an accomplishment.

Start by asking yourself some questions, and don’t be humble about the answers. What has anyone ever praised you for? Did you ever get an award or bonus? Did you ever exceed a goal, meet a deadline or budget, solve a problem? Did you improve a process, and save your company time or money? (All employers want to save time and money.) When did you go above and beyond your normal duties? How did you stand out from your colleagues, especially those with jobs similar to yours? What makes you proud?

Once you have your list of achievements, flesh it out with details. Take “Organized events,” and make it “Planned a banquet for shareholders and board members, including menus and entertainment.” Help the reader understand the importance of the accomplishment.

Then add numbers: not only hard numbers, but dollars, percentages, even a timeline. That helps us recognize the magnitude of the achievement. Turn “Organized an event” into “Planned a meeting for over 200 shareholders and board members, including menus and entertainment, with a budget of $5,000, in a three-week turnaround time.” That’s an accomplishment!

If you’re still working, take time today to start a list of your successes. It will be a lot easier to come up with them if you’ve kept track over time. Ask your supervisor or colleagues what you’ve done that impressed them, and add their answers to your list.

You certainly have accomplishments. If you didn’t, you would have been fired long ago. Take some time to think about your successes; don’t be shy. Then figure out how to explain them to someone else, so that they appreciate all you’ve done. Your resume will be vastly more impressive, and you’ll be in your new job before you know it.