How To Add More Achievements To Your Resume
Do you feel appreciated by your current employer?
If not, you’re certainly not alone. Many of my clients reach out to me with resumes that they aren’t proud of. Low self-confidence and an inability to see the unique value they offer to employers are two major obstacles I also help my clients navigate and overcome.
The strategy I find most effective is using their resume as a platform for showcasing achievements.
But simply asking, “What are some of your top achievements?” leaves many job seekers scratching their heads and feeling more discouraged. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a job seeker reply, “But I’m not in sales,” I’d be in the Bahamas right now. It doesn’t matter what field or industry you work in. You can translate your responsibilities into value-added contributions and your skills into results-focused achievements.
If you’re struggling to recognize the value you offer to employers and conveying that on your resume, here are some questions to ask yourself to add achievements to your resume.
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Money-related Achievements
For most companies, a top goal is to be profitable. While your role may not be a direct influence on sales or overall revenue (or maybe it is!), you as an employee contribute toward this goal in some capacity.
Depending on your level of responsibility, you may not have been given access to specific figures. You can always estimate (and indicate that it is an estimate) or give a range. For example, you can indicate that you have increased sales up to $300K or saved the company $8M+ rather than using exact figures.
Start by answering these questions when reflecting on your revenue-driving experiences:
- Did you increase sales? If so, by how much and how?
- Did you save the company money? If so, how much and how?
- Did you handle or manage money? If so, how much and how?
- Were you responsible for developing or preparing a budget? If so, how much and how?
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Maximized, Amplified, Slashed, Eliminated, Owned, Allocated, Developed, Oversaw
Service-related Achievements
Many fields such as technical support, healthcare, and hospitality are customer-focused. If your role requires you to work directly with people, having service-related achievements on your resume may help you stand out from others with less interpersonal relations experience.
Service-related achievements showcase your customer service, communication, and problem-solving skills. Even the most technical fields can require you to have some relational skills, and providing examples of how you have served others can help you portray these skills.
Start by answering these questions to identify your service-related achievements:
- How many people did you assist on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, and how did you assist them?
- How many new customers did you secure or how many customers did you retain, and how did you do it?
- Did you improve customer service ratings? If so, by how much and how?
- What problems did you resolve, and how did you identify the issue and implement a solution?
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Recommended, Accommodated, Won, Recovered, Revived, Maintained, Enhanced, Resolved
Process-related Achievements
When dollars and percentages are difficult to impact, process-related achievements can be just as influential. Often office administration roles have more opportunities to improve efficiency and accuracy than bottom-line figures.
Employers love to see their employees take an interest in how well they do their jobs. Including examples in your resume that showcase you taking the initiative to improve processes or procedures can position you as a more valuable asset than another candidate who sticks to their typical daily tasks.
These questions will help you consider the process-related achievements you may have:
- Have you improved efficiency or accuracy by creating a new process/procedure or streamlining an existing process/procedure? If so, by how much and how?
- Have you created or improved any standard operating procedures, manuals, training materials, etc? If so, how?
- Have you made your job easier by using new tools or software? If so, by how much and which tools?
- Have you recommended changes that were implemented in the workplace? If so, what were they and the positive impacts made?
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Introduced, Pioneered, Established, Streamlined, Upgraded, Leveraged, Implemented, Designed
Project-related Achievements
You don’t have to be a Certified PMP to manage projects. Projects come in all shapes and sizes, and your contributions to leading projects can help achieve important organizational or departmental goals.
Often projects are still in progress. Instead of getting stuck on completed achievements, you can showcase the goals that you are working towards and milestones you’ve reached. You can also describe projects as leadership experiences if you are responsible for any planning, execution, or monitoring tasks.
Ask yourself these questions regarding projects that you’ve led or contributed to:
- What was the goal of the project? Did you achieve that goal, and how?
- Did the project finish on time? If so, how did your contributions help achieve this?
- Did the project finish under budget? If so, by how much and how did your contributions help achieve this?
- Which notable milestones did you contribute to achieving and in what time frame?
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Orchestrated, Coordinated, Fulfilled, Met, Exceeded, Regulated, Reinforced, Championed
Leadership Achievements
Leadership achievements are often overlooked when you don’t hold a leadership-specific title. Whether you lead a particular project or an entire department, your resume should reflect the advancing responsibilities you hold regardless of your role.
While organizational leaders may focus on showcasing the financial achievements or organizational goals they have met, you should highlight even the smallest achievements gained under your leadership.
Start with these questions when reflecting on your leadership experiences:
- Have you been assigned progressively advancing responsibilities? If so, which responsibilities and within what time frame?
- How many people reported to you or did you hire, supervise, or train?
- Have you mentored any subordinates? If so, how many and in what areas?
- Have you influenced any major organizational changes? If so, what were they and how?
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Directed, Led, Spearheaded, Delegated, Guided, Mentored, Authorized, Steered
Quantifying Your Achievements
Employers love measurable achievements. Even if you can’t add specific figures to your achievements, you can quantify your achievements by giving them context. This is what will separate you from the candidates with what appears to be similar skills and experience.
What exactly does quantifying your achievements look like? When quantifying your achievements, consider:
- How many people were involved?
- How many people were impacted?
- Within what time frame was this achieved?
- What was the benchmark before compared to after your efforts?
The measurable achievements that will make the greatest impact will be those that your ideal employer will want to see on your resume or LinkedIn profile. To piece together these measurable achievements, reflect on and narrow down the top skills necessary to thrive in the role you’re targeting and use this storytelling framework to describe your skills in action with detailed examples from your work history:
Results or what you achieved + compared to before or why your efforts were necessary + the actions you took or skill(s) you applied
Give employers what they want! This Skills Auditor and bonus Work History Examples Guide helps you organize your skills and translate them into action-oriented statements for your Experience section
12 More Prompts From The Pros
Still struggling to see the value you offer and convey it in your resume? I reached out to top resume writers, career coaches, and job search experts I know to share questions that they believe will be helpful in adding more achievements to your resume.
"What problem was I hired to solve, how did I go about solving it, and how can I prove I solved it?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Catapulted, Accelerated, Masterminded
Virginia Franco
Executive Storyteller, Resume & LinkedIn Writer ➤ 5X Certified ➤ No Worksheets/Prep ➤ Turnkey Services ➤ Host of Resume Storyteller Podcast ➤ Former Journalist
"The CEO announced a Reduction in Force (RIF). Why should they keep you over your colleagues?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Saved, Boosted, Slashed
Kyle Elliott
Career & Life Coach | Resume & LinkedIn Writer | Professional Speaker | Caffeine Addict | Disneyland Annual Passholder | Forbes Coaches Council & CaffeinatedKyle.com
"What do I do, who do I do it for, and how good am I at what I do?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Initiated, Orchestrated, Empowered
Eric Melniczek
Career Coach | Headhunter | Connector | Speaker | Author | Relationship Builder
"How large a budget or team did you manage?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Headed, Managed, Directed
Matt Warzel
President at MJW Careers, LLC Resume Writing, Career Coaching & Outplacement | Jobstickers.com Content Writer | Author
"Did you implement a new plan, strategy, or program?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Launched, Developed, Engineered
Chelsea Jay
I help job hoppers land roles they don’t want to leave! ➤ Resume Writer ➤ Career Coach ➤ Online Branding Strategist
"During this job, what I am I most proud of... How did I achieve this... [and] What was the impact of this achievement on the business?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Architected, Transformed, Upgraded
Scott Singer
President – Insider Career Strategies ✔ Resume Writer & Career Coach ✔ Outplacement Services ✔ Forbes Coaches Council
"How did you go above and beyond the call of duty in this position?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Streamlined, Optimized, Automated
Angela Watts
Fortune 100 Recruiter turned Executive Resume Writer - producing highly effective resumes that get results!
"How do I coach, motivate, or create a winning team?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Fostered, Developed, Facilitated
Adrienne Tom
27X Award-Winning Executive Resume Writer, LinkedIn Profile Writer, Job Search Coach ▶️ I help managers, directors, & corporate executives (CXO) level up, land a job faster, & increase earning power! Canada & US Resumes
"How have you demonstrated leadership in your current (or most recent) position?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Advocated, Spearheaded, Launched
Meg Applegate
Connecting high-achieving women to career advancement | Certified Resume Writer | Job Search Coach | Personal Branding Strategist
“Can I speak, in the interview, to the behaviors and processes that allowed me to achieve this success?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Generated, Cultivated, Created
Travis Koehler
Certified Employment Interview Professional, Certified Professional Résumé Writer at Travis Koehler Writing, LLC
"What challenges did I step into when I started in this role and what did I do to overcome them?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Championed, Spearheaded, Revitalized
Laura DeCarlo
Empower Resume Writers & Career Coaches to 6-Figure+ Success Without the Stress | Resume & Coach Certification 🏅 | Proven Strategy to Close 94-97% of Your Consults
"How did I help the team?"
ACTION WORDS TO USE: Enhanced, Increased, Influenced
Danielle Holmes
Certified Professional Resume Writer ✍️ | Multi-Year Super Service Award Winner 🏆 | Empowering You To FIND and GET the Job You WANT
Conclusion
An achievements-focused resume isn’t just for those in sales! Quantifying your skill sets can be as easy as comparing before and afters, considering the context behind your day-to-day activities, and thinking creatively about how you’ve made an indirect impact for your past employers.
It’s not bragging—it’s stating the facts.
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