Industry News and Information

Resume Writing Tip: 8 Ways to Uncover Your Accomplishments

Shawn Augustson AvatarShawn Augustson
March 26, 2007


Maggie writes, “I am having a hard time turning my daily responsibilities into meaningful results. Any advice for a desperate job seeker?”
A: This is a popular question and I answered a similar one in this post: No Accomplishments? Oh Yes You Do!


Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about including accomplishments on resumes, so I wanted to give you a few more ideas for uncovering the results of your work. Here are eight questions you can ask yourself:
1. How does your employer measure your performance? If you focus on how your employer rates your work quality, you can gauge how well you’ve contributed to organizational goals. Performance reviews can be a great source of information about your accomplishments — if you’ve received reviews, what positive aspects of your work did your supervisor mention?
2. Were you confronted with a particular problem or challenge? How did you tackle the challenge and what were the outcomes or benefits to your employer?
3. What would your colleagues say about your work? If you’re not sure, ask them how you’ve made a difference to the organization. You might be surprised by how highly others regard your work!
4. What would others miss when you’re gone? If you landed a new job and your employer was throwing you a good-bye party, what kinds of nice things would your boss and coworkers say about you? What about your work is so unique that it would be hard to find a replacement to fill your shoes?
5. What did you do at your job that made you feel most proud? Even if you accomplished a task that was outside of your normal job responsibilities, think about achievements that you feel good about and the reasons why you feel proud.
6. How would you “sell” yourself to potential employers? If you were trying to prove to a hiring manager that you are the top candidate for the job opening, what aspects of your work would you point to as proof?
7. How well have you done your job? Look at your daily responsibilities. How well have you performed these tasks? For example, if you trained five employees, how did they benefit from your training? Were there indirect results of the training, such as improvements in customer service, sales increases, improved work performance, or higher employee morale?
8. Ask yourself, “So what?” This trick works every time. Look at your job duties and ask yourself, “So what?” for each of them. By probing into the significance of your duties, you will start to realize the value of your work.
I hope these questions help you realize your accomplishments!
Best wishes,
Kim Isaacs
Resume expert Kim Isaacs offers real world, proven advice on resume writing, cover letters, career change, and job search strategies.
http://www.resumepower.com/blog/

Related Articles

No Related Posts.
View More Articles