Resume Rehab by Colleen

Identifying, qualifying and quantifying your achievements

September 25, 2009 at 9:16 pm 1 comment

The first thing I ask people to do when they want to update their resume, is to give me a description of their work history and achievements.

For most everyone, it’s pretty easy for them to tell me the dates and places where they have worked, past job titles and companies. But it’s that achievements part that is hard for them to come up with.

Use this list to figure out what you’ve accomplished. Once you have the list, try to weave accomplishments in with your job responsibilities and duties.

Actions: Did you…

1. open new accounts?
2. create an infrastructure for any function(s)?
3. design and/or implement standard operating procedures?
4. develop the professional capabilities of people who were then promoted to positions of greater accountability and/or who outperformed peers?
5. add new products?
6. develop or strengthen vendor partnerships?
7. launch a new brand?
8. develop a training program?
9. initiate and/or manage a major project?
10. renegotiate contracts?
11. reengineer business processes?
12. restructure organizations?
13. write or redesign job descriptions?
14. reach new audiences?
15. grow subscribers or membership base?
16. improve the accuracy of sales forecasts?
17. start a new division?
18. grow your referral base?
19. begin sourcing or production in a new region or country?
20. start outsourcing tasks?
21. expand your presence to a new geographic territory?
22. establish quality standards?
23. start evaluating vendor performance?
24. write an employee or vendor manual?
25. design forms or templates?
26. introduce and/or direct programs that resulted in achievement of certain industry standards?
27. expand or consolidate your vendor base?
28. accelerate product development?
29. implement new technology-based solutions or lead technology integrations?
30. win support from internal or external groups?
31. create a reference library or archives of key information?
32. improve inventory accuracy?
33. decrease order-to-delivery lead times or speed-to-market times?
34. design and/or institute order tracking or call tracking systems?
35. start a safety program?
36. automate a process previously performed manually?
37. eliminate unnecessary or redundant processes?
38. design a business continuity plan?
39. get rid of unprofitable product lines or customer accounts?
40. align services with customer requirements?

Results: As a result of these actions, did you…

• increase sales/profits?
• reduce costs?
• grow market share?
• increase service levels?
• achieve better quality or consistency?
• improve safety and/or reduce risk?
• boost productivity?
• lower employee turnover?
• improve company’s reputation?
• position the company for future growth?

This list is adapted from a WiseBread blog post.

Entry filed under: advice, Job Search, resume, Workplace. Tags: accomplishments, achievements, Job Search, responsibilities, resume.