What level of detail should you include in your resume achievements?

It's all about relevance. Step back from what you have in your CV and ensure it's tailored to the job you are applying for. Ensure your list of achievements matches that job spec or the amount of how many achievements you have mentioned could be irrelevant!

We all love big numbers and percentages of overachievement and we love to highlight them on our CV's to support the track record. However for me it's equally important, if not more, to read about one's less spectacular actions but with a greater impact on the individual work, team, organisation or a particular client. Doing something out of the scope which brings surprising result. Innovative idea to help the team synergise better. A new logo won against all odds - how and why it turned to be such a success. Those stories and examples ring true and help the individual stand out in an authentic and unique way.

Here's your strategy for listing achievements in your resume or LinkedIn profile: 1. Have 3 achievement bullets for each role (Your top 3 all time achievements go in an Achievements section towards the top of your LinkedIn About Section). 2. Use expressive action verbs like "drove", "spearheaded", "led", "piloted", "guided", etc. 3. Show impact with numbers. Use: - Percentages and "X times" when the base of the numbers is more modest and the increase is more impressive. - Raw numbers or "X millions" if the increase is more modest but the base is bigger and more impressive. 4. Cut out the adjectives and start each bullet point with an action verb.

Achievements matter a lot on your Resume, becasue in the end it all boils down to “So what” question. So what that you were working on certain project? That’s talking about your responsibility. How did your involvement in this project helped the organization achieve their goals? That’s talking about results and achievements. See the difference?

Resume is one pager life story that you can explain to employer. While hiring, employers look for someone who can show how the person will be contributing in their business. So you should be including the achievements relevant to the business. Something that will prove them that you are the best choice.

This is also another way to validate your transferable skills if you are a career or industry changer! Going from a teacher to product manager & helped minimize the morning drop off time by working with your principal to bring improvements? Sounds like you know how to remove friction from the user experience to me!

Choosing which achievements to showcase all starts with having clarity on your branding and positioning and ensuring that the achievements selected serve to support strategic elements of the brand, namely: -Demonstrating prior success stories in undertaking a similar project or solving a similar challenge -Showcasing what sets us apart and how our specific skills or combination of skills add value -Showcasing soft skills and how they allow us to add value in a given role It's also important to keep in mind that "positioning" is about understanding the specific needs and challenges of a given role and tailoring what we present about ourselves and our achievements to what is specifically relevant to the role.

Remember that hirers only spend 5 seconds to see decide if they will bring you into the interview. Look at the key words, responsibilities and requirements and use the exact same words in your experience and achievements at the beginning of your CV and cover letter to keep them interested in looking at the rest of your experience.

To choose relevant achievements for your resume, match your past successes with the job's requirements and the employer's objectives: 1. Analyze the job description for key skills and performance metrics. 2. Highlight achievements that demonstrate those skills or exceed the desired metrics. 3. Select accomplishments that reflect the scope and level of responsibility in the new role. 4. Tailor your achievements to illustrate your ability to address the specific challenges or goals of the prospective employer. 5. Ensure the chosen achievements show progression, leadership, or innovation that aligns with the role you're targeting.

Selecting Resume Achievements: Job Relevance: Choose achievements that mirror the skills and outcomes the job ad emphasizes. Keywords: Incorporate language from the job description to make your achievements resonate with the employer's needs. Quantify: Use numbers to show the magnitude of your accomplishments. Fit for Role: Highlight achievements showing you can excel in the specific role and contribute to the company's success. Aligning your achievements with the employer's expectations will demonstrate your potential value to their team succinctly.

It can be daunting to list accomplishments in a resume especially when you're trying to bring out your best but within a certain number of pages. It is recommended to use the STAR format to identify your quantified achievements. S - what was the 'Situation'? T - what 'Task' were you given? A - what 'Action' did you take? R - what was the 'Result'? This approach will always fetch you numbers!

Specifics are important to build credibility. Catch all achievements or extremely high numbers may reduce credibility as they lack substance and can seem far-fetched. It's best to describe a single achievement and provide details that make it tangible than to be too self-congratulatory. For example, talking about how you leveraged specific soft skills to tackle a major roadblock that comprised the delivery of a project and managed to overcome the issues and deliver on time will be much more powerful than a generic "Consistently delivering on-time" claim. Added bonus, it enables you to showcase soft skills as well. Avoid generalisations and self-congratulatory statements and focus on specific examples to build credibility with facts.

Yes to the SMART framework as much as you can. There will be some roles, especially older ones, where you may not have that level of context anymore. Also, please don’t share achievements for every job that say you were the freaking best at everything you did because you got 10x results on everything. We all have wins - some are home runs and some get out teammate to the next base. No one hits a home run every single time at bat 😉

Craft SMART achievements on your resume by being specific (e.g., "grew Northeast sales territory, adding 15 key accounts"), quantifiable ("increased sales by 30% in one year"), credible, related to the job (like "improved email campaign open rates by 40%"), and time-defined ("accomplished in Q1 2022"). This approach demonstrates concrete value to potential employers.

Writing SMART Achievements on Your Resume: 1. **Specific:** Clearly define what you accomplished. Example: "Expanded client base." 2. **Measurable:** Add numbers to quantify. Example: "... by 30 clients." 3. **Achievable:** Ensure what's claimed is within realistic bounds. 4. **Relevant:** Relate it to the job. Example: "... leading to a 15% increase in sales." 5. **Time-Bound:** Specify when. Example: "... within the first quarter of 2022." Example SMART Achievement: "Grew client base by 30 new accounts, boosting sales revenue by 15% in Q1 2022, through strategic partnerships and targeted marketing campaigns." This structure makes your achievements tangible and impactful, showing clear success and relevance to potential employers.

I also love to add a project achievement section for the achievements that you are really proud of if there is room on the resume. This helps you provide additional context on the tools used, methodology followed, etc. without putting too many details under each role.

Format resume achievements with bullet points, action verbs, and precise metrics. For a Marketing Manager at ABC Inc.: - Spearheaded an online campaign, boosting site traffic by 50%, generating 200+ leads in 3 months. - Led a team of 5, overseeing project budgets and deadlines, enhancing team efficiency. For a Website Redesign project at XYZ Ltd.: - Designed a WordPress-based, user-centric site, elevating client satisfaction to 90%. - Implemented user feedback-driven enhancements, leading to a 30% rise in visitor conversions.

**Formatting Achievements:** - Use bullet points for clarity. - Start with a strong verb. - Include specific metrics. - Keep tense and style consistent. **Example:** - **Marketing Manager, ABC Inc.:** - **Launched** campaign, **boosting** web traffic 50%, **yielding** 200 leads in 3 months. - **Led** a team of 5, **overseeing** project budgets and deadlines. - **Website Redesign, XYZ Ltd.:** - **Developed** a responsive WordPress site, **enhancing** user experience. - **Conducted** user testing, **increasing** client conversions by 30%.

Use your own voice. As simple as this may seem, a lot of professionals tend to use dense and complicated sentences in their resume or they fail to give enough context for the achievement to be well understood and make full impact. With my clients, I often have them describe their achievement in separate questionnaires where the instruction is to just write what comes to their mind. You'd be surprised of how much more impact and information there is in those responses and how writing with their own voice amplifies the impact of the achievements.

Provide specific examples of achievements and responsibilities in your work experience, quantify results when possible, and emphasize skills applicable to the job. Keep it clear, concise, and focused on demonstrating your suitability for the role.

Overall, slow down when making your resume. Work on the overhaul over a few days. Walk away and look at it with a fresh set of eyes. Have friends or your network review and provide feedback. Once you get too close to it, it’s easy to miss mistakes someone else may easily spot.

Avoid common resume mistakes by: - Using precise metrics instead of vague terms. - Sticking to facts and avoiding exaggerated claims. - Focusing on recent and relevant achievements. - Eliminating unrelated or outdated accomplishments. - Ensuring accuracy and consistency in descriptions.

Avoiding Common Mistakes in Resume Achievements: 1. **Be Specific:** Use precise figures and details over vague descriptions. 2. **Objective Language:** Stick to facts and clear metrics to describe your impact. 3. **Relevance:** Ensure each achievement aligns with the targeted job’s requirements. 4. **Currency:** Focus on recent accomplishments that showcase your current capabilities. 5. **Omission of Irrelevancies:** Don’t list unrelated or outdated achievements. **Example:** Instead of "Improved sales," say "Increased sales by 20% within one fiscal year by implementing a new B2B sales strategy." This shows specific, relevant, and measurable success.

To add power to your achievements, consider the concept of "social proofing" by building the testimonial section of your LinkedIn profile. You can increase the credibility of the achievements you include in your resume when the testimonials confirm your claims.

Less is more. When sharing your RELEVANT achievments you want to paint a picture in maximum 2 sentences. The first sentence tells the story of a RELEVANT pain point. The second sentence tells the story of the Relevant result. If the hiring manager wants to know HOW you did it. They have to call you in for an interview. Which is the point of the resume.

Follow the RELEVANCE rule. When deciding which achievemnts to include in your Resume, take time to identify what truly matters in the job you are applying for. Then go to your Resume and include those achievements that are most relevant to the job.

A resume isn't supposed to list all your past achievements. It's supposed to make the hiring team want to invite you to an interview to learn more about it. Like a trailer does to a movie.