As a Certified Professional Resume Writer with more than a decade of experience in recruitment, the question I get asked most often is, “What’s the single most important piece of advice you can give to a job seeker?”
The answer is simple:
Make your accomplishments known.
Having reviewed thousands of resumes and rewritten hundreds more, the most common mistake I see is the lack of focus. Many people get so carried away trying to describe their duties and responsibilities that the amazing, impressive things they have achieved simply get lost in the sea of rather self-explanatory statements related to a particular job title.
Some prioritize mentioning an old college job or an irrelevant seminar to outlining what they have done to make their employers’ businesses more profitable, organized or customer-friendly. Moreover, a lot of respectable professionals are too humble to even mention their accomplishments.
Put yourself in the recruiter’s shoes. Looking at a prospective candidate’s resume you would want to know what makes them so special, how they stand out from the rest, and what they can do to help your company thrive, right? Now go back to your resume and make sure it answers those questions. Review the job description of your dream role, and edit your resume to emphasize relevant experience. Make your achievements known! (Here’s my guide to help you.) And remember: Talking about them doesn’t necessarily equal bragging.
By presenting your achievements you can demonstrate to a potential employer how you are the best candidate for the position, as opposed to simply listing duties and responsibilities that anyone in your position would do. For examples of achievement-based resumes check out some of my samples – Award-Winning Resume Samples.
