A good meal is even more enjoyable
when there is care and attention placed into the details of making it. Everyone
needs to eat, yet when choice isn’t particularly limited, why not have the
best? Taking the necessary steps to become an employer’s candidate of choice
involved submitting a résumé reflecting detailed preparation.
Properly attending to the accomplishment
statement, which is a bulleted phrase that details work experience, is an
important part of preparing the résumé. Unfortunately, a common practice in
providing this information is merely to list responsibilities, daily duties or tasks.
This typically involves dragging a sentence from a job description and plopping
it haphazardly onto a résumé. There are flaws with that approach in that job
responsibilities fail to do the following:
·
Reflect the actual work that is done
day-to-day
·
Advertise the uniqueness of the
person performing the tasks
·
Define the degree of impact a person
has on the department/company
Having well-crafted statements that
capture achievement and clarify the employee’s value takes the savvy individual
straight to the head of the class. How, then, are grade “A" statements written
that truly reflect accomplishment? There first must be a shift in how work
is considered. This shift involves one’s prescribed duties becoming much more
than a "to do" list, including:
· Learning, with vigor, the business’
or department’s “pain” (i.e. the biggest or most significant problems or
opportunities)
· Looking, with intention, for ways to
apply individual strengths to the role, both intra- and interpersonally
· Tracking, with diligence, the applications
of strengths and the outcomes
Demonstrating accomplishment is first
about looking for ways to make an impact and consistently recording the
contributions made. As for the practice of writing, some basic rules or "ABCs"
of résumé accomplishment statements follow with examples:
The “C” Accomplishment Statement – This
level reflects the most basic statement which only captures responsibilities, akin
to a job description.
Example: Responsible for compiling and generating
reports.
The previous example is from a
Customer Service Representative job posting. While it can serve as a good
starting place, it is a bad stopping place.
The “B” Accomplishment Statement – This
level applies good phrase structure (starts with a power verb, no period
at the end), quantifies the task (addresses how many/much, and how often)
and answers basic journalistic questions (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?).
Example: Compile(d) and generate(d)
six to ten financial reports monthly in Microsoft Excel for review by
department leadership
The reader's mind can start to rest
concerning unanswered thoughts about what this individual really does and why.
The “A” Accomplishment Statement – The
last layer uses the STAR/BAR (Situation-Task-Action-Result or
Behavior-Action-Result) method to guide composition of the most compelling
statements demonstrating scope AND impact.
Example: Innovated the monthly
financial reporting production process for six to ten reports, considering
a departmental lag in delivery times, by utilizing a free software add-on to
auto-generate reports, supplying documents in preferred formatting, directly to
leadership saving six labor hours ($300) per month
Drops mic. The reader is provided
with information on a problem that existed for a company that this individual’s
contributions helped to alleviate and thereby saving money. There is fodder for
the reader to want to know more about how this accomplishment could be applied
to their department or company.
A prime opportunity to entice potential
employers, although many reviewers will not spend much time on a résumé, is
through substantive and effective accomplishment statements. With just seconds
to make an impression, positioning the reviewer to look at “A” level
accomplishments ensure that the time is useful. Make a concerted effort, and
perhaps utilize some professional assistance, to turn “C” level accomplishments
statements into “A” level ones so that the reviewer’s few seconds turn into a
few more. Once you’ve grabbed the reviewer’s attention in a meaningful way, the
employer’s decision to extend the interview invitation becomes a no-brainer.
If you're looking for more help writing stronger accomplishment statements shoot me an email, with your resume attached to alexandra@aacareercounsel.com. I'll do a no cost assessment and provide pointers to take you to the next level!
