How To Write A Results Oriented Resume

Posted On 14 Oct 2015

How To Write A Results Oriented Resume

14 Oct 2015
How To Write A Results Oriented Resume

How To Write A Results Oriented Resume

Most people think writing up the experience section of your resume is pretty easy. After all, it’s just a list of your key duties… right!?

Listing your duties is a great starting point, but resumes that stand out from the rest use their experience section to tell a story rather than just providing a check list. Consider the following examples:

Example 1 Example 2
– Answer phone calls – Answered 20 client phone calls per day
– Document preparation – Formatted 5 documents per week
– Manage junior staff – Trained and supervised 10 junior staff

See the difference? It may not look like a big change, but quantifying your experience is one of the best ways to demonstrate your competency, showcase your past success and prove your suitability for your new role.

Looking to shake up your experience section but don’t know where to start?

Writing an achievement oriented resume is easier than you think. In fact, we’ve simplified the process into 3 easy steps…

Step 1 – List your duties

Listing your duties is so simple, it’s no wonder most people stop here! Your goal is to provide a list of dot points concisely summarising your role. A great way to put together this list is to run through a normal day at work and keep a record as you go. Taking a look at your job description is also a great start, but if you’ve been in your role for some time, don’t forget to look beyond this and include any new responsibilities that may have arisen over time.

Step 2 – Look for action words

The next step is to start turning your dot points into short phrases. Rather than starting with a passive opener like “I was responsible for” or “I worked on”, consider an action word like “managed”, “implemented”, etc. This makes you the initiator of the action, not just someone who blindly followed a job description. If you’re struggling to find verbs, a quick Google search will give you more than enough to get you started.

Step 3 – Add in numbers and results

This step involves a bit of thinking! A simple tally of the number of times you completed an activity within a given time period is the simplest way to quantify your duties, but some duties may not be that easily quantified. If that’s the case, look for other metrics. For example, did you increase sales or productivity by a certain percentage? Was one of your projects completed within a tight deadline? Perhaps you worked on an important project with a large budget. If you can’t quantify every line in your resume, that’s okay. But if you can quantify some if not most of your resume, you’re going to be able to tell a better story on paper than the candidate who just copied and pasted their job description.