Writing an accomplishment-based resume

Position a recruiter or human resource professional sifting through hundreds if not thousands of resumes. What criteria do they look for in the 20 – 30 second scan of each resume to choose the limited number of people to call for an interview. They immediately eliminate resumes with spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. They also cast aside resumes that purely outline the job’s responsibilities.

Simply put, you have to make a hiring manager want to read your resume, enticing them to read more and more. Only a resume with detailed accomplishments will quench the thirst of a decision-maker in your future career.

The more senior the position you are seeking, the more critical accomplishments are! You need to provide evidence of results and how they were achieved. This implies to the reader that you can perform for them.

An example; you are a Logistics Manager with diverse responsibilities in warehousing, transportation, inventory control, purchasing and contract negotiations. You have a broad responsibility and a multitude of accomplishments.

How do you differentiate yourself from the other Logistics Managers in the race for the same position? Highlighting accomplishments, accomplishments and accomplishments.

So many questions to answer! Did you save the company any money? If so, by how much? Have you reduced the inventory by installing a new system? Instituted JIT? Have you consolidated transportation companies? Renegotiated contracts? Spearheaded any projects?

Once you have brainstormed on all the key accomplishments you need, document each one in a bulleted format starting with an action verb. This is the information recruiters and human resource professionals are looking for. This is what sets you aside as a viable candidate.

Write your resume as your sales pitch. Utilizing keywords particular to your industry is also critical. For instance, back to logistics it could be: materials management, MRP, CIRM, outsourcing, RFP, RFQ and the list goes on. Integrate the keywords into the accomplishment and you already have the ingredients for a powerful resume.

A résumé is a brag document, not a time to be modest. Make yourself stand out!