Marketing Through Resume: Achievements Over Duty

This article was previously featured on TalentZoo.com. Click here to see the original article by Jessica N. Abraham.

Aside from the new standards of quality that have been instituted into the new resume requirements for getting past Applicant Tracking Systems, we have to realize that, for most of our lives, we have been writing the resume wrong. Professional resume writers are often baffled at how some of the top professionals at Fortune 500 companies have included so few achievements within their resumes, but have listed many duties!

For the most part, employers already know what your job duties entail. As a matter of fact, it is actually the duty of Human Resources or Administration personnel to know this while recruiting and screening talent.

So, what is it that you achieved with this talent? This is what they are most interested in. They want to know what impact you can bring to their company. They want to know that you can make a difference.

Oftentimes, applicants are worried about the wrong things. For those that have not created financial impact, they may have made a difference through leadership or process improvements. They may have contributed to a process that made things easier for upper management to make a difference. They don’t realize that a little bit of elaboration and powerful wording can really make what they did a great achievement.

Everyone picks on the janitor, so I will pick on the plumber. Let’s say the plumber put on his resume:

• Plunged toilets and ran chemicals down the drain.

ASK YOURSELF: What would have made this line more impactful?

• Cleared drains and sewer pipes, plunging and snaking residue from clogged drains, while ensuring sanitation through clean flow of water wastes and avoidance of overflow in living and working areas.

Believe it or not, this method will not only impress employers and hiring managers, but it will also feed ATS with more keywords that will ensure your position at your dream job.

With the standard being set to inclusion of only the last 10 years of work experience, this will help make up for all those great positions and companies that you were only allowed to “make mention of” within your resume. A little elaboration will go a long way.

Are you ready to “WOW” your future boss and/or hiring manager? If so, get with us. Let us write for you!