You need achievements on your resume (and how to figure out what you’ve achieved)

Without achievements, your resume is just a list of job descriptions.

And it’ll be a list of job descriptions that is hard to distinguish from every other application.

You’re shooting yourself in the foot if you’re sending out a resume without achievements highlighting on it.

Including achievements on your resume shows that you’ve had an impact in your previous roles - that your work has been beneficial to your employers.

It may seem like you’re bragging, but talking about your key achievements is the secret sauce to landing your next job.

If you’re struggling to figure out your key achievements, try these three tactics to determine what to include on your resume.

Look at your targets

If you’re in a job where you work towards targets or KPIs, include this info!

Regularly meeting or exceeding targets is a great achievement. Go in depth and explain what the target is, how you achieved it and the impact this has for your team/company.

Analyse your responsibilities

Take a look at your workload and figure out if you’ve picked up more responsibilities than you initially had, and then determine whether you chose to take on these responsibilities, or were given them.

If you chose to take on the responsibility, you’ll show that you have ambition. If the responsibility was give to you, you’ll highlight how other people can see your potential. Both are good for achievements (maybe not so great for your work life balance though).

Include your awards

Have you ever received an award, ether within a team or in recognition of your individual contribution? Include this!

You want to be able to show that other people have recognised your worth, so include those internal company awards.

Consider your improvements

Have you made changes to the way your job or team works? Have you streamlined a process, introduced a new software or started compiling customer feedback?

Being able to show that you’re always looking for effective ways to work better is a really great achievement to include on your resume.

Still stuck?

Fill in the blank:

If I wasn’t here, _________ would never have happened.

…opening the shop in the morning, acquiring that client, making those deliveries, training the new team member…

Make a list and then include the most impactful!

Including a key achievement section on the first page of your resume and within your job descriptions are sure fire ways to make your resume stand out.