Crafting all the accomplishments & results that jobseekers have achieved throughout your current & previous employments during job search is not an easy task & creates frustration. However, it does not has to be that way.
Potential employers are keen to know the value you have created or benefits you generated for your current & previous employers. It can be any, some or all of the following:
- Potential savings for the corporation
- Increased sales
- Led exponential growth
- Improved efficiency & productivity
- Forged strategic relationship & deals
However, it is not necessary that you remember all of the accomplishments or you are not accustomed to bragging about yourself. Crafting & Including your accomplishments in your resume can be a daunting task. So the question arises how you should frame & write bullet points for the accomplishments section in your resume?
Let us discuss this in detail!
I have seen a lot of professional career writers & coaches recommending situation/objective, action & result(OAR) models to write your accomplishments. Although it is a great piece of advice & works well, this model cannot be applied universally. In some cases, text is too long to be converted & crafted in this model
Besides OAR model, job seekers can use the following part of speech templates while writing accomplishments for your resume:
- Verb, Noun
- Verb, Preposition, Noun
- Verb, Adjective, Noun.
I generally use OAR &/or one of these templates to craft accomplishments for my clients. Below mentioned examples explains each of these templates:
- Verb, Noun: Crafted go to market strategy to launch product XXXX; increased topline by 15%.
Crafted go to market strategy is an accomplishment in itself. Then I built on it by mentioning the functional area & benefit it generated.
- Verb, Preposition, Noun: Designed & implemented digital marketing campaigns for Bangalore, India’s largest auto market; Improved lead conversion by 22%.
Designed & implemented digital market campaigns at accomplishment on its own. I built further & added credibility by mentioning India’s largest auto market. I further added by mentioning the end result obtained.
- Verb, Adjective, Noun: Created & led $ 5 million insurance tech business; achieved 25% operating margin in a span of 18 months
Created & led $ 5 million insurance tech business is an achievement in itself. I built on it by mentioning that the division also achieved excellent markets & then further adding the timelines within which the results were achieved.
So how should you craft your accomplishments?
The first step is that bullet points should start with a verb. If you have a job description, use either of templates to identify the verb it contains. As you go through results/achievements, you can figure out more likely verbs that can help you further build your resume. Besides, replicating a company’s language ( as given in job description) can help you land up with job offers.
In case there is no job posting, you should ask yourself- what actions did you take? On what? What results you generated/achieved. To start with, you should consider What & how verbs! What can refer to what you achieved- change, progress & benefits generated. How refers to actions you took to achieve what. Besides these verbs, you should also consider – change, results, people & management. Let us discuss each one of these at length.
- Change: Professionals who can show that they can plan & execute strategy & bring change become the most sought after candidates for executive & C-suite roles. Some of the change verbs you can use include,
accelerated, advocated, built, centralized, changed, cleared, converted, defended, defined, eliminated, established,expanded, formed, fostered, founded, generated, institutionalized, integrated, initiated, introduced, invented, invested, launched, pioneered, positioned
- Results: Some of popular result defining verbs include,
awarded, completed, decreased, exceeded, increased, delivered, differentiated, earned, executed, gained, grew, met, monetised, netted, optimised, performed, produced, received, recognised, recruited, resulted, retained, saved, secured, selected, sold, solved
- People: Almost every company requires a professional who can lead & have a collaborative mind set. Use word such as,
coached, collaborated, contributed, engaged, facilitated, led, negotiated, partnered, presented, represented.
- Management: Best management related verbs include:
controlled, ensured, evaluated, focused, highlighted, identified, investigated, monitored, prevented, protected, reviewed, specified
Are you looking for some career advice & guidance about how to write an executive resume or have a rebranded LinkedIn profile? As the founder & executive resume coach at Sushant Kumar Ventures, offering executive resume writing & LinkedIn profile writing services for modern day job seekers, I would be happy to chat to help you meet your career goals; Sign up here.
