Good resumes feature concrete achievements, not routine daily tasks. For instance, consider the difference between the approaches these two management candidates took:
Candidate A: “Sales manager. Initiated and developed new accounts that now generate 35 percent of team’s overall revenue goals. Monitored client relations and created a needs-assessment questionnaire that significantly improved customer satisfaction with our company.”
Candidate B: “Sales manager. Supervised staff, wrote reports, attended weekly meetings.”
Candidate A showcases how she contributed to the success of her organization, while emphasizing her problem-solving abilities. Candidate B offers only broad general duties that offer little insight into his ability to make an impact. Bottom line: Be like Candidate A. When writing about your professional experience, be detailed and tie responsibilities to bottom-line results. These candidates failed to do so:
“JOB DUTIES: Run errons.”
But not spell-check.
“EXPERIENCE: I have experience in customer service and multitasking while wearing many hats.”
Do you prefer baseball caps or fedoras?
“JOB DUTIES: Answer phones, file papers, respond to customer emails, take odors.”
A smelly job, but someone has to do it.
“JOB DUTIES: As an administrative professional, I coordinate meetings and assist security staff with badgering.”
A professional pest.
“JOB DUTIES: Communicate financial projections to steakholders.”
You need to beef up your spelling skills.
