When writing a resume for job interviews the two most important aspects are to have proper grammar and to sell your skills. What does that actually mean? Well, the proper grammar is easy enough to figure out, but how do you sell yourself in the right light without over or underselling to companies?
Many students get caught up in quantifying achievements, and not qualifying them. You were a manager of websites. So what? What was the big picture in the work you did? How did the work you did effect your company? What came out of the work you did?
Simply writing a list of the things you did at work (write content for a website, made plans for buildings, served food and was a hostess, etc.) is not impressive. With companies and employers being overwhelmed with resumes and cover letters they need something to wow them and show the quality of the work being done, not how much you did.
“Quantifying achievements is essential to creating an impact as a job seeker. Whether we are making widgets or making multi-million dollar deals, we seldom take the time to carefully consider how each task we complete has a beneficial, ripple effect throughout our organization,” says Kirsten McKinnon, a professional development coach.
“No matter how mundane the task, each plays a role in the ultimate bottom-line of an organization. Everything we do (or don’t do) has an impact on our workplace. This concept can be simultaneously empowering and daunting as we recognize the importance of our role,” she says.
Some of the fields you might want to specify impacting are:
- Time or money saved
- New business for the company
- Increase in customer satisfaction
- Staff retention rates
Even if you didn’t work in one of those divisions, the work you did could easily have affected them. Really think about the impact your job played in the overall company and how you can take that work and apply it to a new position with the company you are applying for.