Resume writing: Job Responsibilities vs. Accomplishments

Guest contributor: Lorraine Russo from the Underground Job Network

With 2010 underway and many months of job searching behind you, it’s time to wipe the 2009 slate clean and prepare to become a big game hunter in the new year.

To Start With - Trash Your Current Resume

Take a look at your resume. Does it only list the responsibilities you had at each job? If it does, replace them with your ACCOMPLISHMENTS. Instead of saying what you were asked to do (i.e., duties and responsibilities), highlight what you actually did.

Below is an extract from a recent resume:

- Hiring, training and supervision of all staff
- Established strong relationships to gain support and effectively achieve results.
- Provide routine customer service support.

Let’s review the first bullet: Hiring, training and supervision of all staff

Rather than this bland regurgitation of your job description, provide insight into what you did:

Who did you hire? If you hired a staff, did you provide their new hire orientation training? How many direct reports did you have? What were their levels? What did they do? What did you do to make them perform at a higher level? What type of training did you provide? Did you develop the training?

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

Now onto the next bullet: Established strong relationships to gain support and effectively achieve results.

Now, if I’m a recruiter or hiring manager and I’m reading this, your resume will quickly go into the NO pile. Why? Because it offers absolutely nothing about your skills, knowledge, and abilities. If I had you on the phone, I would ask you:

With whom did you establish relationships? How did you achieve this? What were your goals and end results? What did you need support for? Did you work across business units or departments?

So many questions…but the reality is that you only get one chance to get a resume in front of someone. If your introduction reads like a job description (that, most likely, someone else write), at best it will get a 15-second review before it is put aside.

Sources and references: Sandbox Advisors, Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities