Words from the Wise Guy
Three Steps to an Attention-Grabbing Resume

When building resumes, it is easy to simply list your job titles, dates of employment and provide happy talk about your soft skills. Whenever I got one of these types of resumes my first thought is “prove it.” Concrete examples and tangible results will get you further than vague summaries and abstract language. Not everyone got an A in writing class, however, so how about some more explicit instructions for those who struggle to make their primary job search document “Attention-Grabbing.”

1. Write an action verb – Action verbs are those that show movement, e.g. completed, delivered, provided and managed and my favorite….spearheaded.
2. Write a result – Results are statements that use numbers (preferable) or conclusions (like an award). For example, “increased ROI by 3 percent” or “reduced cycle time by one day.”
3. Write the benefit to the business – The benefit to the business is what importance your work was to the overall goals of the business. These include additional revenue, reduced cost, or increased efficiency.

So, if you want to avoid your resume getting tossed, you need to “prove it” by adding your achievements / accomplishments. It is time to transform your traditional resume into a portfolio of important results you’ve delivered to the business.

“Worked on the XYZ project” does nothing for your cause in getting an interview. “Spearheaded and managed the $3-million XYZ project and delivered it on time and on budget. That gets attention!

Point being, no matter how new your career, the way you present your few jobs can, at least in part, compensate for your limited experience. You need to show concrete accomplishments: even if you’re just doing an internship, focus on creating a situation where you can have a tangible, measurable accomplishment to add to your resume at the end of the experience./p>

Here are some important questions to help jog your thought processes; consider the following:

• Did you help increase sales? By what percentages or amount?
• Did you generate new business, bring in new clients, or forge affiliations with new organizations?
• Did you save your company money? How much and under what circumstances?
• Did you design and/or institute any new system or process? What were the results?
• Did you suggest and/or help launch a new product or program? How successful was the effort?
• Did you improve communication in your firm? With whom and what was the outcome?
• How did your company benefit from your performance?
• What have been the top 3 things you have accomplished in this position? If you have numbers or metrics that you can include, please note those, too. 
• What has been your biggest challenge? How did you overcome that challenge?
• How have you distinguished yourself in this position? 
• What awards, contests, or honors have you achieved in this position?

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