It’s not that easy for most people to sit down and capture their experience in two or three sentences. In fact, some job candidates get so overwhelmed with the process of writing down their accomplishments that they give up and settle for a resume that does not do them justice.
If you find yourself having difficulty describing your work achievements, you are not alone. Most people equate talking about themselves to bragging, and when you’re looking for a job, this can be a barrier that keeps you from describing your strengths.
The fear of bragging can keep job candidates from marketing their potential and keeps their skills hidden behind a list of job duties. They don’t stand out from the crowd by emphasizing their strengths.
The way you describe your accomplishments makes a big difference in the way they will be received. For example, most job seekers confuse accomplishments with a list of job duties. Using job duties to describe your skills and value is a mistake. Job duties are not unique, and they lack personality.
A good way to start writing about your career achievements is to take some time to think back over significant aspects of your job (or jobs) going back from five to ten years.
There are several formulas for developing accomplishment statements, and almost of them are designed to help you bridge your skills to the results you produce. Some job seekers find it helpful to follow a structure while others simply use them as examples.
It’s easier to remember a good story easier than to recall a conversation. That’s because stories are intriguing and set you apart from everyone else. Think of your accomplishments at work as stories, each one with a unique situation made up of steps or actions you took to resolve the issue and the results your efforts produced.
Do you think accomplishments make your resume more memorable?
