Sometimes, in an effort to avoid being called a showoff, you end up hiding or downplaying many of your achievements.
Showoffs aren’t appreciated in a world that favors humility (whether it is real or not). But without making your successes visible, you’ll end up missing out on important opportunities that go only to the bold.
Developing a CV full of achievements might seem the best way to signal your expertise, but if you’re applying for a job, this won’t get you the best result.
The resume is your vehicle of choice.
Employers search for candidates who out-perform the requirements of their job title. You can signal that by your career wins on your resume. It may be as small as a team win or as large as putting together a deal to take over a rival company.
Regardless of the size of the size of the accomplishment, certain things must be kept in mind when choosing what to highlight in your resume.
First brainstorm all the possible achievements you’ve had throughout your career.
Begin with the oldest job first. Make sure you have at least one accomplishment for each position. Never think you don’t have one – it just means you need to dig a little deeper.
Example accomplishments include:
- Completing tasks on time
- Team wins
- Meeting project deadlines
- Finding ways to save costs
Never take your accomplishments for granted.
This isn’t the time to be humble; you don’t want to miss opportunities because you were waiting for later to show your best stuff. Everything is evaluated. Recruiters(such as Rekruttering) see your future successes through the your past work. Keeping your resume updated with accomplishments throughout your career create a good first impression…which will cause a recruiter to want to know more.
Don’t exaggerate.
Yes. It is important to market yourself and your successes…but that doesn’t mean exaggerating them. Portray yourself and your expertise in handling tough challenges without overdoing it. If you try to puff yourself up by going overboard, then your true accomplishments will no longer be believed.
The purpose of clearly highlighting your achievements is to interest the employer – not to just brag (which will cause them to pass on you). Your goal in writing a resume is to convey the real you. Help them connect with you – then the recruiter will do the rest to promote you into the position.
Let your hard work speak for itself.
A recruiter looks for someone who will take on challenges and will tackle them with dedication and hard work. They are turned off by those who take the easy way out or oversell themselves. Saying, “That was a piece of cake.” will push you to the bottom of the candidate list. But instead using, “I worked dedicatedly towards the goal and achieved a specific milestone.” will come across much better.
If times were tough, say so. Call out your successes overcoming obstacles in order to get a result. Your resume’s worth will be enhanced when you show how you manage the obstacles in an exceptional way.
Coupled with your hard work, ensure you’re giving credit to the team behind each success. Every big achievement involves a group of dedicated team members. Crediting them means you can deliver not just as an individual performer, but also on a team. And who you’re up for any challenge.
One final thing…
Before you wrap up your resume, link your past experiences to the benefit your organization received from that accomplishment. So they can connect that to how you’ll do things in the next job.
Communicating key benefits along with your accomplishments helps the recruiter be more confident in recommending you for the role. It gives them something tangible to support their suggestion that you be hired for the role.
Stating accomplishments doesn’t mean you provide a five-page, detailed listing of everything that happened over your career. You still must get to the point and use high-impact verbs to emphasize an achievement, rather than tell your entire story. This is no place to use flowery language or big words – focus on action verbs such as “transformed” or “championed” to deliver your point.
When you’re done your resume should give the impression that you will be a valuable hire who will not only deliver through their own hard work but also is willing to highlight the company’s impact as well.
