Have you ever read a book that seemed to list endless details about a character, or went to great lengths to describe a location, noting every little obscure fact?
You kept reading because you were confident there was going to be something exciting and worthwhile at the end.
Much to your dismay, the plot never thickened and you were left with of a bunch of inconsequential details instead of an enticing drama.
Basically, there was no real meat to the story.
Many resumes read like a novel without a plot, listing inconsequential details that leave the reader asking the question, “Where’s the beef?”
The reason for this is simple: Most people describe their work experience as a series of responsibilities.
- Financial responsibility
- Staffing responsibility
- Responsibility for generating reports
Wrong! And boring too.
Your resume really has little to do with your responsibilities and presenting it as such is a rookie mistake.
It has everything to do with your achievements.
Big Difference.
Hiring managers are searching for answers to the question, “How can you help solve my problems?”
They are not looking for a laundry list of your job duties.
How do you move from “boring list” to “interesting plot development?”
Use action verbs with results that show what you accomplished.
Examples of phrases to use include but are not limited to:
- “Saved the company $XX by …..”
- “Improved operations with ……”
- “Developed new plan for XX resulting in XX for the company”
- “Grew new subscribers by XX% over last year, exceeding our goals”
Results drive the interest of hiring managers. They answer the question, “How can you help solve my problems?”
Right now review your resume. Anywhere it reads, “Responsible for…”, replace it with an action phrase that highlights your achievements rather than your duties.
We all should have at least one – if not several – quantifiable achievements for each job. Accomplishments that show how you took action and made an improvement or delivered on a promise, even if it’s not quantifiable.
Make sure your resume has enough “beef” to attract the interest of hiring managers by answering their most pressing question: How can you help solve my problem?
Like Tami, I was terminated once (By my best friend, BTW – he is now on the board of the agency I lead, so I got him back – ha!), but you don’t have to be unemployed to learn something from this book. 
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