Quantifying your resume

Quantifying your resumeThe most difficult and time consuming section ofany resume is the listing of your work experience,no matter the level you have reached in yourprofessional career. The key is to consider yourcareer objective and prioritize your work inaccordance to your goals.Your professional experience should not onlyshowcase the activities you have done in yourprevious jobs, but should demonstrate yourqualifications in the way that motivatesemployers to want to know more. Of course, we arereferring to results, any tangible, measurable

items that are impacting to the bottom line. Letyour employers know that your project came withinbudget, that you exceeded the timeline, that youacquired X number of new customers, or that youincreased sales by a double-digit percentage.Employers can wrap their minds around numbers,because they are focused on them daily. You wantto let your potential employer know that you canthink in the same way they do and that you takeresults into serious consideration as yourperform your job on day-to-day basis.To get started with your work history, begin eachdescription with a power word, such as managed,developed, communicated, etc. Do some researchand use only the power words and phrases that areappropriate for your industry. Make sure that thestatements you list first under your jobresponsibilities quantify your achievements ?don抰 be afraid to list sales figured, customeracquisition rates, budget and timeline successes,or any other figures which help put your

responsibilities in a context of thebusiness/field you are working in. Be specific.The only way your statements are truly quantifiedis if you include numbers. Saying that youacquired new customers is significantlydifferent from saying that you increased thecustomer database by 10%. As mentioned above,this is the most critical aspect of listing yourjob descriptions on your resume. Your employerwants to know not only what you did, but how wellyou did it. Also, these statements should bealigned with your career objective you includedat the top of the resume. If you want to get a jobin project management, letting your employer knowthat you managed a team of 20 people and theoverall results you achieved will effectivelyhighlight your qualifications. It is important toquantify your job description statements on yourresume; however, as a word of caution, do notquantify all statements, just one or two that aremost critical to your job and are goal driven.This shows your employer that you think in terms