Resume Marketing Strategies ~ Achievements vs Accountabilities

With only 15-20 seconds to impress a potential employer it seems almost impossible to develop a resume that is compelling enough to capture attention ... or is it?

Gone are the days where a simple summary of personal details (name, address, contact numbers, etc), employment history (company, job title, followed by a list of general responsibilities), and education (a listing of all your education and certifications) would suffice. Often faced with an extensive pile of applications to sort through, the recruiter or potential employer will only dedicate a short amount of time to view your resume, and if you have only provided a basic listing as described above, unfortunately your document will not make it past the initial round of screening.

When writing your resume, your objective should be to highlight the special projects you were involved in, your accomplishments and contributions, and incorporate this information into a document that positions you for success. While your job responsibilities are important, emphasizing the accomplishments and overall contributions is the key, as this will communicate success, drive, determination and value you offer a prospective employer.

Let's review the following case study:

If you were an HR Generalist Manager, your responsibilities (to name a few) could include:

- Recruitment and selection of staff;
- Staffing policy/procedure development and management;
- Industrial and employment relations.

Just providing a listing of these responsibilities and not qualifying your statements with a result will leave the employer asking, "So what? What difference or value is this person going to bring to my organization?" Remember, career achievements are the core message of your resume and will not only portray your expertise but also aim to distinguish your talent from your competitors.

Asking and addressing the following questions and including the quantified outcomes could make the difference between a mediocre resume and one that dynamically markets your competencies.

For instance:

Q 1: What experience have you had in recruitment and staffing, and in particular any innovative recruitment strategies you have developed that captured significant improvements to the company?

A: Yes, the company I am with now had no HR infrastructure in place, so I developed the mission statement, organizational plans, employee job description manuals, administrative guidelines and EEO compliance tools. Also, I created a selection and recruitment strategy for the entire company that minimized expenditure through using internet tools, university recruitment, job fairs and internal succession planning.

Q 2: Were you instrumental in introducing any strategic HR programs including employment contracts, performance monitoring, staff incentives or other such initiatives? What were the results?

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