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Adding value to your Career Documentation | Career Coaching

Help! I Have No Accomplishments To Write About!

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Q. I know you say accomplishments are important in resumes but what if I do not have any? I go to work every day (I am a secretary) to answer phones, type reports, do research, organize files, answer questions for employees, talk to vendors and customers, and make travel arrangements. Every secretary in the world does that. I like my job and would not be looking for a new one except that my boss, the company owner, is retiring and the company is closing. But it is just a job. What do accomplishments have to do with it?

A. Let’s look first at your list of what you do. Despite your certainty, not every secretary handles the range of activities you do; many bosses would not expect or want their secretaries to communicate with vendors and customers, for example. Research is another task that requires skills some secretaries simply do not have or are not interested in acquiring. So right there you have a few accomplishments that stand out and should find a place in your resume.

Now we can delve deeper. What types of software do you use on a daily basis and how proficient are you with each? Expertise with Excel, Acrobat, PowerPoint, and Publisher is always in demand, especially if you know more than the basics (for example, how to create macros). If you know additional software, you should also list that in your resume.

You work for the owner of the company—that is also an accomplishment, especially given the level of trust he has demonstrated in your abilities. And what type of company is it? Is it large or small, domestic or global; what industry is it in; how many employees does it have? How many employees, vendors, and customers do you interact with? The answers to those questions speak to the scale of your accomplishments and set you apart from other job applicants.

You mention answering questions for employees, as well as talking to vendors and customers. Clearly, you are a reliable source of information. What types of information do they want? How often are you called upon to share your knowledge? The fact that these people all look to you for answers is a very important accomplishment.

How do your skills and knowledge benefit the company in terms of efficiency, productivity, cost savings, or improved communications? If you were suddenly to disappear from the company, what would they need to do to replace you—and why would they need to replace you? That need your company has for your (or any employee’s) presence is an accomplishment.

If you have trouble writing a resume that shows you to be an accomplished and valuable employee, please contact Robin’s Resumes®.

Resume Q&A: What Are Employers Looking For?

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Q. Everyone tells me that my resume has to stress accomplishments—but what about skills? What about education and years of experience? Doesn’t anyone value those anymore?

A. Skills, education, and experience are still highly valued. For example, no one would hire a CPA, lawyer, or software engineer without the proper skills, education, licenses, and certificates. But your resume will be competing against dozens of applicants with the same credentials and often with the same length of experience. The only way you can make yourself stand out is to show how you used your skills, education, and experience. You need to put them into the context of solving a company problem, adding to the company bottom line, or improving your job performance. Those are examples of accomplishments, and that’s why accomplishments are so important: they help to separate you from the pack.

Q. You give great advice, Robin, but the more I read about resumes, the more confused I get about what employers want. What is the most important thing my resume should tell them?

A. On a basic level, the most important thing your resume should tell employers is how to reach you! Surprisingly, over 25% of the resumes people send me for professional review and re-writing have critical contact information wrong, missing, or hard to read. On a deeper level, your resume should show employers that you are the person they are looking for. Your resume must align with the job requirements listed in the job posting or advertisement—it has to show that you have the right skills, experience, and education and that your past accomplishments have brought value to former employers. Finally, the resume has to do all this concisely and neatly: no rambling paragraphs, no grammatical or spelling mistakes. If you feel overwhelmed, please contact me. My job is to take the “overwhelm” out of resume writing!

Q. I want to move from a small company to a large one with more opportunities for career advancement. How do I present my small company experience as a plus?

A. Experience in a small company is broad-based experience. You are more likely to interact with individuals across levels, functions, and even borders. You are more likely to take on (and succeed in) projects that would not be part of your mandate in a larger company. That breadth of experience, ability to communicate, and flexibility are all traits that employers are looking for when they hire. So your resume should stress, not the size of your current company, but what you accomplished while you were there. You should also let go of your expectations for a title. A vice-president in a small company might be a division manager in a larger company, and yet have far more potential for growth.

Contact Robin’s Resumes® today for a resume that gives employers—and job seekers—what they are looking for.

Is Everything on Your Resume Worth Mentioning?

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Job seekers often worry that they are including information on their resume that is not worth mentioning. For example:

  • Everyone in Beth’s retail store gets to be “Employee of the Month” at some point—should she mention that honor on her resume?
  • Ralph is fluent in French but has never used that skill on the job—should he mention it on his resume?
  • Frank took time off to help a very ill sibling but volunteered at a local community center during that time. Should he mention his volunteer work?
  • After Margaret was laid off from her last job, she took a position outside her field and now wants to return to it—should she mention that outlier position?

In every case, the answer is yes, although with qualifications.

Rewards and other acknowledgments by your company help you stand out from the crowd. Recruiters like to know that you were appreciated at a previous job. However, make sure you do not inflate “Employee of the Month” into “subject matter expert.”

Experience in foreign languages and foreign travel are important in this age of global commerce. You can mention your skill in the summary at the top of the resume or keep it to the end. Even “conversational” skill is valued so do not underestimate yourself.

If you contributed your time or expertise as a volunteer, mention your service. Many companies want employees who are ready to give back to the community. They will also be happy to see that you kept your skills sharp. However, do not paper over a gap in employment or try to claim you were an employee instead; be upfront about the gap and the reasons for it.

Returning to a previous field can be difficult, but these days most employers recognize that career paths are not straightforward. In fact, they may appreciate the perspective you gained from work in another field. It may make sense to mention old positions briefly under a final “previous employment” heading.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we help you understand the value of your honors, skills, volunteer work, and previous jobs. Your resume should communicate that value to potential employers. Contact us today.

Talking Turkey on Your Resume

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If you truly want your resume to talk turkey, you need to give examples and results. You need to prove the claims you are making.

Would you ever expect a job applicant to admit that they are not “a team player and able to work independently” and they are not “a great communicator” or “a subject matter expert”? Those phrases are more or less true for everyone—and any job applicant can make the same claims.

Your goal in your resume is to prove that you have the hard and soft skills employers value most.

For example, when you acted as a team player, what was the size of the team, its goal, and its accomplishments? When you worked independently, how did you make your individual contribution to the company’s revenue, sales, marketing, distribution, or other function?

The ability to communicate across functions, organizational levels, or countries is important: when and how did you do that? Did you participate in committees, make recommendations, serve on a cross-functional or global team, or deliver presentations or reports?

To show yourself as a subject matter expert, you need to show what experience, education, or contribution to the field makes you a subject matter expert. Did others came to you for advice and did your advice made a difference?

At Robin’s Resumes®, we know how to “talk turkey.” We emphasize the following approach to your accomplishments:

  • Context (the situation that demanded action)
  • Challenge (what you were asked to do)
  • Action (the steps you took)
  • Result (the effect on the situation and the company)
  • Why your accomplishment was important (what your action ultimately achieved).

Here is an example: “Reorganized dysfunctional global team, acknowledging cultural and educational differences. Mentored three new leaders from each country’s team, ensuring clear, respectful, timely communication. Productivity rose 45%, turnover dropped 25%, and delivery speed increased 30%.”

That is a lot more impressive than simply stating “global team leader with superior communication skills.”

Resumes for Career Changers

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When you are ready to change careers, to a new field, a new position in your existing field, or a new industry, make sure your resume is ready for the change. By thinking ahead, you will be prepared to create a resume that is attractive to hiring managers and recruiters in your new career.

First, find out if you will be a more attractive candidate with certifications or classes in your new career. Someone moving from hands-on product development to project management might, for example, want project management certification.

Second, examine ways you can demonstrate appropriate skills for the new career either through volunteering or part-time work. For example, someone moving from for-profit to nonprofit organizations might begin by volunteering for nonprofit boards and events.

Third, read job postings for your desired career to identify skills you already have that are transferrable to the new career. Those skills should play a prominent role in your resume. Accomplishments and skills that are not needed in your new career should play a secondary role, no matter how impressive they are. For example, if you are moving from a receptionist to a sales position, your ability to interact with people at all levels, to keep accurate records, and to make connections with visitors are all important soft skills for a salesperson.

Fourth, network, network, network, both in person and online. The more people you connect with in your desired career, the more likely someone will think of you when an opportunity arises. Have a professional resume available so that you can send it to them immediately, before memories fade and opportunities vanish.

Finally, work with a professional resume writer who is familiar with the process of changing careers. I am a Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) with Master Career Director certification and I have myself transitioned careers. I know change is possible, and I can help you on your way to a new career.

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