Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Quantify Accomplishments on Your Resume to Stand Out in a Crowd

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So, you are convinced that accomplishments are important for your resume? Good! The next key step is to quantify your accomplishments. The point of your resume is to entice the reader to want to know more about you. Demonstrating how you stand out in a crowd by quantifying your accomplishments is a great way to generate interest.

When you start to quantify, think about the following categories:

  • Money (especially as you saved or earned it)
  • Time (more efficient, less wasted)
  • Amounts (sales, customers, etc.)
  • Situations (fast-paced, difficult economic environment, etc.)

What do you think is more interesting or persuasive?

Before: Conducted patient interviews and managed data collection for survey.

After: Demonstrated analytical skills and cultural sensitivity as leader of team conducting, coding and verifying 1000 patient interviews using SAS in deadline-driven environment.

Before: Met all sales quotas.

After: Only salesperson to meet 100% of quotas in down-trending economic environment. Won top award for sales closed (2008).

By contextualizing what you have to offer, you help the reader gain a clear picture of your value.

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

Not sure how to implement good resume advice? Need some help to give your job hunt a boost? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services, including resume writing, interview preparation and job hunt coaching: www.keppiecareers.com

photo by Paul likes pics

Accomplishments for Your Resume

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Almost every resume I see reads like a laundry list of “stuff” the person has done at work. The problem is that everyone applying for the job you seek probably has a similar list of “stuff.” What makes you stand out? Why are you special – why do YOU deserve to win an interview and the job?

It certainly isn’t because you were “Responsible for” something or that you were “Recruited to” do something. A prospective employer wants to know what you’ve accomplished. What impact have you had on past employers? What obstacles did you overcome to achieve a positive result in the past?

Quintessential Careers compiled a comprehensive list of accomplishments employers seek.

Describe how you:

  • Make money
  • Save money
  • Save time
  • Make work easier
  • Solve a specific problem
  • Help the company become more competitive
  • Build relationships
  • Expand the business
  • Attract new customers
  • Retain existing customers

I suggest you answer the following questions:

  • What problems did you solve?
  • How did you improve your organization?
  • What innovative ideas did you introduce (and what were the positive results)?
  • How did you make a difference?

When you re-focus your resume spotlight to shine on what you have to offer instead of just listing what you’ve done, you will be much more marketable.

photo by meanest Indian

Avoiding Age Discrimination in the Job Hunt

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So, you’re not a 20-something, right out of college? Not a spring chicken when it comes to the working world? Are you worried about age discrimination in your job hunt?

Recently, I contributed my 2 cents to a discussion on linkedin about the pros and cons of listing a date specifying when you received your degree on your resume. (Thus, presumably revealing your age.) The questioner had been told that he should remove degree dates for any degrees ten years or older.

Coincidentally, last week, I worked with two clients in their 30’s, both of whom asked about removing graduation dates. Maybe they are all getting advice from the same source!

I disagree with this advice.

My research on the subject indicates that if you leave off your graduation dates, it will only raise a red flag to a recruiter or hiring manager. The fact is, when you don’t list a date, the reader will automatically assumes you are probably quite senior. If you were trying to look younger by omitting a date, the result has the opposite impact.

Yes, there is age discrimination in the job hunt, no question. The fact is, you can’t hide your age forever! Being honest from the beginning could be the best approach, no matter how long ago you earned your degree!

There are a lot of ways to help you look younger in a job hunt. I’ve written about how managing your digital footprint can make you appear more youthful. I believe that what you DO, how you ACT and what you KNOW is more important than what dates appear on your resume. I’m not alone!

Facing discrimination in your job hunt? We can write your resume to make you look younger. Need help navigating social media and online networking? Keppie Careers is here for you!

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

photo by Bill Liao

Don't Make the Same Mistake Twice – In Your Job Search or Otherwise!

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What an incredible coincidence (or maybe it isn’t?) that, just as the U.S. Gulf Coast areas hit by Katrina three years ago should be pausing to remember the victims of that horrible disaster, Hurricaine Gustav threatens the region still struggling to recover three years later.

This time, it seems as if people aren’t taking any chances. The AP reports that 1 million residents fled the Gulf Coast, well ahead of any official orders to evacuate the area. The mayor of New Orleans has told tourists to leave, hospitals are preparing and shelters are being set up. (The Superdome NOT being one of them.)

Hopefully, lessons learned from the Katrina disaster will inform and improve the response to this oncoming storm. People have not forgotten Katrina and will do what they can to avoid getting involved in a similar situation.

Does it always take an epic catastrophe to learn from our mistakes? Ideally, we will all be able to recognize that there’s something to be learned from every mis-step, especially as mistakes pertain to job hunting.

In my networking, I’ve recently spoken with two job hunters who face similar situations. Both out of work, they desperately needed jobs to earn income. As a result, both allowed themselves to be sucked into interviews and positions that were not well suited to their skills and experience.

“Amy” said to me, “I knew that I didn’t really have the experience to do the job. There were red flags, but they were willing to hire me, so I signed on.” Unfortunately, the result was that the contract to permanent position did not become permanent when the organization realized that their hire couldn’t manage the project they had in mind. While she had a paid job for several months, she stopped job hunting while employed, and when her concerns became reality, she realized that she had wasted several months when she could have been seeking the permanent job she needs.

“Kris” describes a similar situation. She took a job that she knew she couldn’t really do. She’s not sure how she landed the position, but after only four weeks, faces being asked to leave.

“Amy” is back on the job hunt, and finding that things haven’t changed…She’s still being recruited for jobs above her qualifications. “Kris,” facing her worst fears, now wonders how to approach her job hunt.

Maybe these stories are not familiar, but you have a different recurring job hunting problem? I met “Bill,” who says he “keeps coming in second” in his search. Others keep sending out the same resume to literally 100s of jobs, but don’t get a single interview.

Job seekers need to take stock and learn from their mistakes. Maybe trusting their own instincts will help. Maybe asking for help with a resume or interview coaching will make the difference. Recognize that doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result, isn’t smart. (Not a political statement, but I can’t help but think that this sentiment is relevant here!)

Just as you (hopefully) wouldn’t hole up in your New Orleans home as a huge storm approaches, don’t make the same mistakes over and over in your quest for a new job. Take some time to evaluate your plans and consider seeking some help. Otherwise, you may find yourself facing a job hunting disaster, partly of your own making.

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

Tired of making the same mistake twice? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services, including resume writing, interview preparation and job hunt coaching: www.keppiecareers.com

Resume Tip – Your Resume Should Read as the Perfect Match for Your Next Job

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 So, you are trying to write your own resume, and you are focusing on all of the things that you’ve done in the past to highlight?  STOP!

Your resume isn’t ABOUT your past – it’s about your future! Of course, you need to rely on what you have done to convince your next employer of what you can do for him or her, but remember: Your resume needs to read as the perfect match for your next job. You don’t want to look like the candidate who is qualified to do the job you already have.

Just as you need to target you resume to address your potential employer’s problems, you also need to target it to highlight the skills and accomplishments that propel you to where you want to go.  Review job descriptions that interest you. What do they want? What skills do they seek? Demonstrate that you are that person by artfully illustrating that you have the skills and accomplishments to get the job done.

You don’t have those skills on your resume? The “propel you forward” ones? Take the wheel and get them! Talk to your employer about the skills you’d like to develop. See where there are opportunities to get involved in projects that will give you what you need for your resume. Drive your own career bus, or be stuck hopelessly at the red light.

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

Need help with your resume? Did you know we offer a resume consulting service? We advise, you write! Or, hire us to write your resume for you. Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by KM