Tips for Writing an Accomplishment Statement on Your Resume
Learning to write an accomplishment statement is a skill every job seeker must learn. It demonstrates to the employer what differences and contributions you have made in your current and past roles.
Accomplishment statements are those short, bulleted sentences listed under each experience section on a resume. These sentences are more than just listing your duties and tasks. They include a set of strong and concise statements that describe your contribution and the impact you made in the roles you have held. They can be qualitative and quantitative in nature.
The benefits of writing an effective accomplishment statement include a strong awareness of your skills and abilities, employers have a better sense of the impact you made in the role, and it gives a greater sense of self-confidence when presenting yourself to an employer.
An effective accomplishment statement comprises of actions and results.
Actions: describe specific actions you took to achieve a goal and/or solve a problem using strong action verbs. These action verbs mean a lot when used in your accomplishment statement.
Results: describe the contributions and impact you made because of the action you took. It can be quantifiable which means you could use numbers, percentages, and volume to describe the weight of the impact.
How to write an accomplishment statement
There are three steps to consider when attempting to write an accomplishment statement.
1. You must identify which accomplishment you wish to highlight – such as problems you encountered and how you successfully resolved the issues. It could also include how you improved systems and processes, which again highlights the contribution you made.
2. You should consider using the CAR technique to write your accomplishment statements. To write a strong accomplishments statement, you need to follow a set of rules which includes starting with a strong action verb, followed by a set of quantifiable tasks you are performing or have performed, and then closing with a strong result-oriented statement to describe what you achieved.
This is called using the CAR technique:
Challenge - what was the situation, problem, or issues you encountered in the role?
Action - what steps did you take to resolve the situation, and what skills did you use?
Result - how was the issue resolved and what impact did you make?
3. You should use accomplishment action verbs to describe the impact and result of your contribution. Some of the verbs include: contributed, collaborated, increased, developed, improved, managed, coached, streamlined, spearheaded, etc.
Examples of strong impact statements
Coached and mentored new ambassadors to develop and implement skills and business processes acquired from training to effectively execute daily tasks.
- CHALLENGE: providing leadership and support to new ambassadors
- ACTION: Coached and mentored
- RESULT: to develop and implement skills and business processes acquired from training to effectively execute daily tasks.
Reviewed individual customer cases providing mediation and settling customers’ needs through effective questioning and research.
- CHALLENGE: addressing customer cases and problem-solving.
- ACTION: reviewed.
- RESULT: providing mediation and settling customers’ needs through effective questioning and research.
Created digital content for the department’s social media platforms and increased student engagement by 50% in less than 6 months.
- CHALLENGE: content creation and engagement on social media platforms.
- ACTION: created content and increased student engagement.
- RESULT: increased by 50% in less than 6 months.
With every role you hold, it is essential to ensure that you are tracking your accomplishments. Getting into this habit will not only help you remember the impact you have made but also make it easier to update your resume with ease.
Need some more guidance with your accomplishment statements? Book a free one-on-one appointment with a Career Coach in Residence
Post written by Tinu Olawuyi, 2022-23 Career Coach in Residence.
The Career Coaches in Residence program is generously supported by Linda Dagg and Kenneth Wiener and RBC Future Launch.
Comments