The key to selling yourself is to show that you've accomplished-if not miracles-at least solid worthwhile achievements. For each job you've had, you should have already listed both major and minor accomplishments. For each job, you should also determine the achievements you think are most marketable for the positions(s) you're seeking. Select about 12 to 15 of your most important achievements to polish.
What is the most effective way to present these accomplishments? Good accomplishment/achievement statements follow the PAR formula:
P = Problem, A = Accomplishment, R = Result. For each accomplishment chosen, ask yourself, "What was the problem I was solving when I accomplished this? What actions did I take? What results did I get and what did it do for my employer?" Stating the problem does not necessarily mean that something was wrong. In the sense used here, a problem can be a specific condition that needs to be corrected or worked around; it can be a situation that needed to be changed or taken advantage of; it could be an assignment you received and made work for you; or it could be something that was working, but could be improved.
For the sake of argument, let's say you managed a purchasing department. You were very concerned with the efficiency of the department. It took your purchasing agents too long (an average of one week) to issue their purchase orders from the time they received a requisition, which ultimately delayed deliveries. A statement of the problem: You needed to reduce the time between receiving the requisition and issuing the purchase order.
Write down the action you took first. What did you do? Example: (Action) Revamped purchasing procedures.
What were the results? Example: (Action) Revamped purchasing procedures, (Result) cutting department costs by 15 percent and the error rate by 5 percent.
Put these items together, and you have the accomplishment. Example: (Action) Revamped purchasing procedures, (result) cutting department costs by 15 percent and the error rate by 5 percent, and (corrected problem) reducing the average time between receipt of requisition and purchase order issuance from one week to two days.
Note that in this, concrete and measurable figures are given. Reduced costs 15 percent, error rate by 5 percent, time from one week to two days.
For clarity, you may want to edit this statement in several different formats. You may want to put the results first, the problem first or the action first. As you rewrite each statement, continue to ask yourself, "What action did I take? What were the results? What did the action change and by how much did it change?"
If in correcting a problem, you accomplished several things, you might use a slightly different format to express problem, action and result(s). In the statement that follows, one problem solution spawned several accomplishments and results.
Developed and installed new purchasing procedures which…
- Shortened processing time for purchase orders from one week to two days
- Cut department costs 15 percent
- Reduced error rate 5 percent
- Improved order follow-up procedures ensured on-time delivery
- Measured for the first time the purchasing effectiveness of individual purchasing agents.
Planned and directed all phases of a company turnaround which:
- Achieved an 84% increase in sales, included the introduction of new products, and eliminated losses of $2.5 million within a three-year period.
- Reduced selling and administrative expenses from 21% to 15% of sales.
- Pioneered instruction systems development in the Tactical Air Command and subsequent complete restructuring of all major training programs. In one program alone, saved $3.7 million,
- Developed new product delivery and pricing strategies which increased profits by over $2 million.
- Negotiated contracts and established U.S. sources for electronics components for 25% less than the Japanese component costs.
- Prepared and directed two direct mail fund-raising campaigns that generated in excess of $800,000 for a nonprofit agency within a six-month period.
- Successfully completed an OEM computer-tape transport project whose compatibility requirements were so rigid that the previous management team left the company. Turned a potential lawsuit into repeat orders and a profitable $500 thousand OEM business.
In the chronological, functional, combination and letter resumes, you will tell the reader about the kind of work that you did-your duties, responsibilities, job functions, while still keeping in mind that you accomplished something doing those things. That doesn't mean that you necessarily use dollars, time, percentages or words that indicate accomplishment.
But you do show that your actions did something for the company. For instance, a Systems Staff Manager for a major communications company wrote on her worksheet that she:
- Managed voice and data systems to ensure that these essential tools operated with minimum "down time"
- Was responsible for the security, repair and operating integrity of $5 million worth of capital computer and telephone hardware, software, wiring and interconnections
- Interacted with outside vendors and data centers to solve any serious systems problems
- Was responsible for design, development and implementation of state-of-the art network, computer and telephone hardware and software used by 150 telemarketing employees and 30 headquarters staff members
- Directed work of 16 systems staff members, including analysts, programmers, systems consultants, project managers, a systems administrator and a technical writer
- Remained abreast of current improvements in direct marketing technology
- Budgeted, selected and purchased capital equipment (budget during installation was $1.1 million)
- Was responsible for ensuring that no un-purchased, unauthorized or ''bootleg" software was operating on any computer within the division.
