“How do I make my resume stand out?” This is one of the most common questions I get as a career coach.  Many job seekers think a flashy format with beautiful graphics and pretty colors is the way to catch an employer’s eye.  Others think jamming 3,000 words onto one page is the best way to display their success.

The answer to this question is simple.  The best way to get your resume to stand out in a crowd is to add content that demonstrates how you have fulfilled your future employer’s needs through your past work experience.  Think about yourself.  When you are trying to choose between a whole bunch of good options, which one rises to the top?  The solution that fulfills your needs the best.  Let’s talk about how to explain your value on a resume so we can make your skills, achievements, and strengths crystal clear for your future employer.

When adding a resume statement or bullet point under a professional experience, the statement should be achievement-based as opposed to responsibility-based.  Your future employer does not just want to know what you did in your current and previous roles. They want to know how you added value to that work environment.  If you would like to make your first bullet point what I call a “summary of responsibilities statement,” that is ok.  This statement does not have to be achievement-based, but it should give the reader context to place your following achievements into.  To compose this statement, imagine someone asked you, “what do you do at work?”  Your brief answer should only take up two to three lines on the resume before moving to the good stuff…your achievements.

When writing an achievement-based bullet point, displaying the results or impact of your work is the best way to show your future employer how you will add value to their work and mission.  A good outline to use when composing an achievement-based bullet point is to start with a strong and descriptive action verb.  Then, list the task you completed, and conclude with the impact or results of your work.  You can also explain the impact of your work before the task if the impact is more impressive.

When outlining your tasks and the impact of your work, it is helpful to use the WHO outline (explained below).  Before going through the trouble of writing a bullet point, ask yourself, “will my future employer care about this achievement?”  If the answer is yes, write on!  If the answer is no, stop, look at the job description, and think of an achievement that is aligned with your future employer’s needs. Then, write on!

WHO is an acronym that stands for what, how, and outcomes.  When using this outline ask yourself:

• What did you do?
• How did you do it? Did I use a certain attitude, technique, tool, or skill better or more uniquely than others?
• What was the outcome of my work? The outcome of your work can be explained in two different ways.  First, you could explain the results of your work using numbers to explain the scope or achievements of your work. An alternative would be to use a description of an environmental change by explaining how your work effected your team, clients, the organization, a process, etc.

When thinking about the outcome of your work ask yourself the following questions to help you think about your value:

• How did I improve something in this role?
• How did I save time or money for my employer?
• What were my biggest contributions to this role?

Let’s imagine you are applying for a job as a Sales Manager and the job description sounds something like this:

As Sales Manager, you’ll lead the charge for your team’s quarterly sales activities on everything from fulfilling e-commerce orders to merchandising. You’ll set the standard for how your shops are remembered by your customers, and you’ll set an example for other employees by creating an amazing buying experience for everyone who walks through your doors.

• Manage a team of 150 sales representatives across 4 territories.  This includes hiring, training, onboarding, and performance management.
• Implement performance processes and procedures to promote an effective and transparent working environment for your team.
• Actively lead all sales activities including customer engagement, daily task, and KPI monitoring.
• Organize and participate in all sales employees training through targeted role plays, secret shop results, observing customer interactions, and more.
• Responsible for ensuring your team meets rigorous sales quotas each quarter.

Here are examples of achievement-based bullet point examples that would help this candidate stand out:

• Optimized efficiency of reporting structure by 15% which improved engagement of region’s monthly price book by 25% in first 90 days.
• Ensured 95% of employees met KPI metrics by completing 1 on 1 performance evaluations and providing employees with supporting resources.
• Trained staff to establish a comfortable shopping environment through creating simulated shopping experiences and defining an ideal atmosphere.
• Designed customer promotion program which increased store foot traffic by 20% in first quarter.
• Achieved quarterly Sales Team Manager Award Q2 2019 and Q1 – Q3 2020 by leveraging existing client relationships to earn 15 new accounts each quarter.

This candidate specifically addresses parts of the job description and demonstrates how they excelled in this environment previously.  The bullet points are not verbose and each one uses the WHO outline to explain this candidate’s value.

The best way to get your resume to stand out in the “stack” is use this document as a tool to allow your achievements to shine.  Now that you have the tools to create a rock star resume, it is time to start applying!  Good luck with you job search!

If you would like to work with a career coach to help you with your resume, I’d love to hear from you!  Click here to schedule a consultation.  You can also feel free to check out my Find Your Dream Job Course for more resume tips.  If you enjoyed this post, scroll down to subscribe and my blog will be sent straight to your inbox 😊!