Quantify to Qualify: Leveraging Metrics to Make Your Resume Stand Out

There is truth in that tired business adage that “what gets measured gets done.” If you want to stand out among the crowd, you must ensure that you include metrics on your resume. The average amount of time spent “reading” a resume is a disheartening 7.2 seconds. That’s right—when a recruiter looks at your resume, she scans it for keywords and superstar accomplishments. If you want to grab the recruiter’s attention, adding metrics to your resume is one way to do so quickly.

Tips for how to add metrics to your resume

The purpose of including resume metrics is to create a more compelling story about you and your background. To identify which metrics to include on your resume, you’ll need to do some self-discovery. 

Explore measurable achievements. When you add personal metrics to your resume, you must include figures demonstrating the scope of your accomplishments, including the budget, the number of people you affected, and the positive impact you made.

Assess and compare. When adding metrics to your resume, assess how your results compare to your peers, department, company, or industry. You can pull out numbers and percentages or cost-savings comparisons, which will instantly demonstrate your effectiveness.

List firsts. Identify any firsts you’ve had in your career or any firsts within a specific role. If your company was the first to launch a particular product or offer a new service, you should add this to your resume to prove you were part of a strong team.

Examples of resume metrics

Growth. What did you add to the company? What were your KPIs, and how did you meet or exceed them? What are the numbers that mattered the most to your boss? Revenue? Profitability? Margin? Retention rate?

Reduction. Where and how did you save money, time, or other resources? Can you provide a concrete example of how you helped your company reduce waste, eliminate redundancy, or save money?

Impact. How did your work help? What was the payoff for your efforts? Did you help X number of people? Did you increase sales in your department?

Frequency. How often did it happen? Did you consistently beat your quarterly revenue goals? Do you increase your retention rates year over year? 

Sample resume metrics

Authored 4 white papers on the emerging digital economy, which resulted in 50,000 downloads by unique visitors. (Growth)

Sourced new manufacturing vendor, resulting in 23% savings over 6 months. (Reduction)

Conceptualized and executed a multi-channel social media campaign that reached 200K+ new users. (Impact)

Consistently beat revenue goals by an average of 9% over 5 years. (Frequency)

The bottom line

In the narrative of your professional life, numbers can speak louder than words. By embedding metrics into your resume, you position yourself not just as a candidate but as a story of success waiting to add value in your next role.