Résumé Help: Digging Deeper to Uncover a Valuable Achievement
Thanks in advance for your support!
Nathan had been sending out his résumé for eight months and has had zero response. Completely frustrated, he contacted us. Immediately, I could see the problems. One major issue was Nathan’s under-developed professional experience section. For today’s résumé critique, we are going to narrow the scope down to one single line of Nathan’s professional experience section.
Nathan wrote:
- Scheduling the activities according to the project milestones
Issues:
1.) Housekeeping matters include omitting the articles (the, a, an) and adding a period at the end of each line.
2.) Verbs are expressed in first person simple-present tense or simple-past tense rather than present-progressive. Ouch! Too much grammar! It is easier with an illustration: Rather than “Scheduling…” write “Scheduled…” If the activity is ongoing, we would say, “Schedule…”
3.) The biggest issue is that we are not showing an achievement here. This is a statement describing one of his tasks. It might be very incidental or it might be mission-critical. We do not know. However, based on the way Nathan wrote it, most readers would assume is it not significant.
The Big Fix:
1.) I called Nathan because I can’t make this line better without his feedback. Here’s what I asked him:
* What did this project entail/project scope?
* How many on the team? What was your role?
* What impact did this have on your company or client’s bottom line/overall operations?
* Did you implement any scheduling procedural changes? What was the result?
* Did the project finish as planned/on-schedule/on-budget?
2.) What Nathan said knocked my socks off!
* Project was for production of 7 military-purpose, mid-sized helicopters for NATO, $35 million each.
* Team included 6 scheduling specialists.
* Missing this deadline or failing quality inspections would cost us millions in penalties and future contracts.
* I implemented a daily check-in with each specialist so we caught issues immediately.
* We completed the project on time and company earned a $43,000 production bonus for on-time delivery.
The Revised Bullet Point:
- Led scheduling operations for $245 million project to manufacture 7 military transport helicopters for NATO. Enabled company to earn $43,000 production business and ensured on time delivery; tightly managed production via daily status meetings with team of 6 scheduling specialists.
Get the idea? Digging deeper to define the scope and show results transforms what seems like a minor task into a powerful accomplishment. Accomplishments demonstrate your potential as a valuable employer and accomplishments on your résumé help you to win the interview. For more information on this topic, try reading these blog entries:
Résumé Help: Asking Questions to Uncover Accomplishments
Résumé Help: Muddled to Marvelous
If you would like a résumé critique, please contact Debra Wheatman at debra@careersdonewrite.com or visit us at http://careersdonewrite.com. The Résumé Help blog appears weekly on Mondays.