This One Detail Could Totally Transform Your Resume

That's not a valid work email account. Please enter your work email (e.g. you@yourcompany.com)
Please enter your work email
(e.g. you@yourcompany.com)

star

People tend to leave one crucial detail out of their resumes : their results! However, including this detail could totally transform your resume and make it much more effective.

Don’t sell yourself short. Give your results a prominent place on your resume.

Why Do Results Matter?

Anyone can say they’re a great employee, but very few people can actually prove it. That’s where results come in.

When applying for a job, you want to use facts to make a case for why the company should hire you. If you can show a hiring manager that you will be the solution to their problem by discussing the value you’ve created for previous employers, you’ll have a much better shot at the role.

Relying on subjective terms and clichés instead of quantifiable results will get you nowhere. In fact, employers look negatively  on this because it doesn’t convey any real information.

Instead of saying you are “results-driven,” give potential employers a taste of what you’ve actually achieved:

“Pitched and cultivated a relationship with [Company Name], securing $10,000 partnership for 2016.”

This sentence shows that you actively pursued a client and generated concrete results. Using active verbs and integrating metrics creates a stronger claim than using common resume phrases or buzzwords.

Create a SOAR Story

A SOAR story is a great way to bring results into your resume.

“SOAR” stands for “situation, obstacle, action, result.” A SOAR story is a format in which you analyze an event at work by breaking it down into the situation, the obstacle you faced, the action you took, and the result of the action.

As career coach Alyson Garrido explains, the SOAR format works wonders when writing a resume, penning a cover letter, or preparing for an interview. It also bolsters your confidence.

Creating SOAR stories prior to writing your resume ensures you are paying attention to your results. It also helps with interview prep by keeping your achievements top of mind so you’ll have no difficulty wowing your interviewer.

What You’re Missing Out on if You Don’t Include Results

Think about a court case. Anyone can make a claim, but if there’s no evidence, the claim has no power. It’s the same when someone reads your resume. You can talk about how great you are for as long as you like, but if you don’t have any evidence or results to prove your greatness, no one will take your claim seriously.

Not providing enough quantifiable results may automatically knock you out of the running for a job. That’s a pretty big statement, but the fact of the matter is that each corporate job opening receives an average of 250 applicants. If you aren’t showcasing results, someone else probably is, and they’ll be more likely to land the job than you are.

If you’re not including results on your resume when applying for a job, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Including this one detail could transform your resume and make your job search a lot more successful.

Michele Lando is a certified professional resume writer and the founder of Write Styles. 

By Michele Lando