Focus On Outcomes

A popular question I get asked is “How do I include both outcomes and tasks on my resume?”.

The clearest answer to this question is by quantifying your experiences. It is all about the way that you frame your experiences. For example, you are in an entry-level position. One of the tasks that you are given is to write down minutes for a weekly leadership meeting. Okay, easy enough. Let’s leverage that and we can say that you “created weekly meeting minutes to inform strategic leadership decisions”. 

Place Your Focus On Your Outcomes

Think back to our discussion on the copy-and-paste method, and the importance of not just copy-and-pasting your job description into your resume. You are so much more than those few bullet points, and that is not going to be what catches the eye of your reader.  Instead, they’d rather see you discuss your outcomes and accomplishments, especially since some of these often fall outside the scope of your actual job description.

Explain the scope of work: Quantify

Quantifying is a more impactful way to share your experiences.

You say you managed a team, but how many people are on that team - 10? 20? It may seem insignificant, but your team just doubled between those two numbers. That’s big. And your reader wants to know!

Which one do you like better?

Before:
•Assisted students in improving their exam scores in order to increase college application acceptance

After:
•Developed a curriculum that resulted in a 94% success rate and an average of 4.4 on AP testing

C’mon, that glow-up looks good, right?! Now it’s your turn to start quantifying!

You Are The Problem Solver

When you are focusing on the outcomes, you are inevitably the problem solver. When you succeeded, or created this outcome, you solved the problem. This is an excellent way to showcase a skill in a concrete way and may even provide the potential employer a peek at the problems you are able to solve. If you were able to solve an expansion goal by exceeding the goal within a specific timeline and you highlight that on your resume, your potential employer may read that and say “Hey, I would love to expand my workforce, let’s give this person a go at it!”. You just landed a job by proving yourself to be a problem solver. 

Even if your solutions don’t necessarily solve your potential employer’s problems outright, seeing your outcomes and achievements can generate questions that will drive them towards a follow-up interview.  

Are you ready to take the next step in crafting the perfect resume? Submit your information via my website and I will be in touch soon.