Tag Archives: accomplishment statements

Impressive Executive Resumes Lead With Results

Leave a reply

This guest article is from Adrienne Tom, a valued connection and colleague. 

In order to captivate a reader, executive resumes require more than just strong, tailored content. They also need proof.  Proof of the communications expertise and business leadership one claims to covet.  Saying you are good at something and providing clear evidence of it are two different things.

Business people

In an executive resume one must prove their claims.

Supporting evidence lies within measurable impacts, specific quantities, and strong metrics generated during a career.  For greater impact: load your executive resume with relevant results.  Even better, lead with them.

Take this example:  a friend is telling you about their recent fishing expedition, laying out all the things they did and the actions they took before sublimely mentioning ‘we caught a lot of fish’.  Would you be impressed?  Perhaps.  Yet exact measurements are missing and you may have tuned out long before the results were mentioned.

Now, let’s say this same person started the story with ‘12 fish were caught in the first hour of our fishing weekend!’.  Would that get your attention faster?  Likely.  That’s because the results are clear and presented early.

When I work with executives to position their value ‘on paper’ the primary goal is to ensure content speaks to the reader, fast.  Leading with results and front-loading points throughout the file generates a strong impression, builds excitement, and connects the dots.

To ensure the inclusion of measurable and scaled details in your resume, strive to answer: how many? how much? and how often?

If you’ve directed teams, list the size:  Teams of 450.

If you’ve managed budgets, quantify the largest amount:  Budgets of $45M

If you’ve driven revenue growth, show the value over time:   $40M revenue expansion in 2 Years  

Now store these results away for high-impact positioning in your resume.

Leading with results spoon feeds the reader what they want, first.  You answer questions before they can be asked and you align proof points with position requirements.  Results also drive energy and action into the file!

Leaders appreciate the value of numbers and measurable business impacts, so don’t make them hunt for them in a resume. Commence the file with a strong header and supporting value statement, not a generic list of keywords or blanket phrases.

For example, a general opening might say:

Executive Leader:  Revenue Generator | Team Builder | New Business Developer

Yet there is no scale and no measurements in the above statement to hook and engage. An improved resume header would include size, scale, and metrics. Something more like:

President and CEO:  Global $45M Facilities Management | Teams to 450 | 300% Revenue Growth in 4 Years.

The key is to keep this same approach up throughout the resume, with all statements, including bullet points.  Front-load points to powerfully position strengths and build the readers’ appreciation of capabilities.

Standard bullet statements may include impressive figures and important metrics but if key details appear near the end of content the impact becomes less wow and more oh-by-the-way.

End-loaded statements:

  • Developed differentiated product line which decreased service time for end users and added $36M in new profit over 3 years.
  • Shifted vendor relationship management to internal support group, producing $10M in annual cost-savings.
  • Employed longer sales cycles to close accounts in historically challenging European territory to grow new business revenue 156% over 2 years.

Front-loaded statements:

  • Added $36M in new profit over 3 years by developing differentiated product line which decreased service time for end users.
  • Produced $10M in annual cost-savings by shifting vendor relationship management to internal support group.
  • Grew new business revenue 156% over 2 years in European market, employing longer sales cycles to close accounts in historically challenging territory.

The difference is discernible. There is no hunting for impacts in front-load statements and key points don’t run the risk of getting buried or overlooked.  What matters most appears first.

As an executive, you want the reader to get invested in you and your abilities.  To hook and engage, lay out content in a clear path, baiting with impacts that are hard to overlook or pass by.  Lead with results.

Read the original article here.

Take your resume strategy one step further and really impress by Pairing Effective Content with Innovative Design!  You are unique, therefore your resume should be too.

Adrienne Tom is a multi-award-winning executive resume writer with Career Impressions.  She packages and positions executives and top professionals, helping them level-up, land faster, and increase their earning power!  Visit her website to learn more.

Photo: Flickr, zigzagpress

3 things to keep in mind when answering, “Tell me about yourself”

8 Replies

The directive from the interviewer, “Tell me about yourself,” strikes fear in the hearts of even the most confident job candidates. That’s because they haven’t given serious consideration to how they’ll answer this directive.

elevatorpitch

It’s also because they haven’t taken time to construct a persuasive elevator pitch, which is one of the most important tools in your job search toolbox. There are three components necessary to answer, “Tell me about yourself.”

1. Keep it relevant. You must be aware of what the employer wants from their employees, which requires from you not only researching the job but also the company.

Let’s say, as a trainer, you’re aware of the employer’s need for satisfying people of cultural differences. You’ll begin your elevator speech by addressing this need.

You’ll begin your elevator pitch with something on the lines of:

Along with my highly rated presentation skills, I’ve had particular success with designing presentations that meet the needs of diverse populations.

Then you’ll follow it with an accomplishment, as accomplishments are memorable.

For example, the company for which I last worked employed Khmer and Spanish-speaking people. I translated our presentations into both languages so that my colleagues could deliver their presentations with ease and effectiveness. This was work I did on my own time, but I realized how important it was to the company. I received accolades from the CEO of the company; and I enjoyed the process very much.

Finally, you’ll close your elevator pitch with some of the strong personality skills for which you’ve been acknowledge. In this case, your innovation, assertiveness, and commitment to the company would be appropriate to mention. But don’t simply list your personality skills. Show them.

My managers have often told me that I’m innovative, which I understand you’re looking for in your next trainer. If I’m hired for this position, I’ll be committed to helping you meet your goals, whatever they may be.

2. Be on your toes. Being prepared is essential to job seekers who need to say the right thing at the right time to a prospective employer. This is where your research on the company comes into play—the more you know about said company, the better you can recite your elevator pitch.

One way to answer, “Why should we hire you?” is by using your elevator pitch. Throughout the interview, you’ve paid careful attention to what the employer has been saying regarding the challenges the company is facing.

They need a manager who can develop excellent rapport with a younger staff, while also enforcing rules that have been broken. Based on your new-found knowledge, you realize you’ll have to answer this question with a variation on your rehearsed pitch. You’ll open instead with:

I am a manager who understands the need to maintain an easy-going, professional approach as well as to discipline my employees when necessary. As this is one of your concerns, I can assure you that I will deliver on my promise, as well as exceed other expectations you have for this position.

Then you’ll follow with an example of what you asserted.

If I may give you a specific example of my claim, on many occasions I had to apply the right amount of discipline in various ways. There was one employee who was always late for work and would often return from break or lunch late, as well.

I realized that she required a gentler touch than the others, so I called her to my office and explained the effect she had on the rest of the team when she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. I then explained to her the consequences her tardiness would have on her. (Slight smile.) I don’t think she had been spoken to in such a straightforward manner by her other managers. I treated her with respect.

From that day forward, she was never late. In fact, she earned a dependability award. There are other examples. Would you like to hear them?

3. The purpose of your elevator speech. When employers listen to your elevator pitch, they should recognize skills and accomplishments that set you apart from the rest of the candidates.

Tell your elevator pitch in a concise manner that illustrates these skills; don’t simply provide a list of skills you think are required for the position. Remember that accomplishments are memorable and show your value added, especially if they’re relevant to your audience, e.g., an employer.

Above All Else, Your Elevator Pitch Must Show Value! The value you bring to the employer. As in the example above in which the candidate understands the needs of the employer to be building rapport with young workers, while also enforcing rules; you must know the employers pain points.

Once you’ve got a full grasp on the employer’s pain points, you’ll know which content to include in your elevator pitch and how to deliver. it.

Whether you use your elevator pitch to answer the directive, “Tell me about yourself,” or the question, “Why should I hire you?” there are enough reasons to develop one that is relevant and shows you can think on your feet.

Now read how to answer other tough questions:

“Why should we hire you?”
“What is your greatest weakness?”

9 features of a professional résumé…and thoughts on Italian food

5 Replies


My wife and I recently ate at an Italian restaurant in the North End of Boston, where I had Linguine Alla Pescatore and Caprese Salad (with fried tomato). To say the food was out of this world would be an understatement. The atmosphere was authentic and boisterous, the waiter attentive.

What does fine Italian food have to do with a professional résumé? It’s akin to a WOW moment you want the employer to experience when she reads your professional résumé. So what separates the extraordinary from the ordinary? There are nine distinct features of a professional résumé. Continue reading →

Get rid of the clutter on your résumé

5 Replies

I hate clutter. If I could get rid of half the stuff in my house, it would take two dumpsters and five days of work. As I clean my house—the kids and my wife at the Fine Arts Museum in Boston—I’m throwing away every useless item I see on the floor.

All this clutter makes me think of the clutter some jobseekers have on their résumé. And I imagine the employers feel the way I’m feeling right now.

I met with a customer the other day to critique his résumé. It was four pages long; but that’s not what made critiquing it difficult—it was wading through the clutter on it. Here are some examples of duty statements, plus one accomplishment.

  • Managed a group of 25 sales people and 10 office staff. (And?)
  • Responsible for hiring and firing employees. (So what.)
  • Led meetings on a weekly basis. (And?)
  • Wrote articles for the company’s monthly newsletter. (So what.)
  • Spearheaded the company’s first pay-for-service program which increased sales 30% and earned the sales department an Award of Excellence. (Okay, now we’re talking.)

The first four duty statements were clutter; they added nothing to his résumé. The last statement, a quantified accomplishment, said something worth reading. It talked about his ability to lead, which effectively covered the first two bullet points.

I asked him about the newsletter to which he contributed articles. He told me it was initially sent via e-mail to 60 partners and customers, and in six months time the readership had grown to 12,000. As well, he wrote two, sometimes three articles a month for it; in which he talked about product releases, offered tips on data storage, and announced tradeshows. He often received favorable reviews from customers, OEMs and VARs.

I suggested that he keep the first duty and elaborated on his group’s productivity, stability, and endearing affection for him. He admitted that 10 of the 25 sales people and half of the office staff had to be let go because of downsizing. However, productivity wasn’t affected; rather the reduced team maintained and even surpassed projections set by upper management by 25%.

The bullet points on leading meetings and hiring and firing employees were clutter, much like the coffee cups sitting beside me on my office desk. Trash these, I told him. A bazillion managers lead meetings, and many are responsible for hiring and firing employees. So what.

He was fine with getting rid of the meetings’ duty statement but was reluctant to let go of hiring and firing employees. I asked him how many employees he had to fire, aside from the ones that were let go because of downsizing. He told me, a lot. “Well, doesn’t that mean you made poor hiring decisions,” I asked him? He didn’t respond.

What we had remaining of the original four duty statements and one accomplishment statement was:

  • Reduced sales force by 40% due to budget restraints, while surpassing productivity expectations by 25%.
  • Spearheaded the company’s first pay-for-service program which increased sales 30% and earned the sales department an Award of Excellence.
  • Authored articles for the company’s monthly newsletter, announcing product releases, providing tips on color management, and promoting tradeshows; increasing readership from 60 to 12,000 in just six months.

He was still a little bummed because he wanted to demonstrate that he had hired and terminated employees. Isn’t that what managers do, he asked me? Yeah, I wanted to say, but they don’t fire people because they made bad hiring decisions. So unlike the clutter that occupies my house, the clutter on my customer’s résumé was drastically reduced.