How to Write a Resume: The Work History Section
Imagine you and another applicant, who happen to have the exact same work history and qualifications, are sitting next to each other being interviewed for the same position. If the interviewer asked you why he should hire you instead of the other person, what would you give as an answer? Since the other person has the exact same work history and skills, you would have to distinguish yourself from the competition in some manner. And the way to do it would be to tell the interviewer how you made a difference. This is the same type of information you should offer on your resume.
Ask yourself:
-- Did you increase sales or revenue and if so, by how much?
-- Did you streamline operations that reduced expenses and saved money?
-- Did you receive any awards or recognition for outstanding work?
-- Did you solve a major problem the company had?
-- Did you increase productivity, reduce employee turnover, improve efficiency?
-- What projects did you work on? Were they completed on-time and within budget?
Compare the quality of the typical resume with one that really stands out:
Boring resumes read like this:
--Managed staff of 20
--Responsible for filing documents
--Responsible for risk management
--Trained sales staff
--Responsible for departmental
Outstanding resumes reads like this:
--While managing staff of 20, cut absenteeism 20% and reduced employee turnover 30%
--Reorganized filing system so sales representatives could retrieve client files without assistance from clerks
--Developed and implemented TQM programs that reduced losses by approximately 33%
--Gave weekly motivational lectures to sales staff, which resulted in a 20 percent increase in sales; wrote sales presentation materials, and routinely trained new sales recruits
--Reduced operational budget 5 percent each year for the budget past three years, saving the company $270,000 in operational expenses
After reading the above, you might be thinking to yourself, "I don't have any accomplishments like those!" As resume writers, we are aware that many of you just graduated from college, work in support positions, don't have any work experience, or just lack accomplishments. After all, not everyone is given the opportunity to "increase revenue 500 percent". If this is a good description of you, keep reading for techniques you can use to create a better work history section.
