Résumés 3: Verb (Accomplishment) Statements
Overview
The most common mistake resume writers make is to focus on the duties they had at a previous job rather than results and accomplishments. Duties are those things that everyone who has ever had that job had to do. For instance, in a previous job at a retail shop, you may have been responsible for opening the store, for restocking shelves, balancing the register, or depositing cash at the end of the night.
Those duties – opening, restocking, balancing, depositing – are things that every sales associate has to do (or at least sales associates in similar positions). Those are the minimum responsibilities of your job – if you didn’t do those things, you would be fired. worse than being an ineffective sales associate, you would be a former sales associate without a job.
Simply suggesting that you do your responsibilities means that you fulfill the duties of your position – the bare minimum to keep your job. It does not mean that you fulfill those duties effectively or fulfill those duties in a way that contributes to the goals and objectives of your organization.
Accomplishment Statements
Instead of speaking to your responsibilities (what you are expected to do) speak to your accomplishments (what you achieve/d, what outcomes follow/ed, and how you provid/ed value to your organization, its mission, and its clients.
Accomplishment statements take the form of: action + object + results.
Put another way: verb + subject + outcome.
Princeton’s Career Services suggests thinking of it this way: APR (Action + Problem/Project + Result):
"APR" makes highlighting accomplishments easy. Think of a project you completed or problem you solved during a job or volunteer experience. Choose an action verb that describes your approach. Then describe the results you achieved, quantifying results when possible.
Here is their example, followed by a few more:
| Action Verb | Problem/Project | Result/s | ||
| coordinated | + | three fundraising events for local shelters | + | which raised more than $8,000 (20% over goal) and increased community awareness |
| Coordinated three fundraising events for local food banks, which raised over $8,000 (20% over goal) and increased community awareness. | ||||
| planned and promoted | + | 5 guest speakers for the Engineering Departments Student Outreach Series | + | 25% increase in student attendance from the previous year |
| Planned and promoted 5 guests speakers for the Engineering Departments Student Outreach Series resulting in a 25% increase in student attendance from the previous year. | ||||
| wrote | + | bylaws and governance documents | + | to found FAU’s Apple Users Group student organization |
| Wrote bylaws and governance documents to found FAU’s Apple Users Group student organization. | ||||
| developed | + | system for server shift changes | + | to increase efficiency of administrative and operational tasks (servers were able to clock out 50% faster at the ends of shifts) and reduce unexpected overtime payments by 80% |
| Developed a system for server shift changes to increase efficiency of administrative and operational tasks (servers were able to clock out 50% faster at the ends of shifts) and reduce unexpected overtime payments by 80%. | ||||
| led and coordinated | + | team of four project group members by delegating responsibilities and tasks | + | ensuring a successful project and an ‘A’ from the professor |
| Led and coordinated team of four project group members by delegating responsibilities and tasks ensuring a successful project and an ‘A’ from the professor. | ||||
Weak vs. Strong Verbs
Verbs like worked, made, used, gave, and was are incredibly weak. They’re inspecific and don’t speak to the actions you took to accomplish various tasks, meet (or exceed) the obejectives of your position, and fulfill the purpose/s of your organization. They don’t speak to action or success. They speak to bare minimums, responsibilies, and duties required of anyone in your position.
| Intead of (Weak Verbs) | Revise to (Strong/Action Verbs) |
| Responsible for customer accounts | Updated and maintained customer accounts… |
| Sent customer invoices and overdue notices | Created and sent invoices and overdue account notices… |
| Worked with customers to make payment plans | Negotiated payment plans with customers… |
| Settled and closed accounts | Balanced accounts… |
| Was leader in group project | Led team of five group members… |
| Made sales | Sold merchandice… |
| Worked with staff members | Collaborated with staff members… |
| Used accounting principles… | Applied accounting principles… |
| Gave presentations | Delivered presentations… |
| Made newsletter | Developed, wrote, and published newsletter… |
Browse these lists of precise action verbs organized according to skill categories like communication, creative, management, leadership, organization, and research (among others): Quint Careers Action Verbs, CSU Action Verbs, and ASU Action Verbs.
Targeted Verbs
Take a look at the Indeed.com seach for “executive assistant” in Miami Florida. Note the words/phrases highlighted in blue and green.
Take a look at the verbs in blue: coordinate, balance, implement, and respond. Because of the frequency of these and related verbs in similar job advertisements, if you were applying for "executive assistant" positions, it would probably be a good idea to work these into your verb statements.
Of course, you shouldn’t make up details to use various verbs (that would be unethical), but you should see if you can shift your language to match the language that’s out there.
| Instead of Generic Verbs | Shift to Targeted Verbs |
| Communicated administrative needs to staff … | Coordinated communication between administration and staff |
| Managed various tasks simultaneously… | Balanced various simultaneous tasks in order to fulfill responsibilities… |
| Resolved customer complaints… | Implemented solutions to customer complaints…. |
| Answered clients’ inquiries…. | Responded to clients’ inquiries…. |
Take a look at the adjectives in green: dynamic, flexible, adaptable, energetic, positive, proactive, and reliable.
You can work those adjectives into your resume in other ways. Occasionally, you can shift them to verbs, as in the case of "adaptable" (adjective) to "adapt" or "adapted" (verbs). If not, perhaps those terms (or similar ones) can be worked into the objective statement, summary of qualifications, etc.
Structure, Punctuation, Tense, Sequence, & More
Structure:
In resumes, it’s acceptable (and perhaps even preferred) to write in sentence fragments and omit articles. According to Max Messmer, author of Job Hunting for Dummies (2nd ed.):
Keep your sentences short and don’t worry about fragments. Resumes call for short, crisp statements. These statements do not necessarily have to be complete sentences; you can frequently leave out the articles a, an, and the.
Instead of this:
Spent three years working on major accounts, as both a lead generator and a closer, demonstrating proven skill in organizing and managing a territory with efficiency as well as in developing customer databases.
Write this:
Spent three years working on major accounts. Generated leads and closed sales. Demonstrated proven skill in organizing and managing a territory and in developing customer databases.
Instead of this:
I was involved in the creation and implementation of statistical reports for a large metropolitan hospital, which required the use of spreadsheet software for cost analysis and, in addition, the creation of a database to track patient visits.
Write this:
Created and implemented statistical reports for large metropolitan hospital. Analyzed costs with spreadsheet software. Created database to track patient visits.
Or try a bulleted format:
- Created and implemented statistical reports for large metropolitan hospital.
- Analyzed costs with spreadsheet software.
- Created database to track patient visits.
Punctuation
If the text of your bullet point is a full sentence, then you should use standard sentence punctuation. However, if the text is written as a phrase (technically, a sentence fragment, but perfectly acceptable for a resume), then it’s your choice whether to include end punctuation or not. The only real rule is to be consistent. If you decide to use periods after bulleted phrases, then you must use periods for each one. If you decide not to use periods, then none of the phrases should have periods.
Verb Tense
The rule for verb tense in resumes is simple. If the verb statement refers to a past position, the verb should be in past tense. If the verb statement refers to a current position (one you hold presently), the verb should be in present tense.
If you’re writing verb statements to describe what you accomplished in a Retail Sales Associate position you held in 2010-2012, your verbs should be in past tense, e.g., Assisted, Managed, Resolved, Increased, etc.
If you’re writing verb statements to describe what you accomplish in your current position as a Sales Manager, your verbs should be in present tense, e.g., Manage, Assist, Coordinate, Schedule, Balance, Motivate, etc.
First Person, Sequence, Plain English, & Parallelism
In short:
- Avoid first person ("I" or "we")
- Use plain English, avoid nouning, and focus on the "real" (see previous course material on Nouning)
- Maintain parallel structure in your bullet points (see previous course material on Parallelism)
I recommend Max Messmer’s 5 Tips for Better Resume Writing.
