May 8
2008
60 Resume Achievement Writing Ideas and Expressions

As a salute to Israel’s 60th birthday, here are 60 kinds of achievements that you might not be emphasizing enough on your CV or resume.

Why is this list important?

To do a great job selling yourself, a resume needs to convince readers that you have the skills needed for their job and the abilities to do it successfully. By highlighting accomplishments using action verbs, you create a proven track record to eliminate all doubt.

You successfully…

1. Managed company/department annual/quarterly budget of X (large) amount
2. Stayed under budget for X quarters/years
3. Were promoted
4. Were promoted after only X months in the role
5. Directed a team/group/organization (something difficult to manage)
6. Managed a project spanning X countries/continents/employees
7. Placed employees at X companies
8. Trained X new employees
9. Built a new team/division (not just hiring, also managing the workflow) for the company
10. Redesigned and implemented more effective company procedures which e.g. decreased time-to-market by X amount/%
11. Met deadlines consistently
12. Reined in rollercoaster project X
13. Supervised large/complex project in attaining goal X
14. Grew customer base by X amount/%
15. Grew donor base by X amount/%
16. Multiplied donations by X amount/%
17. Cut costs by X amount/% within Y amount of time
18. Launched X new websites/products/campaigns
19. Increased portfolio earnings by X amount/%
20. Integrated an extremely complex system for the company
21. United multiple teams post-merger
22. Finished sales quota X amount of time early
23. Reduced client/reader attrition by X amount/%
24. Met X national/global/industry standard within Y amount of time
25. Streamlined team/department operations
26. Improved ties with country/industry association/union
27. Boosted earnings by X amount/%
28. Implemented a service level agreement
29. Won X number of cases (for a lawyer)
30. Published X articles/white papers/reports/books
31. Received X award/designation
32. Won X award/competition for Y consecutive years
33. Attained X certification
34. Finished in the top X percentile of your class/course
35. Reached X objective(s) every quarter for Y quarters in a row
36. Reached X objective(s) faster than competitor (internal/external)
37. Discovered X new drugs/species/trends
38. Coined well-known buzzword or industry term
39. Created X program/course/methodology
40. Founded X company/non-profit/association/club
41. Solved X disputes (for a negotiator)
42. Resolved X internal conflicts
43. Hold world/Olympic record
44. Climbed X number of mountains
45. Coached X teams to trophy/championship/1st place in league
46. Received score of X (high) on known customer satisfaction survey/poll
47. Received score of X (high) on standardized testing/exam
48. First person to achieve X (or led first team to achieve X) internally/externally
49. Something you created won an award/was a bestseller/fan favorite
50. Voted best/most something by association/club/group
51. Featured in website/magazine/newspaper/book
52. Held a perfect attendance record
53. Introduced company products to X new markets
54. Audited X number of clients in only Y amount of time
55. Piloted X program with a Y % participant completion rate
56. Advanced (non-profit) organization policy
57. Fixed X amount / % of bugs in company software/open-source project
58. Presented at well-known conference/seminar/workshop
59. Did something that was viewed/used by many people
60. Achieved/Surpassed company/team goal of doing X by Y amount / %

Notes

Be prepared to explain how you achieved your results, how an award was decided, etc. For example, numbers in particular give more credibility to your statements but only use them if you can explain how they were measured.

Using these ideas should help you avoid making ambiguous statements where trust is required but not easily acquired like in a job interview.

How to use this list

1. Bookmark this article for when you’re updating your resume.
2. Copy the list into your resume-writing software such as Microsoft Word.
3. Delete all the lines that don’t apply to your experience.
4. Elaborate on the lines you do keep. Many of the expressions should be followed with a “by…” or “using…”.

Other useful resources in this series

• 130 Positive Personality Adjectives For Your Next Job Interview
• 500 Positive Resume Action Verbs That Get Job Interviews
• 60 Resume Achievement Writing Ideas and Expressions (this article)
• 111 Smart Resume Section Headings and Titles

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--Jacob Share

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  Tags: CV, resumes, success, writing     Filed under: Tools You Need