Stating achievements on resume is a good way for you to stand up from other applicants. This is because your achievements speak volumes about your skillset and working experience.
Speaking about the competition, companies will only be interested in candidates who possess exceptional resumes these days. Your resume must showcase the things you could do for the company that no one else could. That’s how you’ll get hired.
By talking about your achievements and greatest accomplishments, your profile would be highly attractive, boosting your overall value. Today, we are going to share how can you highlight achievements on resume.
How to Highlight Achievements on Resume
1. Brainstorm & Draft a List
Before you could start including your achievements on resume, take a step back and think about all your achievements over the years.
If you are struggling with this process, the easiest way is to ask yourself: “What are the specific benefits did I bring to my organisation?”.
To help with your brainstorming exercise, here are some of the achievements that are typically present in the top employees’ resumes:
a. Awards
Business Competition during College, Industry awards (e.g. Best Advertisement Award)
b. Volunteering work or achievements in sports
c. Academic achievements
Is your CGPA 4.0? Don’t be shy to include it!
d. Outstanding results in previous companies
It could be the revenue or sales you increased, the time and costs you saved, crucial problems you identified & solved, and more.
e. Recognition(s)
It would be work-related awards (e.g. you won Best Banker of The Year), or even being praised: “I was praised by our Chief Marketing Officer at [Company XYZ] for my [Why you were praised]”. Remember to also include the person as your Referral.
2. Select & Customise
Good news – you’ve identified your achievements. Not-so-bad news – You should only prioritise and include the 3 achievements that are most relevant to your applied job. This ensures that your achievements are highly effective to attract employers’ attention.
How do you include the right achievements on resume? Start by researching the job advertisement and identify the keywords they use. Understand the job as well as the company’s culture, and you’ll be on the right track.
How about achievements that are not so relevant to the applied role? You may include it, but try to keep it short.
3. Quantify & Enhance
At Job Majestic, we’ve always been adamant about quantifying everything we possibly could. It’s not enough to just list down your achievements plainly – you should include some numbers to enhance them. Here are some examples:
a. As a Fresh Graduate Candidate
- University ABC Top Achiever Award 2016 – 2018
- President of the Business Club from 2017 to 2018
- DEF Bank Sustainability Business Competition Finalist 2018
b. As a Customer Service Executive
- Reduced our customer retention rate by 20% in just 6 months
- Increased Customer Satisfaction Rating by 10%
- Solved over 100 customer issues in a month, 50% above the company average
Aren’t these numbers attractive as a reader? You should do the same in order to capture hiring managers’ attention. Just thank us later.
4. Where to Include?
Now that you’ve crafted your achievements, it’s time to include them in your resume. For accomplishments that are:
a. Not related to the job application
List them down in a separate “Awards & Achievements” section in your resume. This will ensure that your resume is organised.
b. Related to your job application
Include them in your Work Experience Section after listing down your job description. This section is the most important part because hiring managers would typically consider your work experience above anything else.
Here’s how to include your achievements in this section:
- Every work experience typically has 5 – 6 bullet points
- Fill up at least 3 points for your job description
- Slot your achievements in the remaining spaces
When crafting your achievements, use the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) formula. Think about quantifying in terms of percentages, money, and time.
Example if you were a Team Leader:
- Job description 1
- Job description 2
- Job description 3
- Lead a program to reduce high food costs by 25% and cut high turnover by 15%
- Initiated strategies to improve low internal NPS scores by 35% in a year.
Final Thoughts
To stand out from the competition and secure an interview spot, your resume must include achievements that are highly relevant to your applied role. This ensures that your profile matches what the employer is looking for in an ideal candidate.
What’s next after achievements on resume? There are many more sections you need to consider in order to create the ultimate resume before applying for the best jobs in Malaysia.
Take a look at our guides on resume formats, resume contact information, work experience section, education section, and much more.
Time to land the Right Job, for a Majestic Life!
