It’s easy because it only shows your employment history and a few accomplishments that are listed under the job description. It’s not so simple.
One observation stood out when I was looking at two resumes. Both resumes were missing accomplishments.
Both resumes had basically the same thing:
Sales Manager, ACME Coyote, Inc. 1/8-9/97
Responsible for six sales reps and 435 accounts, with an annual gross of $3.4million. Six key accounts were called upon. Responsible for providing logistical support and training to sales reps. Responsible for all aspects of company marketing and interaction with suppliers.
Six sales reps are trained and motivated.
Outstanding leadership in the execution of all marketing programs
The company saw significant savings by making use of sales and promotional POP/POS.
Systemically realigning sales territories can increase sales rep productivity and improve sales productivity.
Increased sales revenue through proactive sourcing of superior products from suppliers
Sales increased by 1% to 1/97 due to the guided sales team
None of these bullet points can be called accomplishments. These are just job descriptions.
There can be no more job descriptions than the accomplishments that you list under your job title.
This is the biggest mistake I see in a lot of resumes.
The resume listed three jobs spread over two pages. The writer provided 10-12 bullet points with job descriptions for each of the three jobs.
The writer also listed four jobs on the second resume. The writer did not list the job but instead listed 7 to 8 job descriptions.
It is not possible to write a job description that can be used as a guideline and then add a list of job descriptions.
Instead, you should write a job description that is brief so that you and the reader can both understand what you did. A marketing manager at ACME Coyote might not be the same job as one with Road Runner Enterprises. Therefore, a brief job description is essential.
The resume should include a list of 3-4 (or less) of the most significant accomplishments you have ever achieved. Your accomplishments should be unique, and only you can list them. “Help increase sales by taking market share from competitors” is a trite statement that would not fit in my resume.
A more effective job description could be:
Sales Manager, ACME Coyote, Inc. 1/8-9/97
Responsible for $3.4 million in sales with six reps and 435 customers. The team was a profit-loss unit. Responsible for using all profit levers to generate maximum revenue for the company.
By minimizing waste and winning 26 new customers from the competition, we increased our gross profit margin from 19.2% to 20.6%.
Four sales reps were promoted to higher levels over a four-year period due to personal coaching, training and mentoring.
Six sales territories were re-aligned and overhauled, resulting in gross sales rising from $2.8 million up to $3.4million.
This would be the first time you do it, as it is too long. To reduce the number of words, I would rinse it once or twice more.
But here’s the problem: I wanted each bullet point to be unique to me, not what a sales manager does. Was I successful? That can only be answered by a job interview.
However, I urge you to think critically about your accomplishments as you write them.
It’s not what you can do, but it is something you could do for the new company.
This is the selling point!
Writing a resume can be both easy and challenging.