As a Career Advisor for private college, Ive seen thousands of resumes. Typically it is the same format and design: objective, education, professional experience, skills.

While most people think it is important to give a laundry list of duties and responsibilities many hiring managers prefer to see a list of accomplishments and achievements.

Examples of Accomplishments/Achievements

1. Successfully increased sales by 85%

2. Decreased office supplies spending by 42% by negotiating pricing with vendors

3. Served as a liason on a $45 million dollar construction project

4. Negotiated price on supplies which decreased cost by 50%

5. Reduced staff by 40% by reorganizing responsibilities and hiring part-time workers

6. Developed a training guide to assist new hires and other departmental staff

7. Organized a task force to address concerns of staff and students

Employers want to see where you have added value and how you will add value to their company.

Remember: everyone has accomplishments, they just may not be that easy to determine. Take a few minutes right now and thing of some things you have done at your current or former employer to add value. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Take out a separate sheet of paper for each position you have held.

2. Brainstorm - For each position jot down your accomplishments. Dont be too concerned with punctuation and grammar.

3. Now go back to each sheet and fill in the details. Revise your statements.

4. Let someone else read your accomplishments. Any well thought out ideas should be incorporated.

Theresa Johnson
http://www.build-a-career.com