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Kendra Bluhm
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162
Female Customer-Centric Leader in IT
03/30/20 at 4:28PM UTC
in
Career

My resume' reads like a "doer" and not an "achiever".

I have had my resume' written professionally by a service and also a career coach. In review with recruiters, the feedback always comes back as "do" vs. "achieve". Can someone offer some advice on what buzzwords to use to correct this?

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Juanita Phillips
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75
Seeking career advancement in Project Management
03/31/20 at 9:29PM UTC
This sounds very familiar. I was told the same with mine when I employed the services of a professional resume writing company. I was concerned about why it would be a problem to be perceived as a doer since the whole point of having a job is to produce results. However, the key is be perceived as a leader.. indicate that you were "responsible for a team of x individuals to implement a system".. hope this helps.
Dawn
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89
04/01/20 at 5:37PM UTC
That's the part that drives me crazy - I'm not a "leader" In any of my jobs in my professional career, I've never wanted to be, don't care to be. I work well in teams, I make sure I meet deadlines, and keep everyone happy. From now on, I'm going to ignore this whole crap about "must show leadership abilities" - There are always going to be people who are needed to actually do the work, that stand behind the "leaders." on my current resume, I have listed a few times under certain jobs where I received recognition for outstanding jobs well done, and if that's not enough, well then it's the wrong job for me. *drops mic, steps off soapbox*
Juanita Phillips
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75
Seeking career advancement in Project Management
04/01/20 at 11:27PM UTC
Lol.. you go girl! Do what makes you happy. Goodluck in your search.
Dawn
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89
04/02/20 at 1AM UTC
That's the problem: NONE OF IT makes me "happy"; it's all such BS on so many levels.
Kendra Bluhm
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162
Female Customer-Centric Leader in IT
03/31/20 at 8:25PM UTC
All good advice and all already in the resume'. I was looking for something that I might have been missing. Thanks ladies!
Caitlin (Proctor) Huston
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113
Content Marketing | Writer | Copyeditor
03/31/20 at 3:20PM UTC (Edited)
Yes, focus on achievements and add numbers where you can. However, if you’ve already done this, know that this is common resume feedback for people trying to sell you additional resume services. Source: I’m in the resume writing industry.
Maya Flores
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16
Educator pursuing a sector change into marketing
03/31/20 at 2:08PM UTC
Companies are looking for what you've achieved rather than what your responsibilities were. I agree with finding ways to quantify your accomplishments (%ages, rankings) and I've gotten the best luck with creating a template and customizing your resume to match key words in the job description. Good luck!
Anonymous
03/31/20 at 6:48AM UTC
Consider the 'so what' question..creating a new sales platform is nice, but from the business perspective, 'so what?' Make sure your accomplishments answer the question - if your new platform brought in 20% more sales, say so! As @focused406459says...increased speed, decreased cost, improved quality are 3 key metrics. So are strategic wins: access to new markets, shifts in share, and the like.
Carolyn Fields
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428
Instructional Designer and Author
03/31/20 at 1:24AM UTC
You need to quantify your achievements - using time, cost, and/or function. Increased speed, decreased cost, improved quality - those are the big three. If you can't put a "number" to it, at least describe the achievement in as much specific detail as possible - using project names, dates, etc.
Sue DeRosier
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172
Experienced communications professional
03/30/20 at 7:57PM UTC
It's about metrics. "Increased revenue by 20%. Improved effectiveness of process by 15%." Managers like numbers, so anything you can quantify, do it. Sometimes it might seem a bit of stretch, but it's worth it. For example, I am a communications professional. Much of what I do is about informing employees about XYZ, but my work is tied to a Cybersecurity Awareness effort so my goals are their goals and when those goals are met...those are my metrics.
Kim Warner
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227
On a mission to clean up the fashion business...
03/30/20 at 11:57PM UTC
I would like to add: if you were part of a team that that achieved, increased, etc some part of the business, include that too, and make sure to quantify it. You can also include things like streamlining a process (that is a task) and quantify how that improved the business (sales, customer retention, or whatever).
Dawn
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89
03/30/20 at 7:27PM UTC
I find this to be very interesting, because the only jobs I have ever had are task-based jobs, nothing more, nothing less. I have never increased productivity by $20,000 or saved ships from falling over waterfalls at the last minute, etc etc. - I've gotten paid to help attorneys, paralegals, and other staff, and do administrative tasks. Why do I have to change that? This whole doing versus tasks is the main reason why I won't apply for anything at Amazon; I find their whole process of grilling people for a whole freaking day for an admin job to be just completely ridiculous.
Jacquelyn L Foster
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96
04/01/20 at 1:14PM UTC
I feel you're pain. I've been an admin/exec asst for years. I don't think people realize in a lot of positions there is not a culture that "allows" people to do more than the prescribed job. I've worked in places where if you attempted to do more than your position, you get smacked down and in the most professional way, told to stay in your lane
Dawn
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89
04/01/20 at 5:28PM UTC
THANK YOU!!! Working in major corporate law firms for about the past 30 years, That's the way it is! You stay in your lane, because if you don't, you'll probably be out of a job, somebody will get their undies in a bunch and complain, and you'll be told to not do so much. *sigh*
JENN O'TOOL
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100
Leadership and Career Transformation Coach
03/31/20 at 4:01AM UTC
I can understand your challenge Dawn. Think about the work you've done supporting other people in terms of "what problems was I able to help them solve?" In the course of doing task oriented things, did you find any ways to do something better or faster, see opportunities to improve a process, things like that. The scope of accomplishments and achievements are relative to the type of work you do, so don't compare what you do with others whose jobs have different expectations. You can still spruce up your experience descriptions by highlighting a few things about your role where you provided your "special sauce" - whatever that might be. You might not have figured that out 100% yet but give it some thought. As an aside - I went through the very intense Amazon interview process in January. In my opinion, they MIGHT just go a little overboard. I prepared for that for over a month and it was still a challenge. I believe for some positions it just wouldn't make sense, but apparently it works for them.
Lisa Lewis Miller
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527
Author, podcaster, coach @ GetCareerClarity.com
03/30/20 at 7:21PM UTC
I'm so sorry that the resume writer and career coach weren't helpful! It's definitely a tricky art. The basic structure to always return to is start with a success/leadership verb and then include a measurement (qualitative or quantitative) before you talk about any tasks/responsibilities of the role. This link on talking about your work as accomplishments instead of tasks is great: https://www.themuse.com/advice/resume-revamp-how-to-turn-your-duties-into-accomplishments.
Pam Lance
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47
Mom, Recruiter, and Career Coach
03/30/20 at 7:20PM UTC
Send it to me at [email protected] and if I can I will review- not all resume writers know every profession....

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