Resume - Quantity v Quality
I am starting to get serious about my job search and am struggling with writing my resume to accurately represent what I offer. My current role is in social work with local government, I've also worked as a legal assistant and had contract jobs as an HR coordinator/HR assistant. The feedback I've gotten on my resume is that I need to show accomplishments and have more quantitative information. Like - how many applications do you process daily. Which boggles my mind - the roles I've had are heavily influenced by the assorted personalities of clients and measured in the quality of service provided. There's no real way to demonstrate my work numerically or quantitatively. One of my managers has said that I "add quiet value". How do I document what I do and my value to a workplace on my resume?
Robin Hendricks, M.Ed., CEC
Ambition Enabler
422
01/28/21 at 11:35AM UTC
Hi there,
In addition to the suggestion of working with someone like a resume writer or a career coach to help you (I'm a writer and can tell you writing your own resume is one of THE most difficult things to do!)
It is possible to quantify your quality of service with:
+ Customer/client satisfaction data, if available (since you mentioned you worked in govt, it should be)
+ Number of accounts handled at one time (shows ability to multi-task)
+ Daily volume of work
+ Size of population in the community/state you are working in
+ Number of attorneys you supported at one time
+ Number of HR staff you supported at one time
+ Average caseload (an approximation is perfectly acceptable)
The point is, numbers are numbers and you don't need a lot of them. Sprinkle a few of these data points in where they make sense to show you understand the value of providing 'proof' of your effectiveness. That's what matters. Best wishes to you!
Nirka RosaChange Agent in Boston
108
01/25/21 at 12:06PM UTC
I struggled with this as well and eventually gave in and seemed guidance from a resume writer on LinkedIn. It was really helpful b/c she basically interviewed me in an informal way and then came up with what she your described my work. We revised it together based on my feedback and I've gotten a lot of positive feedback (including 3 jobs offers) since. You might want to look into one for yourself. Good luck!
Sarah HerrmannDirector of Ops (Seattle Based)
23
10/30/20 at 3:23AM UTC
Is there a way to showcase some of the specific accomplishments over the years? (like a specific project/initiative you were involved in and how it was successful/impactful?). Not necessarily quantitative but showcases your skills and experience & is meatier than resume bullet points.
I recently received some advice that to not clutter your resume, you can have a "leave behind" doc after interviews which includes some of these examples. Just some thoughts, good luck!
AuroraData Engineer and Hypnotherapist
49
07/20/20 at 2:32PM UTC
If you'd hire someone on your position, what qualifications would you put? Are those relevant to you? Don't forget to put in bold things that really matter for the offer, could be social skills as well. :) Good luck.
Adrienne Bennett
12
07/02/20 at 5:28PM UTC
I too have difficulty in expressing the value I give to the company that I have been with for over 10 years and seen through two aquistions. The long s history of client accounts and operatins of the team through the transitions to accomidate new process and employers has been hard to define.
