4 Powerful Ways to Develop an Impactful Resume

“I don’t understand, I’m qualified for the jobs I’ve applied to, but I just don’t hear anything back” said Sara sadly. Unfortunately she, like so many others, suffer from the same resume malaise. Her resume isn’t working for her. Sarah’s resume is working against her! She needs to understand the 4 powerful ways to develop an impactful resume.

Fighting Resume Rejection

We have been told that people’s attention spans are nanoseconds long, so we try to distil our entire work history into two pages … Or worse: ONE page. We have been told that people don’t want to read, so we bullet point everything. We don’t want to brag, so we just talk about our responsibilities.

If you want to fight the resume blues and develop an impactful resume, get out of the same old routine that everyone else is stuck in. We jam a bunch of tired adjectives like “people person” or “detail-oriented” into a Summary that no one wants to read. Then we will jump right into a boring bullet point list of role descriptions.

Reality Check

No one wants to read a resume full of bullet points! I know that’s a shock to the system, but most HR professionals and recruiters are tired of endless lists. Talking about your responsibilities does not make you stand out. If you read through your resume and it sounds like someone’s job description – you’re suffering from the same resume malaise Sarah had.

The key to getting your resume to stand out is its ability to ENGAGE your reader. If your resume puts you to sleep, then how in the world do expect to stand out in the job market? Even if you think the resume is a fantastic example of your professional career history, you might want to consider whether or not you have developed an impactful resume.

Defining Your Impact

Understand your accomplishments! If you can define, quantify, understand and communicate your professional accomplishments, that will set the stage for a stunningly successful career! If you do ONE THING and nothing else, you must clearly communicate your impact through the various career marketing tools available to you: your resume, your LinkedIn Profile, Networking, and Interviews.

Impact and accomplishments are not just awards or something singularly amazing. Oftentimes they are hidden in our day-to-day routine. The biggest struggle most of my clients have is stepping back out of the ‘doing’ to see the big picture. We can become too caught up to see how much value we add to the organization we work for!

“Your work does not speak for itself. You do!” –Rick Gillis

4 Powerful Ways to Develop an Impactful Resume

1. Discover Your Impact. Even though you are the one that is responsible for your own achievements, oftentimes we must ‘mine our own data’ to fully understand our accomplishments. Take the time to sit down and think through your professional history. What have you done to positively move the needle for the organizations you have worked for? For those stuck in the weeds, consider for a moment what wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t in that position? Tell a story, flesh out the details and dig as much as you can in your mental file cabinet for information on how you’ve made a difference. If you get stuck: call on former colleagues. Sometimes they remember our accomplishments better than we do!

2. Develop Your Impact Stories. An impact story is a mini-excerpt of your accomplishment. It’s how you deliver your value in a small, powerful package. These are often distilled from your Accomplishments List. Impact stories can be used in resumes, on LinkedIn, during networking opportunities and (most importantly) during interviews. An impact story has three parts:

1. The Catalyst – what was the opportunity, issue or driving need?
2. The Detail – What was your engagement and what happened?
3. The Impact – What was the positive outcome and why did it matter?

3. Quantify Your Impact. If at all possible, speak in terms of improvements. Hiring managers like to see dollar figures or percentages of impact. Anyone can say “improved XYZ with system-wide impact”. Not everyone can back that up with percentages or dollar figures. Don’t stress if you cannot quantify the impact, but keep this in mind as you move forward in your professional career. Metrics matter!

4. Communicate Your Impact. Now that you discovered your value, created your impact stories with some quantification – it’s time to put it to work for you!

Communicating Your Impact

A successful professional development plan hinges upon your ability to market yourself wisely. Your marketing mediums are: your resume, your LinkedIn profile, your networking and your interviewing skills. But, if we are great at interviews but have a routine resume, then our interview skills will never get tested!

“You are so smart and cool, so why is your resume so boring?” – Liz Ryan

Time to turn your resume into an item guaranteed to engage the reader! Add a section to the very top of your resume and call it “Select Accomplishments”. Choose 3-4 impact stories targeted towards the position you are applying for. Because people typically do not read entire resumes, you are making it easy for the hiring manager or recruiters to see your impact early on in the document.

Lose the boring bullet point list of roles and summarize into a short paragraph. Make your bullet points bonus impact stories under each position you have held. Remember, you don’t have to list everything you’ve ever done – 15 years is far enough. Allow yourself room to breathe with at least a two-page resume.

Reap the Rewards

Clearly communicating our accomplishments is not only key in a resume, but feeds into our fruitful progress as a professional. Develop a habit of routinely adding to your accomplishments list and make sure to measure those metrics!

We think that our work speaks for itself, but it doesn’t. Don’t think for a minute that someone understands your value. It’s up to YOU to communicate it! It’s not bragging, it’s about stating facts. Don’t be afraid to allow yourself to shine when the time is right!

Erin Urban LSSBB, CPDC is a certified professional & leadership development coach and a member of the Forbes Coaches Council with over 8 years in mentoring and coaching successful professional transformations. With an extensive background in leading individual, cultural and organizational change initiatives: her mission is to lift others up to defy their limits and exceed their goals.