How to read a resume that stands out

( Copying as notes from here )
 
Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]
In other words, start with an active verb, numerically measure what you accomplished, provide a baseline for comparison, and detail what you did to achieve your goal. Consider the following two descriptions of the same work, and ask yourself which would look better on a resume:
  1. Studied financial performance of companies and made investment recommendations
  2. Improved portfolio performance by 12% ($1.2M) over one year by refining cost of capital calculations for information-poor markets and re-weighting portfolio based on resulting valuations
The addition of the “12% improvement” makes the statement more powerful. Adding “($1.2M)” anticipates the reviewer’s question about whether 12% is a big deal or not. If you improved investment results by 12%, but that meant going from $100 to $112, that’s not too impressive. But adding $1.2M to the starting portfolio value of $10 million is huge. Explaining how you did it adds credibility and gives insight into your strengths.
Several examples inspired by actual resumes will show you what I mean. The first bullet is typical: not bad, but certain not to stand out. The second is a much better version of a similar accomplishment from a different resume. My own suggestions are in italics.

College student who is a leader in her sorority
  • Managed sorority budget
  • Managed $31,000 Spring 2014 budget and invested idle funds in appropriate high-yielding capital notes
  • Managed $31,000 Spring 2014 budget and invested $10,000 in idle funds in appropriate high-yielding capital notes returning 5% over the year

College student participating in a leadership program
  • Member of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT)
  • Selected as one of 230 for this 18-month professional development program for high-achieving diverse talent
  • Selected as one of 230 participants nationwide for this 18-month professional development program for high-achieving diverse talent based on leadership potential, ability to contribute to this MLT cohort, and academic success

Finance or consulting professional
  • Responsible for negotiating service contracts with XYZ
  • Negotiated 30% ($500k) reduction in costs with XYZ to perform post-delivery support
  • Negotiated 30% ($500k) reduction in costs with XYZ to perform post-delivery support by designing and using results from an online auction of multiple vendors

Sales support associate
  • Achieved annual business plan commitments for volumes, model mix, wholesale revenue, selling expenses and brand
  • As a team member, contributed to 21% increase in advertiser spend by achieving 158% of target number of customer contacts (80 contacts per week) and 192% of target interaction depth (20 minutes per customer)

Candidate with skill-based resume
  • Skills: Excellent customer service skills. Friendly and positive attitude
  • Skills: Excellent customer service skills and positive attitude as demonstrated by receiving employee of the month in four consecutive months in 2014

Logistics expert
  • Reduce cost of goods sold strategy: Five years of line and supply chain management experience at XYZ distribution centers and managing outsourced third-party logistics providers
  • Achieved 30% logistics cost savings by reducing returns, use of overtime, excess and obsolete inventory and targeted outsourcing
  • Achieved 30% logistics cost savings ($900k) over five years by reducing returns (-8%), use of overtime (-7%), and excess and obsolete inventory (-5%), and through targeted outsourcing (-10%)

Marketing manager
  • Studied the branding and marketing strategies of XYZ. Analyzed the pricing strategies of XYZ in comparison to competitors
  • Led cross-functional 10-member team to develop and implement global advertising strategy for $X million XYZ brand
  • Led cross-functional 10-member team to develop and implement global advertising strategy for $X million XYZ brand resulting in 25-point increase in brand recall, 12% improvement in net promoter score, and contributing to 18% year-over-year sales improvement ($XM)

Veteran transitioning to the civilian sector
  • Worked as a trainer with deploying units to ready their medical personnel for combat action and trauma medicine
  • One of three officers selected to lead comprehensive redesign of the XYZ training program for X,000 Marines and sailors, increasing measured unit proficiency by 20% [This one is great -- I wouldn’t change a thing!]

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