Some people have an advantage when it comes to quantifying their accomplishments on their resume.  Take Deep Roy, the one-and-only Oompa-Loompa from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; how many of us can say that we saved our company millions of dollars by doing 165 jobs?

Hiring managers and recruiters want to find people who add value to the company.  They are seeking talented individuals who accomplish meaningful goals on an individual or team level that contribute to the company’s success.  That’s how companies become and stay profitable. 

The concept of quantifying accomplishments is difficult for many people to grasp or it feels overwhelming.  There is a misconception that if you are not a high-level manager within your firm or if you did not contribute to a ten percent increase in the company’s revenue that you have nothing worth quantifying on your resume.  I’m here to tell you that is not true!

Each of us contributes to our company at a different level.  It’s just a matter of figuring out how express your accomplishments in measureable terms.  It’s not as difficult as it seems.  Quantifying your accomplishments simply means stating them by using percentages, dollars or numbers.  It is as simple as answering these three questions:

HOW MANY?

Say you’re IT support for a rapidly-growing company with numerous branches.  Your days are spent constantly answering questions and troubleshooting technical issues.  How do you express this on a resume so it has value?

                Your resume states:

                Provided IT support on general technical issues to employees.

                Change it to express HOW MANY:

                Safeguarded company operations by providing technical support to 100 employees at

                9 different locations.

Clearly, the second statement sounds more impressive and you have quantified something that is difficult to measure, especially if your support process is informal.

HOW MUCH?

Let’s say you work in the accounting department and last year you thought it was faster to start emailing invoices.  That change saved the company time and money. 

                Your resume states:

                Reduced department costs by implementing new invoicing method.

                Change it to convey HOW MUCH:

                 Implemented new invoice delivery system which reduced costs by $20k per year.

Again, the second statement sounds more impressive and you don’t need access to your company’s financial statements to calculate this.  If you know the average number of invoices you send out each day, that there are 250 business days in a year, the cost of postage, how many hours of your time has been saved and your hourly rate, that’s all you need.

HOW OFTEN?

This time you are a customer service associate.  You help customers at a busy store by answering their questions, helping them choose items and checking them out.

                Your resume states:

                Responsible for providing customer service to clients.

                Change it to explain HOW OFTEN:

                Ensured customer satisfaction at a high-volume location, effectively providing service to an

                average of 100 customers per day.

If you don't know how many customers you help in a day...count!  Keep a notepad handy and make a hash mark every time you help someone.  That information can be very helpful later.