Details Matter — Resume Context
What do *you* think when you see these statistics?
- 5 dogs, 3 cats, and 10 guinea pigs in six months
- 4 course meal for 300 people
- $630K in Q2
Imagine you saw these on a resume.
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My Companion Birmingham, AL Animal Volunteer 11/2019-Present
Accomplishment:
-5 dogs, 3 cats, and 10 guinea pigs in six months
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Kerry’s On 5th Avenue Cincinnati, OH
October 2018-November 2019
Cook
Key Accomplishment:
- 4 course meal for 300 people
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Oklahoma City Symphony
Manager 2016–2020
Accomplishments:
-$630K in Q2
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What are all of these missing? CONTEXT. Across the board. What is the niche of the organization? What are you generally responsible for, how does it impact the business? Why do you consider it an accomplishment? WHY DO I CARE?
What IS “My Companion” — is it a shelter, a veterinarian, a rescue organization? Did job seeker number one foster all those animals him/her self? Save them after a natural disaster single-handedly and find them homes? Help them birth litters?
Did our Cook only make one meal in a year? What are they normally responsible for? Is it a restaurant, catering company, food truck? Was it a last minute booking? Did the head chef quit right before the meal was due to be cooked and served?
And did our Symphony Manager make $630K in one quarter in donations? Sell $630K worth of corporate sponsorships? Set up an auction selling instruments? Did s/he save that much by renegotiating contracts with vendors? Was it due to grants? What are they the manager OF?
Context is one of the most important aspects of framing your experience on your resume. Recruiters need to understand WHY you are listing something as an “accomplishment”. Help me understand your employer/organization niche or industry; what is their product or service? What is YOUR role in the business? What are you measured against, why are the bullet points you have called out extraordinary? How do they go above/beyond your regular responsibilities?
Statistics are meaningless without some sort of referent.
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Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
