Quantify Your Accomplishments

By Matt Durfee

Although it may sound trite, the best predictor of one's future success is his or her past success.

Why else do think professional sports teams draft players with impressive statistics? Or the top colleges consider grade point averages for admission? Or why smart employers look for and staff their companies with people with a track record of measurable results?

By not doing so they risk allowing intangibles such as style, appearance and the gift of gab - sizzle over substance - to overly influence those important selection decisions.

In my years as a corporate recruiter, I often encountered salespeople who were able to talk a good game by highlighting their work activities in general, vague terms: "I call on key customers in major markets."

What impressed me more and what I was looking to hear were those statements that quantified one's accomplishments: "I increased sales revenue by 45 percent annually over a three-year period."

Whether it's on your resume or in an interview, look for opportunities to inject numbers that are relevant, substantive and impressive. And while it should be relatively easy to identify individual accomplishments for those in sales or marketing, those in supporting professions may have to defer to broader organizational metrics to make their points.

A human resources manager, for example, may wish to cite the impact an employee retention program he initiated had on lowering overall turnover from 34 percent to 18 percent. A finance manager, on the other hand, might highlight how his outsourcing initiative led to annual cost savings of $250,000.

If your work experience includes employers with large market share, revenues, headcount, transactions, etc., referencing them can infer impressive complexity and scope. This is particularly true if the employer is not well-known.

While skills, experience and education are also important, your demonstrated ability to get measurable results will add significant credibility to your qualifications.

And that quantification can go a long way.

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