Showcasing your key achievements

With the job market being more and more competitive at the moment it is vital that your CV or application has a competitive edge. Therefore, showcasing your key achievements will allow you to stand out from the competition while also demonstrating to the recruiter the contribution you have made throughout your career. I have summarised how best to include these with some examples below.

Examples of key achievements can include revenue you have generated, targets you have exceeded or how many additional customer accounts you may have secured. Remember not to generalise your key achievements, for example, stating ‘continually exceeded targets and gained additional revenue’ is not as effective as saying ‘continually exceeded targets year on year by 23% bringing in additional revenue of £43K’.

If you are in a position where it is harder to quantify your key achievements then you can give examples of projects managed, such as the size of them, people managed and the end result. You could include efficiency or cost savings, quality or accuracy improvements or the particular challenges you overcame. You may have turned around a particular project which then led to successful completion and within the original budget. Or perhaps you have created or streamlined a process that has led to significant cost savings. Again, make sure you are specific as this demonstrates your contribution as well as the scale you are capable of working to (even for small companies the relative impact, such as percentages, is effective).

You can also include an increase in customer satisfaction scores or initiatives you have developed which may have led to increased employee engagement or new ways of working, such as implementing a new CRM or accounting system leading to performance improvements in sales or finance.

Remember, a good recruiter can make an educated guess of the responsibilities for each position, but what they cannot do is guess what your key achievements are. This is what makes you unique and will give you a competitive edge.

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