In today’s highly competitive talent marketplace, it is imperative for job candidates to differentiate themselves and focus their resume content on career-related accomplishments. Job seekers can set themselves apart from other candidates by translating job functions into accomplishments and should consider ways in which they positively impacted the organization, department operation, specific projects and the overall business. While it is advantageous to quantify achievements wherever possible, job seekers should also include examples demonstrating their ability to improve, increase, streamline and/or develop a new process, system or program.

It’s equally important to state how goals and milestones were achieved, succinctly outlining specific outcomes as a result of the job seeker’s efforts. While it’s not necessary, or advantageous, to include detail around every accomplishment, a candidate should provide a prospective employer with a vivid picture of what, and how, goals were met or exceeded. Including quantifiable performance metrics where applicable can provide a prospective hiring manager with valuable detail. Including numbers, dollar amounts and percentage increases/decreases demonstrates an understanding of a candidate’s impact on the business and their focus on achieving results.

When determining accomplishments to include in a resume, a simple rule to keep in mind concerns the extent to which an individual’s work or ideas contributed to business success. If the number is at least 50% and the achievement is notable on some level, including overcoming considerable challenges, it’s worth including.