Let us help you with examples of how to quantify your resume

The goal of an effective resume is to position the job seeker as the best candidate for the open position. A resume has, on average, six seconds to make an impact on the reader. In today’s competitive job market, your resume must immediately show your value and quickly make a lasting impression on the recruiter and/or hiring manager.

When writing your resume, write it from the reader’s point of view. While the resume is about you, it is not for you. The purpose of the resume is to grab the attention of the reader who will want to contact and learn more about the candidate. One sure way to grab the attention of the reader is by using numbers to measure accomplishments and achievements. 

A quantified resume stands out among the competition by showing how past accomplishments are good predictors of future exceptional performance.

In this article, you’ll discover:

• What is a quantitative vs. qualitative resume?

• Why should you quantify your resume?

• How do you prepare to quantify your work?

• Examples of quantitative skills and action verbs

• Where to discover quantifiable data

• How to quantify resume bullet points 

What is a quantitative vs. qualitative resume?

When writing an effective resume, you should use qualitative and quantitative content to showcase your value to a hiring organization. Roughly 98% of job seekers will be eliminated during the initial screening, and only 2% of candidates will be offered an interview. 

If you want to be a part of the two percenters, your resume must be ATS optimized, contain the right keywords, speak to the job description, and separate you from the competition. 

First, let us look at what qualitative data is all about. Qualitative data is content expressed in only words and not units of measurement. This qualitative information is generally found in the Resume Summary and Work Experience sections.

However, to truly stand out from your competition, you will need to create a quantitative resume. A quantitative resume gives the numbers that support the qualitative content.

It is one thing to say that you can do something, but it is something totally different when you can back up your claim with numbers. Because there are literally hundreds of applicants vying for one open position, your resume has to persuade the reader to choose your resume over the hundreds of others. A quantified resume will help do just that.

Why should you quantify your resume?

The purpose of the resume is to present yourself to a prospective employer as the answer to their problem as stated in the job description. This is done by promoting your skills, achievements, and accomplishments through your education, training, and work experience. In doing so, you will show the value you contributed to various organizations.  Quantifying your resume will set you apart as someone who has made a measurable difference. When you truly focus on the quantified results of your accomplishments and how they will help the hiring organization, you will likely become a two percenter when it comes to being offered an interview.

The website Entrepreneur makes the following statement in the article How to Make a Resume That Gets You the Job: 

“Provide the ROI to the impact – on top of stating the impact, show it with as much concrete and objective data as you can. How much did you increase sales? What was your consumer reach? Was there an impact on engagement scores? What was the feedback? Quantifying your impact will add stronger weight to your experience and showcase that you’re leaving a legacy behind.”

How to prepare to quantify your work on a resume

1. Keep a record.

It is important to keep a record of your career accomplishments and achievements as it will help when it is time to write or update your resume.

When creating a historical record of your accomplishments and achievements, recording it in the moment will help you remember it in the future. 

2. Choose action verbs.

Before you begin to quantify your accomplishments, you will need to start with strong action verbs that show you have either achieved or accomplished something.

Many people will either use weak verbs or no verbs at all. 

3. Think units of measurement.

When quantifying your accomplishments and achievements, think in terms of dollars ($), percentages (%), specific numbers (whole number), approximation (~), range (a-z), and measurement (sq. ft.).

4. List qualitative and quantitative skills.

• Before starting to write your resume, identify and list your skills, taking note of your qualitative and quantifiable skills.

• Listing your qualitative and quantifiable work will create a resume that effectively showcases your skills, qualifications, and ability to perform the job at a high level.

Examples of quantitative skills and action verbs

Actions speak louder than words, so using numbers on a resume is like speaking into a megaphone. It shouts accomplishments. The problem many job seekers have when it comes to writing a resume is that they use vague statements without quantifying their claims.

Examples of vague statements that show no real value include:

• Increased performance

• Saved money

• Improved processes

• Managed a team

Examples of quantified accomplishments that show value are:

• Increased performance by 90%

• Saved the company over $1 million

• Improved process efficiency and reduced production time by three hours

• Managed a team of 10 Business Analysts

Remember, qualitative skills are more observable than measurable such as:

• Leadership

• Effective communication

• Relationship building

• Critical thinking

Whereas quantitative skills are both observable and can be measured. Examples include:

• Research

• Analysis

• Modeling

• Mathematics

Where to discover quantifiable data 

In the Forbes article, 5 Metrics to Make your CV Stand Out, Andrew Fennell makes his position clear: In order to make your CV stand out, you must stand out with measurable accomplishments. 

He states, “This requires you to clearly articulate your accomplishments and include achievement-driven points demonstrating your value. The most effective way to do this is to incorporate key metrics and KPIs into your CV, to help employers see the true value you can bring to them.”

How to quantify your accomplishments on a resume

There are several different categories where you can quantify and measure your results. Here are just a few along with copyable examples of wording for a resume.

KPI’s

• Prioritized and measured clearly defined KPI requirements improving operational efficiency and reducing delivery time by -3 days

Money (income, revenue, profits, losses)

• Grew the sales pipeline by more than $5 million in less than 3 years 

People

• Oversaw a staff of 5 directors, 20 senior managers, and 50 support analysts

Processes

• Reduced packing process by 50% leading to faster turnaround time for customer delivery  

Projects

• Managed multiple large-scale projects totaling $50 million from initiation to completion

Rankings

• Raised customer service ranking from #36 to #1 in 3 months via leadership training and coaching 

Space (yards, footage, acres)

• Built a 35k sq. ft. warehouse by leading a team of 15 contractors

Time

• Completed a six-month software development project on time and within budget

How to quantify resume bullet points

As presented above, your bullet points should show you as action-oriented, and quantifying will only enhance this.

Many find it challenging to quantify what they do daily at work. The truth is that certain roles will be easier to quantify than others. But as you have learned, there are many opportunities to quantify your work no matter your role. There is also a helpful method to add this to your resume.

PAR method 

The PAR method is a good way to quantify resume bullet points. PAR is an acronym that stands for Problem, Action, Result. There are other methods such as STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) that could also work. 

When creating your resume bullets with the PAR method, follow these steps.

1. List a problem that you have encountered.

2. Write the action you took to resolve the problem.

3. Quantify the positive result. 

Example:

• Problem: decline in sales

• Action: developed and implemented a new marketing strategy

• Result: gained new sales of $1 million in recurring revenue

Your resume bullet point would then read like this: 

• Achieved new sales of $1 million in recurring revenue by implementing a cutting-edge marketing strategy 

You’ve not only told the hiring organization that you can not only do the job but you have quantifiable proof to back it up. Remember, you are positioning yourself as the answer to the hiring organization’s problem. 

Once more, when creating bullet points to quantify your results, start by using powerful action verbs. When you use certain action verbs, it opens your resume up to several quantifiable possibilities.

Key Takeaways

1. A quantified resume will help you stand out amongst the competition by illustrating your past accomplishments and achievements as a predictor for future performance.

2. A quantitative resume gives the numbers that support the qualitative content.

3. The purpose of the resume is to present yourself as the answer to a prospective employer’s hiring needs. Quantifying your resume will set you apart as someone who has made a specific, measurable difference.

4. When quantifying your resume, think in terms of $, %, and range.

5. Use the PAR method to quantify resume bullet points.