Results Lead to Results! Throughout your life you have done things that gave you a deep-down feeling of satisfaction, pride, and accomplishment. To you they were important, and they were successes- something resulted from the effort you put forth. Some of your results have been associated with your professional life, some with your personal life, or some with your community and social life. What counts is that it led to something that was valued by you, your company, or your community. Look at a result or accomplishment this way: It is something you felt you did well, enjoyed doing, and are proud of accomplishing. In the boxes that follow on the next page, think about your work and personal life. Describe 12 or more professional results/accomplishments and 2-4 personal, social or civic results/accomplishments. As you outline these accomplishments, think about the initial situation, what actions you or others took, and the result of these actions taken on you, on others, or on the organization. Do not be shy about your successes! For example: ƒ Guided the research on three new projects that later achieved sales of $2 million ƒ Developed an employee benefits program which assisted all other divisions ƒ Generated $50,000 of business with new clients in a 6 month period To guide your thinking, we have listed a number of action verbs to help you recall certain specific results. Please provide numbers, dollars, percentage increases, etc., wherever possible.
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Results/Accomplishment Statements
Adapt/modify/adjust Advise/counsel Analyze/investigate/research Appraise/assess/evaluate Arbitrate/mediate Audit Brief/inform Budget Classify/categorize Collaborate Consult Create/ invent/design Decide Draft/outline Economize Edited/revised Envision/conceive Estimate/project Expedite/accelerate/advance Facilitate/assist Forecast/predict Identify/recognize Implement/initiate/instigate Influenced/persuade Inspect/examine Integrate/incorporate Investigate Lead Listen Manage/direct Market Motivate/encourage/inspire Multi-task Negotiate/bargain Operate Organize/assemble/arrange Persuade/convince Plan/schedule/program Present/speak/provide Produce/form/synthesize
Accomplishment 1:
Accomplishment 2:
Accomplishment 3:
Accomplishment 4:
Accomplishment 5:
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Program Promote/endorse Recommend/propose Recruit/enlist/employ Redesign/reorganize/restore Sell Solve/troubleshoot Summarize/recap Supervise/lead/monitor Teach/train/instruct/coach Write/publish
Accomplishment 6:
AFTER DETAILING YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, IDENTIFY YOUR KEY SKILLS THAT LED TO THEM Review your results on the previous pages. Circle or highlight the skills in the left box that you used and want to use again. Of all your skills, list below the ones you perform the very best and enjoy the most. These are your most marketable skills and the ones you want to use in your next job. Example: Manage information systems Adapt/modify/adjust IDENTIFY YOUR KEY SKILL SETS BELOW Advise/counsel Analyze/investigate/research Appraise/assess/evaluate Arbitrate/mediate Audit Brief/inform Budget Classify/categorize Collaborate Consult Create/ invent/design Decide Draft/outline Economize Edited/revised Envision/conceive Estimate/project Expedite/accelerate/advance Facilitate/assist Forecast/predict Identify/recognize Implement/initiate/instigate 3
Influenced/persuade Inspect/examine Integrate/incorporate Investigate Lead Listen Manage/direct Market Motivate/encourage/inspire Multi-task Negotiate/bargain Operate Organize/assemble/arrange Persuade/convince Plan/schedule/program Present/speak/provide Produce/form/synthesize Program Promote/endorse Recommend/propose Recruit/enlist/employ Redesign/reorganize/restore Sell Solve/troubleshoot Summarize/recap Supervise/lead/monitor Teach/train/instruct/coach Write/publish
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Write Results Statements Now you are ready to create concrete examples of where, when, and how you did something that led to results. For each of your key skills, develop an example to support it. Choose from the results/accomplishments that you developed in your professional profile and demonstrate your highest level of effectiveness. Situation – What problem, situation, task, opportunity did you address? What was done? For whom? Example: “I wrote a new sales presentation for Jim Smith.” Action – What action(s) did you or your direct reports take? What did I do? How did I do it? Example: “I analyzed current presentation, researched options, wrote new presentation, and monitored results.” Result – What were the results or benefits in quantified terms? Quantify and qualify. What was improved or modified? – quantify whenever possible using numbers, dollars, percentages, survey results. Example: “New presentation saved salespeople one hour per sales call, increased closing by 20%, reduced learning curve by 30 days, contributed to company’s overall growth.” Describe this results/accomplishment in a single sentence (a bullet suitable for marketing you). Well-written statements begin with a powerful VERB and demonstrate a result achieved. These templates can help: Successfully planned __________________, resulting in __________________. Created _____________________________, which led to _________________. Implemented _____________________, increasing profits by _______________. Initiated _________________________. Result: __________________________. EXAMPLE: Planned SITUATION: Planned renovations and re-opening of a restaurant within two months after being hired as Sales Manager for a large hospitality business in a competitive resort area. ACTION: Reviewed existing plan; revised service and product concept; altered interior renovation; coordinated with all entities; developed standards for implementation; trained personnel; marketed; monitored quality assurance and financial performance. RESULTS: Operation opened on schedule, within budget. Increased revenue by 25% the first year, and received favorable feedback from customers and investors. Results Statement Planned and directed the renovation and launch of a restaurant including overseeing renovations, hiring and training personnel, coordinating marketing, and forecasting financial performance that led to the restaurant opening on schedule and a 25% increase in revenue during first year of operation 5
Results statements— Everyone has them! Demonstrate how you attained or exceeded your job goals, how you took the initiative to improve something, went above and beyond or acted outside the usual realm of job responsibility. Details may include: 3 Quantity Honors/awards/recognition 3 Quality Unusual situations or actions taken 3 Scope Time saved 3 Dollars 3 Productivity/efficiency 3 Time frame Sources of information for results statements Prior work records. Performance reviews and progress reports Job descriptions Awards and commendations Letters of recognition Prior resumes Colleagues Examples of results statements by Position
Without Metrics
With Metrics
Non-Exempt
Unloaded several trucks every day.
Unloaded 12 trucks and approximately 12,000 pounds of glass daily; consistently achieved 100% customer satisfaction ratings.
Administrative
Tracked expenses and saved money.
Created an Excel spreadsheet to track expenses that saved 20%, or over $2,000, per year for 3 years.
Line Staff
Answered customer calls successfully.
Answered over 100 customer calls per day and achieved 24-hour problem-resolution rate of 98%.
Technical
Installed several LANs.
Installed 40 LANs in 6 states within 1 year to improve intracompany communication, facilitate order processing and increase capacity from 1,500 to > 2,500 orders per day.
Manager
Grew sales and decreased sales expense.
Grew division sales from $49M to over $104M in 3 years while decreasing sales expense 18%.
Executive
Successfully directed program management team.
Implemented a 2-year program that exceeded a projected 20% annual reduction in costs, or $4M annually, for 43 locations in the Northeast.
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