How to be specific about your achievements

Firstly, it's important you have more achievements than responsibilities, wherever possible, in your CV. There is little point in just listing the duties in your job description – an employer can imagine what the generic responsibilities were. Instead, focus on what you achieved, and what it meant for the business.

When you are writing your achievements the two main things you should focus on are quantifying them and showing progress:

1. Quantifying achievements means applying some numbers so that your achievement is measurable. It also projects transparency. Examples could include the amount of time you saved the company, the percentage by which you increased annual revenue, the money you saved or made through improving quality assessment.

2. Showing progress could mean an initiative that you came up with that improved quality or revenues, sales numbers, costs, profits or the reputation of the company. Or it could be an organisational problem that you solved: perhaps you improved the communication within the team, which generated better sales. Your achievement should be some form of enhancement.

Make sure you can explain the detail of how you achieved these things.

This same approach applies when dealing with recruitment consultants. They need as much ammunition as possible to put you forward to their clients. So when talking to your consultant, make sure they know the detail of what you have achieved, behind the bullet points in your CV.

Whenever you sit down to write your achievements, make sure they highlight what you did that was above and beyond your duties, that's there's something of the real you in there and that each one of them made you proud of what you accomplished.

Sources: Abintegro, The Daily Telegraph