You spend a lot of time working on your resume, so you want it to deliver callbacks and job interviews from potential employers. What’s the best way to write a results-based resume? From your experience section to your bullet points and job descriptions, you want the document to instantly convey to recruiters and hiring managers that you’ve spent your career accomplishing goals and exceeding expectations.
If you want to achieve resume success, consider that a results-based resume is also a task-oriented resume. Your resume sections that deal with job duties, skills, and experience should all break down along a simple formula: problem, solution, results. This methodology will punch up your objective statement, experience bullets, and other resume aspects, and allow you to score interviews and results. Let’s break it down further:
Rewrite Your Resume for ‘Problem, Solution, Results’ Methodology
Resume writers have relied upon ‘problem, solution, results’ methodology for years in order to achieve resume success. The system is a simple one: you lure in reviewers by defining the challenge you’ve faced in the course of your work history, your course of action, and the results you achieved. It’s a similar formula to the one used by technical writers to create compelling marketing messages, and it will show potential employers that you can use your skills and background to help any company advance its strategy.
Define the Problem
First, describe a situation where you used relevant technical and non-technical skills to solve an urgent problem. Say an employer is looking for someone to troubleshoot and resolve network issues. Instead of writing: “Troubleshot LAN/WAN connections for 16 locations,” provide context by asking yourself, “Did the network have a history of failures? What caused the problems and how did the issues impact productivity, user satisfaction and the bottom line?” Include that detail.
Describe the Solution
After identifying the problem, describe the steps you took and the skills you used to resolve it. Did you use a specific tool to test routers, domains and other network components? Did you install new servers or correct configuration problems? Why was your solution effective or unique? Remember, it’s OK to boast as long as it’s accurate.
Outline Your Impact
Describe your outcomes specifically and glowingly. Note who was impacted and how they benefited. After all, it’s how you align your skills to the company’s strategic goals and use them to solve problems that creates value for managers.
Results-Driven Resume Points Examples
The final step is to edit all of this into powerful accomplishment bullets, project summaries and interview vignettes. Use power verbs, colorful adjectives and statistics to create one- to two-sentence accomplishment bullets that address the major requirements.
Here are some examples of results-driven resume statements (these apply to software engineer jobs):
- “Resolved a costly history of intermittent network interruptions by using Traceroute and Ping to test and troubleshoot route and router issues. Using diligence and expertise, initiated a unique alteration of the routing table that produced 100% uptime and increased staff productivity by 15%.”
- “Company had issues defining its goals for iOS and Android apps. I used my project management skills and knowledge of the iOS and Android ecosystem to define our app goals and see the project to completion. Mobile apps drove millions in revenue.”
- “Company had mission-critical on-premises software reaching end of lifecycle. Analyzed our company’s current tech stack and recommended we accelerate our digital transformation to the cloud. I guided that transformation to completion on schedule.”
Other Results-Driven Job Application Tips
Augment your resume by offering prospective employers a short synopsis of your relevant projects. For a variety of tech roles, you can build a portfolio to show off your past projects; for example, a UI/UX designer might have a website with examples of previous work, while a software engineer might have a Github repo with projects and code.
During the job interview, be prepared to expand on the things you mentioned in your resume. For example, an interviewer might want you to offer more detail on how you accomplished a crucial project or overcame a big challenge. Rehearse your answers beforehand, and figure out how you’ll present your technical and “soft” skills in their best light.